I’m not surprise if most of Cambodian young generation do not know how to greet important people (king, monk and officials) by using formal words in Khmer. In my opinion, it is one of the hardest languages to learn as well as to use. One of the reasons that it is very complicated is the words usage in Khmer where they different words will be used for different status. It might make some confusion, but if you are a very determined person, I promise you, you’ll get it!
In Khmer literacy class, we learnt to be MC for a special event. I’ve learnt tons of new Khmer words even though it is my first language. Here are some general information that I would like to share about being a Khmer MC:
- During greeting, you greet the monk before you greet the king/queen. It is very confused, because some people greet the king/queen first.
- To become a good speaker, eye contact, body and the tone are very important.
- Singing national anthem is very important, but it doesn’t required to every event. Example of one event where singing national anthem is required: Khmer Literature Festival.
I was fascinated by the news vocabulary that I’ve learnt. It was a very great opportunity for me to know all of these because you’ll never know when you will be put on this spot one day!