Learning resource
Colloquial Cambodian
Colloquial Cambodian is a Routledge course for beginners in Khmer as it is written and spoken today.[1] No prior knowledge of the language is required.[1]
About the resource
David Smyth wrote the first edition, published by Routledge in London and New York in 1995 as part of its Colloquial series.[2][3] Chhany Sak-Humphry wrote the second edition, published by Routledge in 2016.[2] Routledge credits the course to a linguist and an experienced Cambodian language professor.[1]
The course builds speaking, listening, reading and writing step by step, and aims to bring learners to Level B1 of the Common European Framework for Languages and the intermediate level of the ACTFL proficiency scales.[1][2]
Contents
The second edition has 15 units. They move from greetings, family and telling time through the open market, clothing, food and restaurants, work, directions and the weather to leisure, travel, hotels and tickets, health emergencies, and the post office and banking. Each unit also teaches part of the Cambodian script, from consonants and vowels to independent vowels, diacritics and punctuation.[2]
Grammar is explained in plain language, with exercises, dialogues and vocabulary lists. The book closes with an answer key, a grammar summary, bilingual glossaries, and translations of the dialogues and reading passages.[2]
Native speakers recorded the audio. Routledge offers it free to stream or download, grouped as Audio 1, Audio 2 and Bonus Material.[1][2]
Editions
- First edition (1995), by David Smyth: 241 pages; ISBN 0415100062.[3]
- Second edition (2016), by Chhany Sak-Humphry: paperback ISBN 978-0-415-52407-0; ebook ISBN 978-0-203-12065-1.[2]
Access
- Routledge: Colloquial Cambodian audio files
- Internet Archive: Colloquial Cambodian (1995)
- The University of Cambridge Language Centre holds the course under code CAM CBEG 2(PACK).[4]