KhemEnglish among local kids.

Post by **Username Taken** » Thu Mar 21, 2024 3:54 am

I recall seeing an incident at a moto parking place about 20 years ago. The moto parking dudes were uneducated country bumpkins, as they often are/were, being lectured by an educated Khmer because the mirror on his moto had been damaged.
His entire diatribe was in Khmer, as you would expect, then suddenly without missing a beat he included the phrase 'duty of care' then continuing with Khmer.
I'm sure the moto parking boys didn't have a clue what he meant, but the tone of voice was enough to make it clear.

HaifongWangchuck · Post by **HaifongWangchuck** » Thu Mar 21, 2024 5:41 am

Kammekor wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2024 7:24 pm
John Bingham wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2024 7:21 pm I've noticed it with young adults. It's often for convenience as there aren't suitable words in Khmer or the ones they have are too long.

As an example that I don't think is used in speech but is used on road markings:
Imagine writing this on a road:
ចំណតរថយន្តក្រុង
chamnt rothayont krong

Or the alternative: BUS STOP

Also many young people speak English very well even though they are nowhere near going to Switzerland on holiday rich.
How about the word 'you'?

Can be replaced in Khmer by a plethora of words.

Khmer people generally don't use the word "you" except in 3rd person contexts (and even then "bong" suffices even when the audience being addressed is women), replacing with the proper "honourific" or title; I don't think it is rude to use អ្នក in general, but then I very rarely ever hear it used.

simon43 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2024 9:30 pm Here in north Laos the local kids speak a mixture of Lao and Thai, not only with me but between themselves. Having made the effort with private lessons to add Lao language skills to my existing Thai language knowledge I feel like shouting 'Stop speaking Thai!" (or should that be 'ຢຸດເວົ້າພາສາໄທ')

Pardon my ignorance if I'm wrong, but aren't Thai and Lao almost mutually intelligible, much like Scots and English? For example, I know that "Isaan Thai" is pretty much just Lao, but called Thai for political reasons.

So at this point, would it be mixing two languages, or merely an extended branch of a dialectical continuum?

Kammekor · Post by **Kammekor** » Thu Mar 21, 2024 7:40 am

HaifongWangchuck wrote: ↑Thu Mar 21, 2024 5:41 am
Kammekor wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2024 7:24 pm
John Bingham wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2024 7:21 pm I've noticed it with young adults. It's often for convenience as there aren't suitable words in Khmer or the ones they have are too long.

As an example that I don't think is used in speech but is used on road markings:
Imagine writing this on a road:
ចំណតរថយន្តក្រុង
chamnt rothayont krong

Or the alternative: BUS STOP

Also many young people speak English very well even though they are nowhere near going to Switzerland on holiday rich.
How about the word 'you'?

Can be replaced in Khmer by a plethora of words.

Khmer people generally don't use the word "you" except in 3rd person contexts (and even then "bong" suffices even when the audience being addressed is women), replacing with the proper "honourific" or title; I don't think it is rude to use អ្នក in general, but then I very rarely ever hear it used.

simon43 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2024 9:30 pm Here in north Laos the local kids speak a mixture of Lao and Thai, not only with me but between themselves. Having made the effort with private lessons to add Lao language skills to my existing Thai language knowledge I feel like shouting 'Stop speaking Thai!" (or should that be 'ຢຸດເວົ້າພາສາໄທ')
Pardon my ignorance if I'm wrong, but aren't Thai and Lao almost mutually intelligible, much like Scots and English? For example, I know that "Isaan Thai" is pretty much just Lao, but called Thai for political reasons.

So at this point, would it be mixing two languages, or merely an extended branch of a dialectical continuum?

អ្នក (anek) is a safe word to address someone but it's so unspecific nobody ever used it except beginners learning Khmer.
In Khmer you barely ever address someone with 'you' (Khmer equivalent: អ្នក / anek) but you address them specifically.
A Cambodian will never ask 'do you want a drink' but will replace the word you with a specific word like brother, younger brother, uncle, aunt, grandpa, or another title, (there's loads) to address the person you're talking too.

Another reason English is preferred. One word in English with only three letters can be used for a plethora of words in Khmer.

WildAlaskaKen · Post by **WildAlaskaKen** » Thu Mar 21, 2024 8:07 am

John Bingham wrote: ↑Wed Mar 20, 2024 7:21 pm I've noticed it with young adults. It's often for convenience as there aren't suitable words in Khmer or the ones they have are too long.

As an example that I don't think is used in speech but is used on road markings:
Imagine writing this on a road:
ចំណតរថយន្តក្រុង
chamnt rothayont krong

Or the alternative: BUS STOP

Also many young people speak English very well even though they are nowhere near going to Switzerland on holiday rich.

The first thing I do when I need english is look for a schoolkid.

mi1 · Post by **mi1** » Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:09 am

Is this what u talk about ?

Alex · Post by **Alex** » Thu Mar 21, 2024 10:52 am

That's nothing new, Khmers have been doing that on Facebook for more than 10 years. Cute nas.

What's next, will The Kid tell us that his missus just noticed on Facebook that remorques are being replaced by those Indian contraptions?

KhemEnglish among local kids.

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