Knyohm yul tdik tdik! This is my phonetic rendering in English of how to say "I understand a little bit!" I am happy to share that I am finally in a groove (maybe?) with language lessons and know a few words!
I have been desperate since Day 1 to learn Khmer (pronounced kuh-my), and now have an amazing Cambodian gal tutoring me 3-5 times a week. She patiently repeats words over and over, and she laughs when I roll my eyes at words that sound EXACTLY the same but are supposedly different... ex: "rice" and "three" sound like buy. Learning this language requires making sounds that I've never made nor heard, so a big part of the process seems to involve gaining an ear.
To be more specific, it involves my tutor and I pinging the same word back and forth 17 times until I get it enough to frantically take notes about how that sound felt in which part of my throat, and where my tongue rests in proportion to my teeth and the ridge of my mouth. One such description today included the reminder: "Imagine saying AWW at the dentist with a tongue depressor smashing down on your tongue."
My current reperatoire includes numbers and general pleasantries: thank you, excuse me, my name is Jenny, how are you, etc. I have finally mastered enough words to get myself to the right place on a moto: turn left, turn right, stop here, near XYZ, etc. (Note: here you can't say a street number or an address and get there. You instead use big landmarks like temples and markets and direct your driver street by street to your desired location). I'm starting to learn some critical survival phrases like "please don't add MSG" and "where's the bathroom."
A funny fumble: I have for far too long been thinking that the word for bathroom is banya-hah, which actually means "problem." I don't even want to THINK about the times I've looked inquisitively at a restaurant or store owner and said "banya-hah, bathroom?"--inadvertantly announcing what they probably guessed to be any assorted bowel or otherwise unmentionable problems requiring a bathroom. Hah!
I'm sure I will have MANY more moments like this to come. I find that people are generally surprised that what they're hearing come out of my mouth sounds somewhat like their language. Everyone I speak to has been incredibly gracious and patient with mistakes. (I am far less patient with myself). And...there's a lot of laughing involved. :)
I have been desperate since Day 1 to learn Khmer (pronounced kuh-my), and now have an amazing Cambodian gal tutoring me 3-5 times a week. She patiently repeats words over and over, and she laughs when I roll my eyes at words that sound EXACTLY the same but are supposedly different... ex: "rice" and "three" sound like buy. Learning this language requires making sounds that I've never made nor heard, so a big part of the process seems to involve gaining an ear.
To be more specific, it involves my tutor and I pinging the same word back and forth 17 times until I get it enough to frantically take notes about how that sound felt in which part of my throat, and where my tongue rests in proportion to my teeth and the ridge of my mouth. One such description today included the reminder: "Imagine saying AWW at the dentist with a tongue depressor smashing down on your tongue."
A funny fumble: I have for far too long been thinking that the word for bathroom is banya-hah, which actually means "problem." I don't even want to THINK about the times I've looked inquisitively at a restaurant or store owner and said "banya-hah, bathroom?"--inadvertantly announcing what they probably guessed to be any assorted bowel or otherwise unmentionable problems requiring a bathroom. Hah!
I'm sure I will have MANY more moments like this to come. I find that people are generally surprised that what they're hearing come out of my mouth sounds somewhat like their language. Everyone I speak to has been incredibly gracious and patient with mistakes. (I am far less patient with myself). And...there's a lot of laughing involved. :)
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