Burmese (Myanmar): An Introduction to the Spoken Language, Book 2 9781609092191

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Parallel with this course Burmese—An Introduction to the Spoken Language, Book 1 Burmese—An Introduction to the Script Burmese—An Introduction to the Literary Style

BURMESE

(Myanmar)

An Introduction to the Spoken Language BOOK 2

John Okell

With assistance from U Saw Tun and Daw Khin Mya Swe

Northern Illinois University Press DeKalb

© 1994, 2010 Northern Illinois University Published by the Northern Illinois University Press in conjunction with the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, DeKalb, Illinois 60115 Manufactured in the United States using postconsumer-recycled, acid-free paper. All Rights Reserved Cover Design: Shaun Allshouse ISBN:978-087580-643-3 Series: Southeast Asian language text series; LC Control No.: 2010448363

Front Cover Photo—Kalaga or Burmese tapestry representing a detail of the king and one  of his dignitary at the court. BC90.02.02 from the Burma Art  Collection at NIU.

CONTENTS The material in this volume is a continuation of the material in Book 1. For the introduction and explanations of how to use the course please refer to that volume. A Note from the Author

ix

The lessons: Part 2, Levels 2 to 5 Part 2, Level 1 is bound separately in Book 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 lOA lOB 11 12

Asking the way Taking photographs Taking a taxi Cafes and restaurants Shops AboutyourcommandofBurmese About your travels: past trips About your travels: trips in prospect About your travels: current trip You and yours You and yours (continued) Arranging to meet again Making a phone call

Level 2 1 4 7 10

14 17 20 24 28 32 38 43 46

Level 3 48 51 53 56 61 64

66 69 72 75 79 85. 88

Level 4 91 94 97 101 106 110 112 116 118 122 126 129 132

Level 5 135 142 145 149 155 161 165 168 171 176 181 186 192

Appendices 1. Social customs

2. Talking about language: asking for help 3. Talking to monks 4. Outline grammar 5. Vocabulary 5.1 Burmese-English 5.2 English-Burmese 6. Additional vocabulary (listed by topic) 7. Index to notes and topics in the text

200 204 207 209 247 268 279 289

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR Change of publisher Publication of all four volumes of Burmese: An Introduction, first published in 1994, has been transferred to the Northern Illinois University Press and the books are now re-issued with minor revisions.

Change of audio format At the time of initial publication, the audio component of Burmese: An Introduction was issued on cassette tapes. Now that digital recordings are more widely used than tapes, the audio material has been converted to digital. Two advantages of this change are, first, that digital files are less bulky to store and transport than cassette tapes and, second, that it is far easier to find a particular section in the audio. Neither the printed text nor the audio files have been changed to reflect the transfer from tape to digital. So when you read or hear a reference to a particular tape, please understand it as referring to the corresponding track in the audio files.

Changes in Burma since the publication of this course Sixteen years have passed since the first publication of this course. During that time several aspects of life in Burma have changed. First and most obvious are price levels: • A cup of tea that cost K4 in 1993 now costs K150, and costs may well rise further. So, when practicing prices in the exercises, bear in mind that most prices need to be multiplied by 30 or 40 to correspond with the cost of living today. Second, some institutions that appear in the course have been renamed, relocated, or discontinued. For example: • Tourist Burma has been renamed Myanmar Travel and Tours. • The National Museum has moved from Pansodan to Pyay Road. • The Diplomatic Store is no longer operating. If you search in Burma for places mentioned in the course, remember that they may no longer be there. Third, digital cameras have largely replaced film cameras, and most telephones now have keys to press rather than dials to turn. References in the Lessons to film and dialing should be understood as reflecting technology at the time of writing. Apart from such obvious physical changes in the life of the country, the language of the course is still the language that you will hear and read in Burma today.

Errata lists While using the course over the years, teachers, colleagues, and students have helpfully pointed out some errors and inconsistencies in the text. These have been listed and are to be found, with their corrections, on a page at the end of each volume.

Part 2: Level 2, Topic 1: Askingthe way

LEVEL 2, TOPIC 1

ASKING THE WAY

First read through the New Words and the Sample Dialogue. Then turn on the tape.

New words near here ["this (place)-vicinity-in"] over there ["that-direction-in"] there is, to be [in a specified place] Is there a park near here? No, there isn't. There's one over there.

cold drinks bar ["cold-shop"] cafe ["tea-shop"] restaurant ["eat-drink-shop"] public toilet ["many-use-toilet"]

di-na-hma ho-beq-hma shfDi-na-h ma pan-jan sh f-dhala? Mashf-ba-bu. Ho-beq-hma shf--ba-deh.

ae-zain lap'eq-ye-zain sa-thauq-s'ain amya-dhoun ein-dha

Calling someone's attention Hitherto y.ou have used ~'f) (di-hma) "here" as a word for attracting someone's attention, like "Excuse me" in English. This is a useful word for the purpose, but in practice people more often use a kin term. Kin terms often used this way are: 2:Gro: LJ-le uncle G3TG3Tl Daw-daw aunt older sister 3d:/:x>~: (Tha/Tham'l) - despite the genealogical anomaly. 1. Repetition is used in Burmese to form affectionate diminutives in much the same way as -y (or -ie) is used in English (as in sweet/sweetie, aunt/aunty, pot/potty, and so on). For example:

1

Burmese: An Introduction to the Spoken Language, Book 2

simple

repeated

simple

repeated

3dG: y:>

(" 0 ("

Is there a restaurant near here? There isn't one near here. S2: ~o/):y:> ~~01~:n (" (" (" Q(" 0 (" romom~aX?c 51.000011 There's a cafe. 0 (" Over there. tJ?::nOOy:> II 51: GC'Y:lJ= 01~:11 Gal:Y.)6)_:Gcy.>11 Never mind. Sl: o3f~~01 ~: 11 61_01 oooS II It's OK. ©".>:G::>.nOO aX? C

~coo:n

:::n0ro

Di-na-hma sa-thauq-s'ain sh1-la? Di-na-h ma mash 1-ba-bu. Lap'eq-ye-zain sh1-deh. Ho-beq-h ma. Ce-zu tin-ba-deh, K'in-bya. Ya-ba-deh. Keiq-sa mash1-ba-bu.

LHe. Ba-leh K'in-bya? Oi-na-hma sa-cf-daiq sh1-la? Math1-ba-bu. S'aw-r1-naw? Keiq-sa mashf-ba-bu. Ya-ba-deh.

Exercises on the new places Ex. 1: Use the List for the Practice Dialogues below. Prompt: Ask U Maung Maung where he wants to go. g (" (" (" (" ' QC" (" 1 (" L / S2: 2:G~CG~c ::noo~:~c::x>ron Sl: 3dG3d:aX?c ~:~c01000011 L/S2: 3dG3d:~8coo:n Sl: U7oSo}11 3dG3d:~80l 11 Ex. 2: Use the List for the Practice Dialogues to find the answers to the questions. The names are not taken in the order you see on the List. c co c c , /S c c c oc c 1 c S1: G3-rI &lColC"(: ::noo~:~C::x>CDII L 2: CD0000061_~aX?C~:~C01000:>II

For the Practice Dialogues Follow the Prompt and use the list below to (" cf''Jf:}23 asks a person who could be his/her sister aunt uncle son 1

daughterl sister aunt daughterl uncle sonl

sister

ask your question. wants to go to

name

a market a restaurant a park a cold drinks bar a cafe a restaurant a public toilet a restaurant a public toilet a cold drinks bar a cafe

Daw Than Myint USawLwin Daw Myint Myint Win U Maung Maung Daw Khin Khin So UOhnHan Daw Mi Mi Sein USan Tin Daw Catherine Aye UTinOo Daw Khin May Kyee

1. Remember that the polite tags 518and o18C1.P (Shin/K'in-bya) imply a degree of deference to the person addressed. It is not appropriate for adults to show such deference to children,

3

Burmese:An Introductionto the Spoken Language, Book 2

so when people are speaking to children - people they call~: or:).)~: (Tha/Tham1) they normally omit polite tags. You will find this code observed in many of the Practice Dialogues.

Exercise for written answer Translate the dialogue below into Burmese. 52 is a young girl. KEY TO THE WRITTEN EXERCISE Q :).)(:}: II 1. 51: Daughter. 2. 52: Yes (+tag). What is it? 3. 51: Is there a cold drinks shop near here? 4. 52: There isn't one near here (+tag). 5. 52: There's one over there. 6. 51: Thank you. 7. 51: Should I go this way? 8. 52: Yes. This way. 9. 51: Fine. Thanks. 10. 52: That's all right (+tag).

LEVEL2, TOPIC2

TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS

New words Level 2: Taking photographs expands the Level 1 material by adding an assortment of phrases useful in this situation. You met some of them in the Common Phrases Supplement to Part 1. SI: alCllJGC\)!11 / alls(?-!

("Q, Sl : 'l(.).)30(00:11 CQ, 'l 11 S2: ~uloooS11 ~~u111

Excuse me, please. Yes? I'd like to take a photograph here. It's all right, isn't it? It's OK. Go ahead.

Daw-daw. Houq-keh, Shin? Di-hma daq-poun yaiq-c'in-ba-deh. Ya-deh-naw? Ya-ba-deh. Yaiq-pa.

Just a moment.

K'ana-le-naw?

Is it all right now? Yes, it is.

Ya-bi-la? Ya-bi.

S1 adjusts the camera, saying Sl: 6)Cll)GC\):G.y.>II

When he stops, S2 asks S2:~(gC\Y.>:11 Sl: ~(g11

5

Burmese: An Introduction to the Spoken Language, Book 2

0

C

C

C

I'll shoot now - OK? Yaiq-meh-naw? \lm~OOG¥,)II S2: G,01~:u Hold on! Ne-ba-oun. S2 rearranges her flowers to more advantageous effect. When she steps back to look, S1 asks Sl:@:@coo:u Have you finished yet? P1-bi-la? S2: ~@:G:)):1~:11 ear.>Gro:u Not yet. Just a minute. Map1-dhe-babu. K'ana-le. S2 makes further adjustments, then sits back again, saying S2: mu @:@11'lt:.0~011 Right. That's done. I'm ready. Keh. P1-bi. Reh-di-bah. Sl: GOY.>6:ol@u~o5~t0G~11 OK. I'm going to shoot- OK? Kaun-ba-bi. Yaiq-meh-naw? S2: ~o5o1u 'l@u Go ahead. It's all right now. Yaiq-pa. Ya-bi. S1 takes his photograph. S2 asks S2:@:@coo:11 Have you finished now? Pi-bi-la? Sl: ~@:G:)):ol~:11 ear.>Gro:11 Not yet. Just a minute. Map1-dhe-babu. K'ana-le. S1 takes a second photograph, then says Sl: mu @:@u There we are. I've finished now. Keh. P1-bi. C 1 C C Th k C' . b a- d eh , K''in- b ya. G~:!: ooc10000ect?,pu an you. e-zu' tinS2: 'loloot:.011 That's all right. Ya-ba-deh. o3i ~~ol~:11 No trouble. Keiq-sa mashf-ba-bu. Sl: ~=~t0G~U Goodbye then. Thwa-meh-naw? S2: CJ?o-5d}uGOY.>6:ol@u Goodbye. Houq-keh. Kaun-ba-bi. • '

• AI II ~

•

~

'J"J

·•·-,..... ..- '" : ;.

..

.

•

1- ~•

•

.

Cold drinks shop in Nyaung-U

For the Practice Dialogues Follow the Prompt. 1. Man mending a fishing net. 2. Girl weaving at a loom. 3. Soldier on guard outside a shop. 4. Lady at a fruit stall.

6

5. Boy on a bullock cart. 6. Guard at a checkpoint. 7. Cafe proprietor. 8. Lady offering flowers at a pagoda.

Part 2: Level 2, Topic 2: Taking photographs

Exercise for written answer Match each answer in Column B to the appropriate question in Column A. ColumnBKEY ColumnA Column B jumbled cg,

:JII

6)_o::> 3 0 C\Y.);II

JII

6)_o::> 3 0 C\Y.);11

JII

~II 11 Q C ~ ooGi011 C C C :JJII Q C C C C :)~II l:lO)WffiGO:l:lo::>G.y.>11 :J:o1~:n Q

'7" 6)11

cg,

C ~ C G6)')ffi'if:O 0)0::,II

C

~,

'=l\JffiO i.11 QC1J?G(\):II l:l[g:G::x>:ol~:11 Q

C

~

JII :) II en

:J:JII 6).[911 ~ ~ C QC °(CO II 61_0 0)0::,11

'711 :J11 Q C ~ ooG(\): Minga 1a d on Airport K600 G3TGv.>~ Tourist Burma office K40 2:0?§~ Australian Embassy KSO G3T0?6~ YMCA K30 g c:c:c: K60 2:G3d0C~co09 Foreign Sd tu ents' Hoste 1

name Daw Yi Yi U Aung Kyaing Daw Yuzana Kyin UKoKoLay Daw Saw Yi U Hla Myint Daw Hla Kyi U Aung Khin Hsint

Exercise for written answer Reorder the lines below to make up a dialogue between a taxi driver and his passenger, and show which character speaks which lines (SI: ... 52: ... ). The speakers do not necessarily speak alternate lines. KEY TO THE WRITTEN EXERCISE Sl: ::n8:ol@n Sl: oooSol 11

9

Burmese: An Introductionto the Spoken Language, Book 2

LEVEL 2, TOPIC 4

CAFES AND RESTAURANTS

New words 0

51-©ulmro6 C:

~:).)C\Y.):11

C:

o;>t- oro;>t~=-o;>~~:(gn

Sa.-

C!Y.>:C!Y.>: I:) CO II

-

-::fY)

-

(.J)-::IY)()

1

C!Y.>: I:) uj II

~-©ulmro6

shfthere is, to have Sapa-kalin shf-dhala? Is there any Sparkling? Do you have any Sparkling? koun-, koun-dhwato run out, be used up, be all gone Koun-dhwa-bi. It's sold out. to eat Ba sa-maleh? What are you going to eat? Han-ba-ga sa-meh. I'm going to have a hamburger. yato get, obtain, be able to get sapa-kann ya-ma.la? Could we get any Sparkling? Would you have any Sparkling?

~l:)C\Y.):11

Some things to eat in cafes UC\Y.)OY.)

parata (see note below) samosa (see note below) pudding (see note below) cake ["cake-confection"] hamburger ice cream ["water-solid-confection"]

pa.la-ta samu-s'a pu-drn keiq-moun han-ba-ga ye-geh-moun

How many? Foods like those above are ordered by they - "piece, item, unit": +~