2.5 Conversation: Addressing People in Cambodia
Title Nouns and Kinship Terms
Title nouns such as “look” (Sir, Mr., you for male speaker) and “look-srey” (Madam, Mrs., you for female) can be used as pronouns to denote formality and politeness.
Examples:
- Look chmuah ey? “What is your name, sir?”
- Look-srey mook bpii bprɔɔ-dteh naa? “Where are you from, madam?”
Similarly, when the term “look” is combined with kinship terms, such as Kruu “teacher”; Dtaa “Grandfather”; Bpuu “Uncle”; and Kmuay “Nephew/Niece”, it denotes respect, politeness, and even endearment.
Examples:
- Look-dtaa sok-sa-baay dtee? “How are you, grandfather?”
- Look-bpuu sok-sa-baay dtee? “How are you, uncle?”
Figure 1:
Kinship terms:
Oon “ប្អូន/អូន”= This term is used when speaking to someone younger than yourself, but not young enough to be your own children.
Bpuu “ពូ”= This means “uncle” and is used to address males who are approximately as old as your father, or who have the same age as your uncle.
Ming “មីង”= This means “aunt” and is used to address females who are approximately as old as your father, or who has the same age as your aunt.
Kmuay “ក្មួយ”= This word means “niece” or “nephew” and used to address someone about the same age as your children.
Yiay “យាយ”= This means “grandmother” and is used to address someone who is the same age as your grandmother.
Dtaa “តា”= This means “grandfather” and is used to address someone who is the same age as your grandfather.
Om “អ៊ំ”= This is used to address someone who is older than your parents, regardless of gender.
Look-kruu “លោកគ្រូ”= This term is used when speaking to a male teacher.
Neak-kruu “អ្នកគ្រូ”= This term is used when speaking to a female teacher.
1. Listening
Listen to a conversation between Sokha (A) and a senior teacher (B) at a school in Phnom Penh where Sokha (A) first started teaching.
After listening, answer the following questions.
