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People can get
themselves into all sorts of trouble when using a second
language.
Take a recent example. A man, freshly arrived in Cambodia,
is sitting in a restaurant talking to a waitress. His
wife has excused herself to go to the bathroom, and the
man wants to be friendly.
He is in a good mood. After breaking up for an extended
period some months ago, he and the love of his life have
patched things up enough to come away on their dream holiday
to South East Asia. Both of them have always wanted to
see Angkor Wat. They didn't argue about coming to Cambodia.
The whole holiday planning session was without one cross
word. She has always been a bit on the jealous side, so
he wants to make sure he is beyond reproach at all times,
but he is bored, and curious. What better way to start
a conversation while sitting by himself than to ask questions
about the local language? How could that be interpreted
as anything but innocent?
He has heard Khmer is not tonal, like Mandarin or Thai.
Surely there are not too many ways you can go wrong with
a language such as this.
"How can I say, 'go for a walk'?" he asked the
waitress idly.
"Daolayng," the waitress replied. "You
can daolayng with a motorbike, or a cyclo, or just by
walking."
"Daolayng," the man repeats just in time for
his girlfriend to return to the table and overhear him.
"Darling! What do you mean darling! How dare you!
I leave the table for just one minute and here you are
chatting up local girls!" she yells.
"Not darling. Daolayng," he consoles her, but
it isn't any use. The waitress, frightened, has fled to
the kitchen and the girlfriend has stormed out of the
restaurant with the key to their hotel room in her handbag.
The waitress finally reappears, looking terribly upset
to be the cause of such an uproar.
"Where is your wife?" she asks.
"Daolayng," he says sadly.
And the moral of the story might be any one of many, depending
how you see it. Perhaps it is that a little knowledge
is a dangerous thing. Perhaps that no matter how hard
you try, there is no pleasing everyone. Or perhaps it
is just that you should look, and listen, before you leap
especially in a country as exotic and unpredictable as
Cambodia. |
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Suite
B8, Regency Square, InterContinental Hotel, 294 Mao Tse Toung
Boulevard,
Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia.
Tel: (855) 23 213 133 Fax: (855) 23 213 033
E-mail:
editor@leisurecambodia.com |
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