12 Selamats and 101 Essential Words of Thai, Indonesian, and Cambodian

Planning to visit Thailand, Indonesia, or Cambodia or already there but feeling bewildered?

This occasionally playful and humorous, non-politically correct, totally subjective book for non-uptight, open-minded readers, offers the author's phonetic transcriptions of local-language equivalents for 120 English words, at least 101 of which are "vital." It will also help you see connections between words from three of the most exciting, beautiful, and increasingly important languages spoken in three dynamic societies (also, the Malaysian language is 98% similar to Indonesian). This list could also be an intellectually stimulating exercise for connoisseurs of language. Most of these words are carefully chosen so as not to waste your time or compel you to wade through a huge dictionary. Note that there are many Cambodian workers in Thailand, and some Thais from border districts can speak a bit of Cambodian. Occasional comments give context to the words.

The author has lived for between eighteen months and four years in each of these countries, and understands that learning languages is not an easy task, but it is often important and may be life-saving!

Search Terms: politically incorrect, Cambodian Language, Indonesian language, Thai Language, Foreign Language Study, Humorous Language Guide, Travel aids