Most of the phrasebooks include a pronunciation guide, a general phrase list. At the age of 4, we were trained to write circles which is called wa lone. Burmese is the official language of myanmar, a country in southeast asia formerly known as burma. Were dedicating this page to the most important and most used words in burmese. Burmese grammar, of the pronunciation, of the script, and the number system. During the british colonial period, english was the medium of instruction in higher education, although it did not replace burmese as the vernacular. Therefore, for those who are not familiar with this kind of language, you at least should know some essential phrases to have an enjoyable myanmar tour package. Unedited texts or fullspeed spoken burmese is likely to remind learners in the early stages that they have a long way to go. Please keep this category purged of everything that is not actually an article about a word or phrase. Master myanmar majestically with moes burmese language lessons in yangon. Speak burmese by creating your own burmese phrases the unique fetchaphrase system of template sentences and colorcoded word lists gives you the ability to make up thousands of burmese phrases without having to study burmese. Myanmar language likes other southeast asia languages that do not place spaces between words. The official language is burmese, spoken by the people of the plains and, as a second language, by most people of the hills.
This probably explains why online teaching materials are notoriously inaccurate. Grammar of the burmese language wikisource, the free. It is the 29th alphabet of the chart below and basic form of burmese writing. Grammar of the burmese language wikisource, the free online. Burmese for beginners is designed for either selfstudy or classroom use. The vocabulary used in the written word will always be longer and richer than in the spoken word. There is no widely accepted system for romanizing burmese.
Welcome to the 9th lesson about the burmese vocabulary. This country is located in southeast asia region, where almost countries have their own languages. Burmese is spoken by 32 million people as a first language. The myanmar language, burmese, belongs to the tibetomyanmar language group of the sinotibetan family. The burmese language is written from left to right, and without any division of words. In the book, burmese words and phrases are written both in burmese script and in a romanization. It administered myanmar as a province of british india until 1937, and as a separate colony until 1948. Learn burmese burmese books, courses, and software burmese material is presented in both burmese script and roman transcription throughout. Some methods fail to make all the distinctions you need to make in pronunciation, and. This paper aims to express how to segment phrases in a burmese sentence and how to formulate rules. The grammatical rules below are the most important in burmese and help connect words or shape the structure. Any learner can enjoy picking out words and phrases you can read or understand. My burmese is worse than my french, ncest pas, but i would say ney kaun yela. However, it has its fair share of oddities, mostly found in spelling.
Why you need to learn some simple sentences in burmese language. Greetings in burmese myanmar lonely planet forum thorn tree. Links to the english and multilingual resources can be accessed further below. Burmese is written using the burmese script, which is based on an ancient indian script called brahmi script. Burmese is a tonal language, consisting of four tones low, high, creaky, checked. Pages in category burmese phrases the following pages are in this category, out of total. Vocabulary and phrase book in english and burmese by bennett, cephas, 18041885. Hopefully this brief guide of useful burmese phrases proves to be more reliable. However, it is better to use the more formal minglaba because thats the expected greeting between burmese and foreigners. To download information click on the selected language. Therefore, myanmar phrases translation model is based on syntactic structure and morphology of myanmar language. If youre traveling to myanmar, check out our guide to basic burmese phrases. Unlike in thailand and a few other countries, burmese people dont wai the prayerlike gesture with palms together in front of you as part of a greeting.
Wikitravel users have collectively created a free burmese phrasebook with the goal of making it possible for travelers to get by while traveling in areas where burmese is spoken. Pdf burmese myanmar an introduction to the script southeast asian language text read online. The brahmi script spread to tibet, sri lanka, burma, thailand, cambodia, and indonesia in the period 100 ad 800 ad with. The latest version of pdf file including lesson 2a, 2b, and 2c is available for download revision. Burmese, spoken by two thirds of the population, is the official language languages spoken by ethnic minorities represent six language families. Myanmar english is the register of the english language used in myanmar, spoken as first or second language by an estimated 2. How did you learn to read and write burmese script. You can check the detail tour quote request form here. The latest version of pdf file including lesson 2a, 2b, and 2c is available for download. Pages in category burmese words and phrases the following 8 pages are in this category, out of 8 total. When all other communications fail, just point out the phrase in burmese script directly from your smartphone that says things like, take me to the nearest hotel. To be fair, burmese isnt the hardest language in the world to learn how to read and write. Apr 01, 20 useful myanmar phrase you can learn useful myanmar burmese phrase necessary in real life greeting, meeting, address, name, family, restaurant, feeling and want to all phrases included native.
Burmese is the native language of the bamar people and related subethnic groups of the bamar, as well as that of some ethnic minorities in burma like the mon. Burmese scripture and english translation in a temple. Basic burmese phrases that everyone should know myanmore. The quickest and easiest way to say hello in myanmar sounds like. Take advantage of the opportunity for dedicated and professional myanmar also known as burmese language courses in yangon suits your needs, whether youre a firsttimer who needs the survival essentials or a longterm expatriate who seeks to learn burmese in order to be fluent. Burmese is written using the burmese script, which is based on an ancient indian script called pali. This phrase is useful for items youre unsure of, food in particular. All dialects of burmese in myanmar adhere to this rule, although vocabulary usage varies from region to region. This document is available in english as well as in languages other than english. Burmese english lesson 1 5 of 35 easy english, burmese and sgaw karen speaking volume 1 by adam h freeman published on 20120920t06.
The r sound has essentially been obliterated from burmese, save for a handful of pali, indian and english loan words. Myanmar words are postpositionally inflected with various grammatical features. Bible en burmese, easy to read version the new testament in burmese by adoniram judson 1832 catechism of scripture history translated into burmese. The information in brackets gives the format and file size if known. The pure burmese is monosyllabic, every word consisting of one syllable only. Sinotibetan, austroasiatic, taikadai, indoeuropean, austronesian and hmongmien, as well as an incipient national standard for burmese sign language. Before further training to write all of these, we memorized pronunciation together wit. Below we picked expressions that a new learner will find useful.
Useful burmese phrases for travelers to myanmar world nomads. The orthographic standardization of burmese, linguistic and sociolinguistic speculations pdf by yoshio nishi 1998 psychocollocational expressives in burmese by alice vittrant, in the aesthetics of grammar, sound and meaning in the languages of mainland southeast asia 2014. Knowing basic phrases in a foreign language is a great travel tip. Download myanmar travel information ebook to your smart phone.
Burmese is spoken as a second language by another 10 million people, particularly ethnic minorities in burma and those in neighbouring countries. The burmese for say goodbye is find more burmese words at. The pdf file contains useful survival phrases that you can use when you are in the rural areas away from english speakers. Be aware too, that most printed material is likely to be in formal written burmese. There are approximately a hundred languages spoken in myanmar also known as burma. Therefore, the system used myanmar word segmenter mws. When all other communications fail, just point out the phrase in burmese script directly from your. Basic conversational burmese with script in pdf format and audio in zip file. A collection of useful phrases in burmese, a burmeselolo language spoken mainly in burma myanmar. Ethic groups like the shan, karen, kachin, mon, and chin people have their own indigenous dialect. Myanmar is an attractive destination for international travelers since the land still maintains its pristine beauty and unique culture. Jan 04, 2009 the burmese alphabet has to catch up to modern spoken burmese although arakanese and conservative dialects still use the r sound though.
This page will include greetings, questions, emergency and survival expressions, asking for direction, language practice, introducing yourself, holiday wishes, and finally some travel phrases. Freeman which has been selfpublished in australia in the year 2012. During the colonial period, english became the official language, but burmese continued as the primary language in all other settings. The fun and effective way to learn and practice burmese vocabulary. Master these burmese phrases to impress the locals you meet, and help you naviate the country, bargain for a good price, and build a good rapport. Charlie michio turner being a tonal language, it is difficult to write how to properly pronounce burmese since a slight difference in intonation can completely change the meaning of a word. Myanmar is derived from the brahmi script which flourished in india from 500 bc to 300 ad. It teaches all four language skills speaking, listening when used in conjunction with the audio, reading and writing. Welcome to our seventh lesson about popular burmese phrases. Grammatical relation s of myanmar sentences augmented by. Home travel information when you arrive useful phrases. Point to a dish at a myanmar restaurant and say, da. An introduction to the spoken language, book 1 with audio cd bk. Wikitravel users have collectively created a free burmese phrasebook with the goal of making it possible for travelers to get by while traveling in areas where burmese is spoken wikitravel phrasebooks are available in many languages and each one varies in depth and detail.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Wikitravel phrasebooks are available in many languages and each one varies in depth and detail. Useful myanmar phrase you can learn useful myanmarburmese phrase necessary in real life greeting, meeting, address, name, family, restaurant, feeling. The government officially refers to the language as myanmar, but the commonly used local term is burmese. John okell, with u saw tun and daw khin mya swe, okell, john. This category is not for articles about concepts and things but only for articles about the words themselves. Myanmar phrases translation model with morphological. Included also are notes on etiquette and social behavior in myanmar, cumulated vocabularies in both burmese english and english burmese and additional vocabularies arranged by topic, e.
Burmese by ear or essential myanmar is a systematically graded foundation course in modern colloquial burmese, also known as myanmar. The burmese phrases are helpful because they are used daily. It aims to give you a confident and enjoyable start in speaking burmese, focusing on what you are most likely to need when you visit burma. This greeting is used widely, although there are some slightly more formal alterations possible. Many indigenous languagesas distinct from mere dialectsare spoken in myanmar.
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