Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
A Note on the Authors
Introduction 1
Part One: Learning to Read and Write
Lesson 1: The Syllabary 7
A. The first two lines 8
B. The fourth and fifth lines 10
C. The sixth and seventh lines 10
D. Numbers 1 to 10 11
Lesson 1: Review 12
Lesson 2: Open Vowels 13
A. – ? – ? 13
B. – ?? – ?? 15
C. ? ? ?? 17
D. ? ? ?? 18
E. ? –?? ? – ? – ? 20
F. ?? – ?? ? 22
G. ? – ?? ? – ?? ? – ? 23
H. ?? ? 24
I. ??? ?? ??? 26
Lesson 2: Review 28
Lesson 3: Glottal Stops and Nasals 29
A. –?? 29
B. –? ? 31
C. ? – ??? 32
D. ???? 34
E. –? ? 35
F. –?? 36
G. –?? 37
H. –? ? 39
I. ??? 40
J. ??? 41
K. –? ? 42
L. –? ? 44
M. ???, ???, ???, and ??? 45
N. ?? 46
Lesson 3: Review 48
Lesson 4: Consonant Clusters 49
A. ? and ? 49
B. ? 51
C. ? 52
Lesson 4: Review 55
Lesson 5: Miscellaneous Writing Matters 56
A. ? 56
B. Pali syllables 57
C. Stacked syllables ????????? 58
D. ? 60
E. Names of the syllables ????? 61
F. Names of the diacritics ????? 62
G. Special syllables ????? 62
Lesson 5: Review 65
Appendix I: On Using the Dictionary 66
Part Two: Dialogues
Lesson 6: Breakfast 71
Lesson 7: Greetings! 76
Lesson 8: It’s Really Hot 80
Lesson 9: I Don’t Go Out Much 83
Lesson 10: Going on a Trip 86
Review Lesson 1 89
Lesson 11: In the Palace Compound 91
Lesson 12: I’ve Come to Order Water 95
Lesson 13: Blood (Part 1) 99
Lesson 14: Blood (Part 2) 103
Lesson 15: A Visit to the Doctor 107
Review Lesson 2 112
Lesson 16: Kinship Connections 114
Lesson 17: Workers Wanted 119
Lesson 18: House for Rent 125
Lesson 19: A Wedding Invitation 130
Lesson 20: Roadside Phone 134
Review Lesson 3 138
Lesson 21: Let’s Go Eat 140
Lesson 22: First Year at the University 146
Lesson 23: Lunch Break 152
Lesson 24: A Dinner Invitation 157
Lesson 25: Sold Out 161
Review Lesson 4 167
Lesson 26: Sayings at the Dinner Table 169
Lesson 27: No Longyi, No Entry 174
Lesson 28: Mimi, an Intemperate Sleeper 180
Lesson 29: Damn! Motorcycle Trouble 184
Lesson 30: Who Is an Educated Person? 189
Review Lesson 5 194
Lesson 31: Soccer Fans 196
Lesson 32: Traffic Police 201
Lesson 33: Hotel Reception 207
Lesson 34: Father and Son 211
Lesson 35: An Act of Compassion 215
Review Lesson 6 219
Lesson 36: Thadingyut Festival 221
Lesson 37: The Drunkard 223
Lesson 38: Women’s Wiles 225
Lesson 39: Gambling 227
Lesson 40: Husband and Wife 229
Appendix II: On Numbers 232
Appendix III: Months of the Year 235
Comprehensive Vocabulary List

About the Author

Ward Keeler is a cultural anthropologist specializing in Burma and Indonesia. He teaches at the University of Texas at Austin. Allen Lyan is a Burmese language instructor, as well as a music and English language teacher. He lives in Mandalay, Burma.