Difference between revisions of "Language/Central-khmer/Grammar/Gender"
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|description=In this lesson, you will learn about gender markers in Khmer, how they work, and how to correctly identify the gender of people, places, and things. | |description=In this lesson, you will learn about gender markers in Khmer, how they work, and how to correctly identify the gender of people, places, and things. | ||
}} | }} | ||
==Related Lessons== | |||
* [[Language/Central-khmer/Grammar/Plurals|Plurals]] | |||
* [[Language/Central-khmer/Grammar/Pronouns|Pronouns]] | |||
* [[Language/Central-khmer/Grammar/Give-your-Opinion|Give your Opinion]] | |||
* [[Language/Central-khmer/Grammar/Questions|Questions]] | |||
* [[Language/Central-khmer/Grammar/Adjectives|Adjectives]] | |||
* [[Language/Central-khmer/Grammar/How-to-Use-Be|How to Use Be]] | |||
* [[Language/Central-khmer/Grammar/Negation|Negation]] | |||
* [[Language/Central-khmer/Grammar/How-to-Use-Have|How to Use Have]] | |||
* [[Language/Central-khmer/Grammar/Conditional-Mood|Conditional Mood]] | |||
{{Central-khmer-Page-Bottom}} | {{Central-khmer-Page-Bottom}} |
Revision as of 11:59, 6 March 2023
Hi Central Khmer learners! π
In this lesson, we will be discussing gender in Central Khmer. Understanding gender is an essential part of speaking and understanding the Khmer language. Central Khmer uses gender to identify masculine and feminine nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and verbs. It is essential to be familiar with the rules of gender in the Khmer language to speak it fluently.
Gender in Central Khmer
In Central Khmer, every noun has grammatical gender, which can either be masculine or feminine. The gender of a noun is displayed by the use of gender markers, which are added to the noun as a suffix. The masculine gender is indicated by the suffix βαααβ ('noh'), whilst the feminine gender is indicated by the suffix βαααβ ('neh').
Examples:
Central Khmer | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
αααα»α | prum | man (masculine) |
ααααΈ | srey | woman (feminine) |
αααααααααΆααα’ααααααααα» | mlap ta nak angkor wat | Angkor Wat temple (masculine) |
ααΆαααΆααΈααααααα | rachatheni phnompenh | Phnom Penh city (feminine) |
Note: We use αααααααααΆαα (mlap ta nak) to show that temples are considered masculine in Khmer culture.
When using adjectives to describe a noun, the adjective must agree with the gender of that noun. Adjectives used to describe masculine nouns will take the form of 'ααα' ('neh'), whilst those used to describe feminine nouns take the form of 'ααα' ('noh').
Example:
- ααααΌαααΆαααΆααααΌαααααα ααααα»αααααΈααΆαα (trouy ka dark kuss leunh nov kambong srei bawn - The lady at the market needs to put numbers.)
In this sentence, the adjective 'ααααΈ ααΆα' ('srei bawn') agrees with the feminine noun 'ααααα»αααααΈ' ('kambong srei'). In contrast, if the market was run by a man, it would be described as 'ααααα»ααααα»α' ('kambong prum'), and the adjective would agree with this by taking the masculine suffix 'αααα»α' ('prum').
Pronouns in Central Khmer are gendered as well. The personal pronouns βαααα»αβ ('khnoum') and βααΎαβ ('yerng') are used to describe oneself and are neutral in terms of gender. The female word βααΆαβ ('neang') is used by women to refer to themselves. For men, the word βα’αααβ ('nak') is used, indicating that the Khmer language privileges men.
Example:
- Person 1: αααα»ααααααΆααααα (khnoum srolagn bong - I miss you. [neutral for gender])
- Person 2: αααα»ααααααΆααααΆαα (khnoum srolagn neang - I miss you. [women use])
- Person 3: αααα»ααααααΆααα’αααα (khnoum srolagn nak - I miss you. [men use])
In verb conjugation, the gender of the noun will also affect the verb form. For example, when using the verb βαααα αΆαβ ('rongcham'):
- If the gender of the noun is feminine, the verb is βααΆαβ ('nam' - she walks).
- If the gender of the noun is masculine, the verb is βααΎαβ ('kaet' - he walks).
Example:
- ααΆαααΎαααααα (neang kaet mdong - She walks a lot.)
- αααα»αααΆααααΆααααΈααααΆααααααΌαααααΆαα (khnoum nam rotaslai mreab krus onthan - I bring roses for the principal. [feminine verb agreement with subject])
In short, in Central Khmer, gender is essential in the identification of people and things, and it affects all aspects of the language, including grammar, vocabulary, and syntax.
Interesting Facts
Did you know that in Cambodian culture, it is a sign of respect for guests to call their hosts by their gender-specific terms in place of their name?
For example, when addressing a Khmer woman, it is sometimes considered disrespectful to address her by her name. Instead, the guest should use the title βααααΈβ ('srei' - woman) or βααααααΆααΆααααα' ('mrak phasa khmae' - Khmer language expert) when speaking with her.
For men, it is appropriate to use the term βαααα»ααααααΆαααΈα' ('prum deal mean ling' - distinguished gentleman) when addressing them.
Practice
To practice using gender in Central Khmer, try the following exercises:
1. Practice describing objects around you using the correct gender marker. For example, a table is feminine 'αα»' ('toh'), while a book is masculine 'ααααα ' ('seivop'). 2. Write down ten sentences using the correct verb form for masculine and feminine nouns. 3. Read a passage, and identify the gender markers used in the text.
To improve your Central Khmer Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!
Sources
Related Lessons
- Plurals
- Pronouns
- Give your Opinion
- Questions
- Adjectives
- How to Use Be
- Negation
- How to Use Have
- Conditional Mood