Things Cambodians may express differently to English speakers

explorer · Post by **explorer** » Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:30 am

In English, if you ask somebody how many brothers and sisters they have, they will tell you. If you ask the equivalent question in Khmer, they will also include themself in the number.

I was listening to people give directions. In English we would say: Go along this road and turn left at the next road. Then go along that road and turn left at the second road. For the second part, Cambodians were saying: turn left at the third road. They were counting the road we are already on as the first road, so after turning, what we would call the second road, they called the third road.

You go to a shop and purchase something. You give the girl the money. She goes to the person with the money, and says: Change, and an amount in Riel or Dollars. The amount she says is not the amount of change, it is the price of the goods purchased. This does not normally happen in English speaking countries, and people in shops dont normally go to others for change. But the first time you hear it you may think, that is not how much change I should get.

Any of these things may confuse people the first time they hear them. If you understand the Cambodian way, it may be easier to understand.

Then you get Cambodians who learn English, and you dont know whether they are expressing it the Cambodian way or the English way. You may need to ask more questions.

explorer · Post by **explorer** » Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:36 am

Another situation where English is different to many other languages, is when you ask a negative question.

For example if you say: You're not hungry, are you?

English speakers answer it as if a positive question was asked, but in many other languages people answer it as a negative question.

For example, if the person is not hungry, an English speaker would say: No, I'm not hungry. A person speaking another language may say: Yes, I'm not hungry.

If the answer is just yes or no, you may need to ask more questions to know what they mean.

andy_morris · Post by **andy_morris** » Tue Apr 16, 2019 10:19 am

explorer wrote:Another situation where English is different to many other languages, is when you ask a negative question.

For example if you say: You're not hungry, are you?

English speakers answer it as if a positive question was asked, but in many other languages people answer it as a negative question.

For example, if the person is not hungry, an English speaker would say: No, I'm not hungry. A person speaking another language may say: Yes, I'm not hungry.

If the answer is just yes or no, you may need to ask more questions to know what they mean.

I get what you mean but would argue that often a local may respond with just the word(s) "hungry" or "not hungry" to that question, as a direct translation from khmer.

StroppyChops · Post by **StroppyChops** » Tue Apr 16, 2019 3:00 pm

explorer wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2019 9:36 am Another situation where English is different to many other languages, is when you ask a negative question.

For example if you say: You're not hungry, are you?

English speakers answer it as if a positive question was asked, but in many other languages people answer it as a negative question.

For example, if the person is not hungry, an English speaker would say: No, I'm not hungry. A person speaking another language may say: Yes, I'm not hungry.

If the answer is just yes or no, you may need to ask more questions to know what they mean.

This is quite common in a few Asian countries, they are responding to the truth statement in your question, not your question. "You're not hungry are you?" - the truth statement is "You're not hungry" and the question is "are you?" so they are agreeing with the first part. They'd say yes, meaning they're not hungry - which we misinterpret. This is an easy example to understand, but some examples are really tricky to work out which bit they're agreeing or not agreeing to.

Edit: and on reading that back I realise I've just restated what you said. Sorry.

Post by **Freightdog** » Tue Apr 16, 2019 4:01 pm

You start with ‘Cambodians’, and then subtly modify to a ‘speaker of another language’.
It’s funny how colloquialisms and similar often run contrary to the technically correct interpretation. (That said, often English humour and the ironies that tend to accompany it defeat all but the English and those generally devoid of a sense of humour, but that’s a completely different bar topic.)

As mentioned above, the answer to the question is whether you are a native English speaker, or speaking a technically correct English. I could tell you a heap of daft stories about aviation exams in the European Onion, but you’d probably not believe me.
Double negatives abound within the English speaking masses around the world, and sadly in the UK especially-

‘I didn’t do nuffink’
Might be intended and heard as a denial of having done something, but technically May be understood as confirmation of having done something, leading to the obvious question-
‘So what did you do?’

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)

From my observations of English language learning so far in Cambodia, many of the errors repeated are those learned in the varied social environment where English is spoken by English, Americans, Kiwis, Aussies, Germans, french etc.
Give the Khmer a break for a moment.

newkidontheblock · Post by **newkidontheblock** » Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:17 pm

Time.

If it’s 6:45, I would say it’s 6:45 (am or pm). Khmers would say it’s 15 before 7.

Mental math. Technically correct. Second response takes a little bit more processing to understand (for me).

TOG · Post by **TOG** » Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:20 pm

newkidontheblock wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:17 pm Time.

If it’s 6:45, I would say it’s 6:45 (am or pm). Khmers would say it’s 15 before 7.

Mental math. Technically correct. Second response takes a little bit more processing to understand (for me).

I take it your not good at European languages then?

explorer · Post by **explorer** » Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:21 pm

andy_morris wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2019 10:19 am I get what you mean but would argue that often a local may respond with just the word(s) "hungry" or "not hungry" to that question, as a direct translation from khmer.

Thats right. But if you look at all of the different situations where a negative question may be asked, there may be some where the answer causes confusion.

andy_morris · Post by **andy_morris** » Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:22 pm

What's wrong with quarter to seven in English? Maybe it's more a british expression?

Actually my nan would say "five and twenty to seven" for 6:35, which would certainly make a native speaker do some quick math, never mind a Cambodian!

explorer · Post by **explorer** » Tue Apr 16, 2019 7:25 pm

Freightdog wrote: ↑Tue Apr 16, 2019 4:01 pm You start with ‘Cambodians’, and then subtly modify to a ‘speaker of another language’.

The negative question example is common in many different languages, including Khmer.

Things Cambodians may express differently to English speakers

Things Cambodians may express differently to English speakers

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