A guide in Angkor Wat, near Bayon
About this recording
- Creator
- Kristin Post
- Date created
- August 23, 2000
- Duration
- 1:47
- Location
- Angkor Wat, Cambodia
- File
- MP3
- License
- This recording copyright ©2001. Terms of use
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This excerpt is the interaction between between tourists and a guide in Angkor Wat, particularly near the Bayon, a temple well-known for its carvings of oversized serene smiling faces.
We are looking at a bridge which is carved into the shape of a large snake, or Naga, with many heads. The guide is explaining why there are many small alcoves. He tells is this is where swords were hidden to fight the nearby Cham empire. This excerpt is also an illustration of how misunderstandings occur with slight differences in accent.
Transcript
- Guide
- Nowadays we still say that they install[?] the “sword” before…
- D.
- So what does that mean? Because to us “swat” means to do this [motions with hand as if swatting a fly]
- Guide
- Yeah, yeah “sword” like this, yeah. For the king and for the commoner[?] before, it’s uh, we have fighting with the Cham, yeah, the all the king just to come here for to offer from the god[?]. We take, we bring the “sword” for to fighting.
- Kristin
- Sword! He means sword!
- D.
- Ahh!
- Guide
- Some pronounce “swat” and “sword.” Yes “s-w-o-r-d”
- Kristin
- “o-r-d”. Sword.
- D.
- All right, got it now. You can say “sword.”
- Guide
- I pronounce like this, but some people say sword. I don’t know to. Yeah. Because I take from England or from America, yeah same. Some pronounce “swat” some “sword” so that half- when I pronounce as in sword, half “swat” half “sword.” Yeah. (Laughs.) But in my yeah study before I train before, “sword” not pronunciation “swat.”
- Kristin
- Okay. So there would have been a sword in there, and that would have been important for fighting.
- Guide
- And you can see the flag for apsara[?] dancing. and you can see the middle of the [inaudible] and you can see they put [inaudible] for the kerosine[?] on the wall. And you can see small, small hole like this. And OK? I wait you here. Spend maybe one hour and a half.
- D.
- An hour and a half.
- Guide
- But if you want back to Bayon again, maybe one hour. I take you Bayon again.
