I love language. I love learning new languages and really being able to communicate with people in the language of their heart. I have now been studying Khmer for about 10 months, and the more I learn this language the more intriguing it becomes to me, and the more I love it.
Khmer is a simple, non-tonal language. It follows a very basic subject, verb object sentence structure.
To make something past tense you simply put the word baan in front of the verb; to make something future tense you simple put the word nung in front of the verb. Everything else is in present tense.
There are also no articles in Khmer. The sentence: Knyom dtue psaa. Literally means: I go market. The word the in front of market is not necessary.
There are also no pronouns signifying gender. The word I is: knyom; she/he is: go-aat; They is: puak-gay or puak-go-aat; we is: puak-young. And the word you is actually a number of different words used to address the person you are directly talking to based on his or her age and gender.
But the thing I love most about Khmer is the simplicity of how words are formed in Khmer. Usually, words are made up of two or three smaller words which are actually more of a description, but put them all together and you have a word!
I would like to take the time to share some of my favorites. These are my favorites, some because they are funny, and some because I think they are ingenious combination descriptions, and still others because of the way they sound when you put all the little words together.
In no particular order
1. Aach-roy:
Literally translated: fly poop but means: freckles.
2. Tvwia-mia:
Literally translated: golden door but is the word (the medical term, even, if one goes to the doctor) used to describe female genitalia.
3. Pdtial-gdtuay-gpue:
Literally translated: leaf-tail-alligator but means: Aloe plant.
4.Yuu-yuu-ma-dong:
Literally translated: long-long-one-time and is a phrase meaning: “every once in a while“.
5. Dtok-moat-sii-moan:
Literally translated: Put away-mouth-consume-chicken and is a phrase meaning: “shut up and eat!”
6. Ot- dtoh-awy:
Literally translated: No-condemnation-give but is the word for: to forgive.
7. Bpen-jet-bpen-tlaem:
Literally translated: whole-heart-whole-liver and is a slang phrase used to show strong favorable emotion. ie. knyom sro-lain bong bpen-jet-bpen-tlaem! I love you intensely; very much; strongly; with everything I am, etc.
8. Tvwia-tome:
Literally translated: Big door but is the word for: anus.
The next three I will lump together.
9. a.Dtuck-doh-go:
Literally means: liquid-breast-cow but is the word for milk.
b. Dtuck-kmom:
Literally means: liquid-bee but is the word for honey.
c. Dtuck-op-gro-oop:
Literally means: liquid-smells-good but is the word for perfume.
10. Bat-jung-tome:
Literally means: lose a large leg but is a phrase that means “take a dump“
