Things Cambodians may express differently to English speakers
- StroppyChops
- The Missionary Man
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Re: Things Cambodians may express differently to English speakers
Yep, give them a break - for many of them their spoken English is better than my spoken Khmer.Freightdog wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2019 4:01 pm Can I have a glass of milk? Yes, you can.
(Waits in confusion until the similar question is cautiously uttered;)
May I have a glass of milk? Yes, you may.
(Is given a glass of milk)
...
Give the Khmer a break for a moment.
If anyone wants to check their own understanding of their native-English, try writing an explanation (WITHOUT resorting to Google or other sources) of how could, would and should are different to each other.
Bodge: This ain't Kansas, and the neighbours ate Toto!
Re: Things Cambodians may express differently to English speakers
I am not suggesting it is bad or wrong, just different. I have seen people confused because they didnt understand how others express it differently.
I share this so people coming across similar situations may be aware of potential misunderstandings. They may ask additional questions to clarify the situation.
There are times when I ask more questions.
## I thought I knew all the answers, but they changed all the questions. ##
Re: Things Cambodians may express differently to English speakers
No. I dont speak European languages.
If anyone has examples from other languages, feel free to share.
## I thought I knew all the answers, but they changed all the questions. ##
Re: Things Cambodians may express differently to English speakers
Interesting article on how language affects wealth
[media]https://www.businessinsider.com/how-lan ... lth-2015-7[/media]
Languages can either be "futureless" or "futured," he explains. When speaking a futureless language, the way you express the future is similar to how you would express the present; the opposite holds true for futured languages, in which the future is expressed distinctly from the present.
For example, if you're talking about the weather in English (a futured language), you would say, "It rained yesterday," "It is raining now," or "It will rain tomorrow," depending on the context and timing of the event.
"Every time you discuss the future or any kind of future event, grammatically you're forced to cleave that from the present and treat it as if it's something viscerally different," explains Chen. You have to divide up the time spectrum in order to speak correctly in English.
A futureless language such as German or Japanese, on the other hand, would use the same verb conjugation for the past, present, and future, which, translated into English, would be "It rained tomorrow" or "It rained now."
According to Chen, this subtle difference in grammar could help explain why the US saves much less than other OECD countries.
[media]https://www.businessinsider.com/how-lan ... lth-2015-7[/media]
Languages can either be "futureless" or "futured," he explains. When speaking a futureless language, the way you express the future is similar to how you would express the present; the opposite holds true for futured languages, in which the future is expressed distinctly from the present.
For example, if you're talking about the weather in English (a futured language), you would say, "It rained yesterday," "It is raining now," or "It will rain tomorrow," depending on the context and timing of the event.
"Every time you discuss the future or any kind of future event, grammatically you're forced to cleave that from the present and treat it as if it's something viscerally different," explains Chen. You have to divide up the time spectrum in order to speak correctly in English.
A futureless language such as German or Japanese, on the other hand, would use the same verb conjugation for the past, present, and future, which, translated into English, would be "It rained tomorrow" or "It rained now."
According to Chen, this subtle difference in grammar could help explain why the US saves much less than other OECD countries.
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- Jamie_Lambo
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Things Cambodians may express differently to English speakers
English is made up of a cocktail of European languages inc. Celtic, Germanic, Latin, Greek, Scandinavian, French...
for example Common 'English' words like 'Photography' is actually from Greek 'Phos' meaning 'light' and 'Graphe' meaning 'drawing' Photography = Drawing with Light,
same with Telephone is also from Greek 'Tele' meaning 'afar' and 'Foni' meaning 'voice/sound' Telephone = Voice from Afar
Scandinavian words in English like Cog, Ski, Nudge, Hug, Cozy, Husband, Knife, Window, in the east Midlands and Yorkshire we still use a lot of less common words which are classed as Dialect,
even most of the places we live are of Scandinavian origin all placenames ending in -ham, -thorpe, -by, all basically meaning 'village' ... just around where i live theres Hykeham, Skellingthorpe, Saxilby, Thorpe-on-the-hill, Coleby, Bassingham, Whisby, Navenby, Collingham to name a few
The English word 'By-Law' also comes from this 'Village Law' the local authorities
Back to the time...
In England its far more common to say...
quarter-to-seven (6:45)
ten-to-ten (9:50)
half-eight (8:30)
twenty-past-seven (7:20)
quarter-past-two (2:15)
just-gone-five (5:00-5:05)
Saying seven-forty-five sounds like i have to put on a shitty bastardised American accent and say April-twentieth too instead of Twentieth-of-April
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Mean Dtuk Mean Trei, Mean Loy Mean Srey
Punchy McShortstacks School of Hard Knocks
Punchy McShortstacks School of Hard Knocks
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Re: Things Cambodians may express differently to English speakers
My missus didn't understand at all, when I'd say " quarter to...", she only knew the metric, x.45. She's learnt my weird ways now and accepts but does not adopt them.
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Re: Things Cambodians may express differently to English speakers
I don't think it's common to ask negative questions in Khmer, but they often ask questions like:explorer wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:25 pmThe negative question example is common in many different languages, including Khmer.Freightdog wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2019 4:01 pm You start with ‘Cambodians’, and then subtly modify to a ‘speaker of another language’.
"You like to go, or not?"
A Khmer will rarely ask a negative question like 'You don't like to go, do you?'. I can't remember ever hearing that kind.
Re: Things Cambodians may express differently to English speakers
Don't forget Frisian...Jamie_Lambo wrote: ↑Mon Apr 22, 2019 2:26 pm English is made up of a cocktail of European languages inc. Celtic, Germanic, Latin, Greek, Scandinavian, French...
I've typically said "half passed eight" for 8:30 and for "odd" times I'd say "Eight Twenty Seven" vs. "Twenty Seven passed Eight" or 9:48 I'd say "Nine Forty Eight" vs. "Forty Eight Passed Nine" but for the rest of that I agree.Jamie_Lambo wrote: ↑Mon Apr 22, 2019 2:26 pm
Back to the time...
In England its far more common to say...
quarter-to-seven (6:45)
ten-to-ten (9:50)
half-eight (8:30)
twenty-past-seven (7:20)
quarter-past-two (2:15)
just-gone-five (5:00-5:05)
Saying seven-forty-five sounds like i have to put on a shitty bastardised American accent and say April-twentieth too instead of Twentieth-of-April
- Jamie_Lambo
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Re: Things Cambodians may express differently to English speakers
after half past you say "to" instead of "past" so you would say 12 mins to 10JerryCan wrote: ↑Mon Apr 22, 2019 3:48 pmDon't forget Frisian...Jamie_Lambo wrote: ↑Mon Apr 22, 2019 2:26 pm English is made up of a cocktail of European languages inc. Celtic, Germanic, Latin, Greek, Scandinavian, French...
I've typically said "half passed eight" for 8:30 and for "odd" times I'd say "Eight Twenty Seven" vs. "Twenty Seven passed Eight" or 9:48 I'd say "Nine Forty Eight" vs. "Forty Eight Passed Nine" but for the rest of that I agree.Jamie_Lambo wrote: ↑Mon Apr 22, 2019 2:26 pm
Back to the time...
In England its far more common to say...
quarter-to-seven (6:45)
ten-to-ten (9:50)
half-eight (8:30)
twenty-past-seven (7:20)
quarter-past-two (2:15)
just-gone-five (5:00-5:05)
Saying seven-forty-five sounds like i have to put on a shitty bastardised American accent and say April-twentieth too instead of Twentieth-of-April
Mean Dtuk Mean Trei, Mean Loy Mean Srey
Punchy McShortstacks School of Hard Knocks
Punchy McShortstacks School of Hard Knocks
Re: Things Cambodians may express differently to English speakers
I just noticed you wrote "In England" not "In English". Forgive me, I'm from a different colony.
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