    [Burmese]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    ﻿VJ 1.35- 30-332,c.2_
    Burmese Language Guide
    1944
    1 TM 30-332
    BURMESE
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    TM 30-332
    BURMESE
    A GUIDE TO THE SPOKEN LANGUAGE
    WAR DEPARTMENT WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY 17, 1944
    WAR DEPARTMENT Washington 25, D. C., 17 February 1944.
    TM 30-332, Burmese Language Guide, to be used with the Introductory Series Language Records, is published for military personnel only, and is not to be republished in whole or in part without the consent of the War Department.
    [A. G. 300.7 (3 Mar 43)]
    By order of the Secretary of War:
    G. C. MARSHALL,
    Chief of Staff. official :
    J. A. ULIO, Major General, The Adjutant General.
    DISTRIBUTION :
    X.
    (For explanation of symbols, see FM 21-6.)
    CONTENTS
    PAGE
    How to Use the Records and Guide ....	5
    Hints on Pronunciation...................7
    Special Points...........................9
    Useful Words and Phrases.................11
    Greetings and General Phrases ....	12
    Location...............................14
    Directions.............................15
    Numbers................................16
    What’s This?...........................18
    Asking for Things......................19
    Money..................................21
    Time...................................21
    Other Useful Phrases...................25
    Additional Expressions......................27
    Fill-in Sentences........................29
    Alphabetical Word List...................41
    AS SOON AS I TURN MY BACK THOSE GUYS GET A GAME
    BURMESE
    LANGUAGE GUIDE
    ^Burmese is spoken by some 10 million people in Burma. This Language Guide will enable you to ask directions, buy things or order a meal. Knowing a little Burmese will also help you to get along with the people, for they will naturally be pleased to see a stranger showing enough interest in them to try to speak their language.
    How to Use the Records and Guide
    The records that go with the Guide give you a number of the most important words and phrases in Burmese. Read the section called Hints on Pronunciation and then listen to the records until you know the Useful Words and Phrases by heart. Repeat each ivord out loud right after you. hear it and say it exactly the way the Burmese speaker does. Imitate the pronunciation as closely as you can, just as you might mimic someone who has an unusual accent. Try to get every detail of pronunciation, even the rhythm and intonation. Follow the words in your Guide but use them only as a reminder; if you hear some-
    5
    YOU HAVE TO USE YOUR
    EARS EVEN MORE THAN n YOUR EYES f
    thing different from what you see written, go by what you hear. Remember that you can’t get the sound of a language from the printed word alone—you have to use your ears even more than your eyes. If you don’t have the records and can’t get a Burmese speaker to read the words, you will have to rely on the Hints on Pronunciation.
    By the time you have practiced the Useful Words and Phrases several times, you will know what sOund each letter stands for in the Guide. You will then be able to pronounce the Additional Expressions even though you have not actually heard them, and you will be able to form sentences of your own by using the section called Fill-in Sentences.
    6
    Hints on Pronunciation
    All the words and phrases are written in a spelling which you read like English. Each letter or combination of letters is used for the sound it normally represents in English and it always stands for the same sound. Thus, "oo” is always to be read as in too, boot, tooth, roost, never as anything else. Say these words and then pronounce the vowel sound by itself. That is the sound you must use every time you see "oo” in the Pronunciation column. If you should use some other sound—for example the one in blood or the one in door—you might be misunderstood.
    You will notice when you listen to the records that speaking Burmese is a little like singing. You should memorize each expression as though it were a short tune. Syllables written in capital letters are pronounced with
    Hes flat!
    emphasis, and syllables written in small letters are drawled in a low tone of voice. Notice that syllables ending in "T” are always spoken with emphasis and are cut off very short. The apostrophe (’) is used after vowel sounds which are cut off short. Example: "mc-NAY’ ” meaning "yesterday.”
    In Burmese many vowel sounds are pronounced through the nose, and the final «-sound is very weak. Vowels pronounced in this way are written with wavy lines over them in the Useful Words and Phrases given on the records. Elsewhere in the Guide they have no wavy lines but are followed by "n.” Example: "THOAN” meaning "three.”
    Curved lines (^) are used to show sounds that are pronounced together without any break. Example: "B^YAW” meaning "speak.”
    The words are . written in a simplified is...
    Burn.--- bjtoot PHOENIX-— FEE-niks PWlAOELPMIA-fila-IMF-^a POUGHKEEPSIE — po- KIP- see SIOUX CITY... SOO-SlT-ee WORCESTER ...WOOST- ur
    A' as m ‘AH/
    SPECIAL POINTS
    A or AH
    as in ah, pa, father. Examples: “SA” meaning “salt”; “JAHT” meaning a Burmese unit of money.
    a
    in italics as in about, around, machine. It is never emphasized or drawled. Example: “a-MEH-THA” meaning “meat.”
    B, P, Q, J, §
    “B” with a dot beneath stands for a b that sounds a little like a p. In the same way, “d,” “g,” “j,” sound a little like t, k, ch, z. Examples: “B^YA’ ”
    9
    E or EH
    OU
    TH
    TH
    meaning “show” ; “DEH’-DEH’ ” meaning “straight” ; “GO” meaning “nine”; “joon-daw” meaning “I”; “SA” meaning “eat.”
    as in let, met, bell. Example: “seh” meaning “ten.”
    as in out, noun. Example: “da-toun” meaning “a thousand.”
    as in this, that. Example: “ayn-tha” meaning “toilet.”
    when underlined stands for the //i-sound in think, thick. Example: “THIT-THEE” meaning “fruit.”
    10
    "E" as in “MET"
    WORDS WRITTEN IN CAPITAL LETTERS ARE PRONOUNCED WITH EMPHASIS
    in small letters are drawled in a low tone of voice
    USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES
    The following is the exact wording of the Burmese language records issued with this Guide:
    These records give you a few useful phrases in Burmese. The phrases and other words you will need are found also in the pamphlet which should be used with these records. To learn to imitate the sounds of Burmese you should listen to the records at least six or seven times. The English will be given first, followed by the Burmese; then repeat the Burmese out loud and say it good and loud. Remember! Repeat every Burmese phrase right after you hear it.
    Words, greetings, and general phrases which are useful and should be memorized are given first.
    11
    GREETINGS AND GENERAL PHRASES
    English	Pronunciation
    How are you? or	ma-YEH’-LA
    How do you do?
    When you address a man older than yourself, you say "OO.”
    When you address a woman older than yourself you say "daw.”
    When you address a man your own age you say "go.”
    When you address a woman your own age you say "MA’.”
    When you address a member of the clergy (whom you will recognize by his yellow robe and shaven head) you say "go-daw.”
    Burmese speakers have a phrase for "please.”
    Please	da-SAYT
    Excuse me	ga-DAW’-ba-YEH’
    Thank you Yes	J AY-ZOO den-deh HOAT-QEH’
    No	ma-HOAT-POO
    A sound you must practice particularly has already been used several times. It is represented here by an apostrophe.
    12
    You heard it for instance in the word for "yes”: "HOAT-GEH’.” It is like a slight cough. Listen again and repeat: "HOAT-GEH’,” "HOAT-GEH’.”
    You have noticed by now that Burmese has a peculiar sing-song quality. This is very important in the language, and you should try to memorize the phrases exactly as you hear them. However, if you speak the syllables louder that are written in capital letters, and speak the words and syllables written in small letters in a low tone of voice, you will be understood.
    Understand me?
    I don’t understand
    Speak slowly
    NA leh-YEH’-LA
    NA ma-leh-BOO
    HNAY-HNAY B^YAW-ba
    13
    LOCATION
    When you need directions to get somewhere, you first name the place and then add the phrase "Where is?”
    Where is	?		 beh-hma-LEH
    restaurant or tea shop	la-PET-yay-za^een
    Where is the restaurant?	la-PET-yay-za^een beh-hma-LEH
    As you have noticed, Burmese pronounce certain vowels through the nose. These are written like the other vowels but have wavy lines over them. You heard such a vowel in "sateen.” Listen again and repeat: "sateen,” "sateen.” (See page 8 regarding the pronunciation of this word.)
    hotel	haw-deh
    Where is the hotel?	haw-deh beh-hma-LEH
    railroad station	MEE-ya-TA boo-da-yoan
    Where is the railroad station ?	MEE-ya-TA boo-da-yoan beh-hma-LEH
    toilet	ayn-tha
    Where is the toilet?	ayn-tha beh-hma-LEH
    14
    HOW DO YOU SAY IT IN BURMESE?
    DIRECTIONS
    The answer to your question "Where is such and such ?” may be "Turn right” or "Turn left” or "Straight ahead,” so you need to know these phrases.
    Turn right
    Turn left
    Go straight ahead
    n^ya-BET HLEH’-ba beh-BET HLEH’-ba DEH’-DEH’ THWA
    It is sometimes useful to say "Please point.”
    Please point
    da-SAYT B_YA’-ba
    If you are driving and ask the distance to another town, it will be given to you in miles.
    Mile
    ma,_een
    15
    NUMBERS
    You need to know the numbers.
    One	DIT
    Two	HNIT
    Three	THOAN
    Four	LAY
    Five	NGA
    Six	CHOUT
    Seven	koan-NIT
    Eight	SHIK
    Nine	GO
    Ten	seh
    Eleven	SEH’ DIT
    Twelve	SEH’ HNIT
    "Thirteen,” "fourteen,” etc. are simply "seh,” the word for "ten,” followed by the words for "three,” "four,” etc.
    Twenty	hna-seh
    Twenty-one	hna-SEH’ DIT
    "Twenty-two, "twenty-three,” etc. are simply the words for "twenty,” "hmt-seh,” plus the words for "two,” "three,” etc.
    16

    NGA!
    DIT
    HNIT
    THOAN
    LAY
    English
    Burmese Pronunciation
    Thirty
    THOAN-zeh
    "Forty,” "fifty,” etc. are simply the words for "four,” "five,” etc. followed by "seh.”
    One hundred
    A thousand
    da-ya da-toun
    WHAT'S THIS?
    When you want to know the name of something you say "What’s this?” and point to the thing you mean.
    What is.......?	...... ba-LEH
    this	da
    What’s this?	da ba-LEH
    not his pay
    SHIK-seh, 90-zeh, d<7-ya...d(7-toun
    / don't know what Ya he's counting,
    ASKING FOR THINGS
    When you want something you say "I,” then the name of the thing wanted, then the phrase for "want,” followed by the word "deh” which means you’ve made a statement.
    I	joon-daw
    want	lo-jen
    cigarettes I want cigarettes	“cigarette” joon-daw “cigarette” lo-jen-deh
    water	yay
    I want water	joon-daw yay lo-jen-deh
    Here are the words for some of the things you may require:
    bread	boun-MOANT
    butter	TAW-BAHT
    fruit	THIT-THEE
    eggs	JET-OO’
    soup fish	HEN-jo NGA
    meat	o-MEH-THA
    ' pork	WET-THA
    mutton	SAYT-THA
    19
    English	Burmese Pronunciation
    potatoes	ah-LOO
    cooked rice	ta-MEN
    vegetables	HEN-THEE HEN-Y^WET
    salad	o-DO’
    milk	NWA-NO’
    sugar	tba-JA
    salt	SA
    oranges	laym-maw-THEE
    lemons	tbahm-ba-ya-THEE
    ice cream	yay-GEH-MOANT
    tea	la-PET-yay
    coffee	ga-pee
    beer	bee-ya
    a match	MEE-JIT
    MONEY
    To find out how much things cost you say:
    How much is it?
    beh-LOUT-LEH
    The answer will be given you in "B^YA’,” "BEH,” and "TAHT.” Four "B^YA’ ” equal a "BEH,” sixteen "BEH” equal a "JAHT.” About three "JAHT” equal one dollar.
    TIME
    To find out what time it is you say really "How many hours strike already?” and add "LEH,” the word to show you’ve asked a question.
    How many hours strike already What time is it?
    beh-HNA’
    na-yee
    TO-bee-LEH
    beh-hna-na-yee TO-bee-LEH
    "One o’clock” is "one hour.”
    One o’clock
    da-na-yee
    "Ten past one” is "one o’clock ten minutes.”
    Ten past one	da-na-yee seh ma-NIT
    21
    "Quarter past five” is "five hours firteen minutes.”
    Quarter past five	NG A na-yee SEH’ NGA
    ma-NIT
    "Twenty past seven” is "seven hours, minutes twenty.”
    Twenty past seven koan-na-na-yee MEE’-NIT
    •	hna-seh
    "Half past six” is "six hours half.”
    Half past six	CHOUT na-yee GWEH
    "Twenty of eight” is "seven hours forty minutes.”
    Twenty of eight	koan-na-na-yee MEE’-NIT
    LAY-zeh
    "Quarter of nine” is "nine hours quarter less.”
    Quarter of nine	QO na-yee MAHT-DEN
    "Ten to three” is "three hours ten minutes [less].”
    Ten to three	THOAN na-yee seh ma-
    NIT-DEN
    If you want to know when a movie starts, you say really "movies when show” and add "m