Learn Burmese from Natural Talk
Hello! Greetings from the Burmese corner! I'm Kenneth Wong, a Burmese language instructor, author, and translator. This is a podcast series for intermediate and advanced Burmese language learners who want to learn Burmese by listening to natural conversation. Every two weeks or so, a guest speaker and I record and upload an episode on a specific topic. At the end of each episode, you'll find the keywords and phrases with their meanings. For more on the podcast series, visit the Learn Burmese from Natural Talk blog: http://burmeselessons.blogspot.com/
Podcasting since 2022 • 60 episodes
Learn Burmese from Natural Talk
Latest Episodes
Bite-Size Burmese: On the Poet Min Thu Wun's Ode to a Tree Stump
"Pyimma Ngote Toe (ပျဉ်းမငုတ်တို)" by Min Thu Wun (1909 to 2004), written in the four-syllable rhyme scheme typical of classic Burmese poetry, is an ode to a tree stump, the surviving frag...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 60
•
9:33
Bite-Size Burmese: Twitchy Eyebrow, Itchy Heart
Twitchy eyebrow? Itchy sole? According to Burmese superstition, twitching eyebrows may be an omen of good fortune or financial ruin, depending the exact spot of the twitch, also on who you ask. And an itch in the sole might be a sign of imminen...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 59
•
5:55
On Christmas Festivities
In San Francisco, the city I now call home, the large Christmas tree in downtown Union Square has officially been turned on to usher in the holiday season. In Chiang Mai, Thailand, home to my guests for this episode, regular night markets have ...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 58
•
35:54
On Diplomacy and Language
Imagine this. You’re a diplomat, and in the middle of an embassy cocktail party, you suddenly switch language and speak to your counterpart from the host country in his or her mother tongue, with the kind of fluency that only comes from years o...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 57
•
28:45
Bite-Size Burmese: Choking on Happiness, Flattened by Sadness
Many Burmese words describing how you feel—happy, sad, depressed, and so on—are constructed with the root words ဝမ်း for "belly" or "womb," and စိတ် for "the mind." The phrase ဝမ်းသာတယ် "to be glad, to be happy" literally translates to "the bel...
•
Season 3
•
Episode 56
•
8:25
Fan Mail
hello! Would you be able to share the contact of Sayama Su based in Chiang Mai? I am looking for a Burmese teacher there. Thank you in advance! Adrian
Thailand