Modern Spoken Cambodian (Language Texts) (Yale Language) Review

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Modern Spoken Cambodian (Language Texts) (Yale Language) ReviewI'm a big fan of this book, with one reservation (see below).
It's best for use with an experienced Khmer teacher. However, working with it alone, it's extremely comprehensive in sequentially introducing Khmer grammar, useful vocabulary and common structures.
It has a lot of repetitive drills which reinforce each grammar point and I really like the organisation, where it introduces vocab throughout a set of dialogues, then follows up with exercises to help it sink in and with specific grammar notes - which you can use if you're interested in or ignore if you just want to learn the key phrases and vocab.
The book also has a pretty comprehensive set of indices for English and Khmer vocab (glossary) and for the key words and grammar points.
The one real downside for me is the choice of transliteration (I think that's what you call it!). Huffman uses some transliteration which looks a bit like Internaitonal Phonetic Alphabet, but isn't. I have searched the book for a table or reference to how each symbol (and combination thereof) should be pronounced. I thought once I found a reference to another book where they are explained, but now I cannot find it again. Perhaps I imagined it! The result is, when you work with a teacher who knows the book well, you can learn the pronunciation by repetition. But when you go back to the book yourself to practise, it's very difficult to reconstruct the pronunciation. One example is the use of an 'i' chracter with a line through it. On page 44, min and tiw (both with lines through the i that I can't reproduce here) are clearly pronounced differently in Khmer and are different vowels in Khmer script. Even my Khmer teacher says he has to stop and think sometimes, what word is being used in the book.
The book by David Smyth is much better at guiding you through the sounds, though it also simplifies a fair bit and describes different vowels as having the same pronunciation.
In summary, if you want to comprehensively learn Khmer and understand its grammar, AND you have a teacher or other guide to pronunciation, this book is great. If you're working alone and wnat to go out each day and speak to Khmers, perhaps David Smyth's book (with tapes) is better.Modern Spoken Cambodian (Language Texts) (Yale Language) OverviewOriginally published by Yale University Press, 1970. Reissued by Cornell Southeast Asia Program, 1984. 3rd printing 1991. 451 pages. (Oversized)This SEAP Language text has accompanying audio tapes, available separately from: The Language Resource Center, Tape Sales, Room G11, Noyes Lodge, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-4701. Tel:(607)255-5542

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