Learning Hmong language

Tamaki

sarNie Egg
I need some help learning the Hmong language. Of course I'm Hmong and I don't know the Hmong language. I'm 20 at the moment. I'm just starting. I admit it's hard. How long till I can speak and write fluently in Hmong? I need some quiz and test to see if I did learn it properly. Help will be appreciate.
 

mongstaness

sarNie Adult
how long til u learn to speak, read and write depends on how much u practice speaking, reading, and writing it.

to me, the most important thing that will help you to read or write is to speak correctly, and not slurring words. if you can speak and pronounce each word correctly, then you would be able to spell and read it better.
 

mayamy

sarNie Egg
I took 2 Hmong courses in order to fulfill my language requirement needs for my BA. I took them over the summer...5 hours a day, everyday. I caught on pretty fast. The most important thing is to learn your consonants and know what they sound like.
 

rainie_vang

sarNie Juvenile
Monstaness is right; it all depends on how much you use it and how clearly you speak it. If you can't speak Hmong correctly, then you are going to spell it the way you speak it.

When I first started learning hmong, I was trying to learn all the sounds the long way...
For example: ab, am, aj, av, a, as, ag, ad
eb, em, ej, ev, e, es, eg, ed

After a while my mom told me that the way I'm learning it too long. Instead, she told me to memorize "cov tshiaj ntawv" which are really easy. They are: "to twm" which is the "T" "ko kos" which is the "K" and so on. so to say, they are the beginning letter(s). There are one, two, three, and even four beginning letters.
Example 1: "Po Paj" which is the P
Example 2: "Tos Hos Thos" which is Th
Example 3: "Nos tos xos Ntxhos" which is Ntx
Example 4: "Nos pos los Hos Nplhos" which is Nplh

After learning those, instead of learning all the sounds the long way, there are two things you can do instead.
Memorize the fifth sound which are: a, e, i, o u, w, ua, au, ee, oo, ia, ai etc etc
Then memorize the ending letters (which are cov cim):
1. Cim siab (b )
2. Cim niam (m)
3. Cim ntuj (j)
4. Cim av (v)
5. Nothing
6. Cim mus (s)
7. Cim tuag (g)
8. Cim tod (d)

In other words, break down the words into different parts prefix-root-suffix. That's all that there are.

For Example if I want to spell ring in Hmong, I'll sound it out like this:
1.PREFIX: "Nos, Pos, los, hos, nplhos" (Nplh)
2.ROOT: "ai"
3.SUFFIX: "cim siab" (b )
4. WHOLE WORD = nplhaib.

I rarely use cim tod, because cim av usually can substitute for it. But it's still good to learn it.
It'll be easier if you take a course on it or have someone who is good at it teach you because self learning
is difficult, especially when you have a question and can't direct it to anyone.

HOPE THIS HELPS YOU && HOPEFULLY IT'S NOT TOO CONFUSING. :wackonut:
 

Bieluvr

XiaojuXiyou
i don't know how long it took me to learn it, but since i know, i've been reading writing and speaking thai because my family are hmong thai teb that came here when i was just ten months old. but my parents didn't teach me though. i just remember teaching myself by watching hmong music videos. then watch how the word sounds and what starts and ends with. then when i write it i think of the other words to help sound it out. it was pretty easy for me. the way i learned it was easier and faster than how my older brother learned it. he had to rent books to teach him and now sometimes he still comes to me for help.
 

Chalidaluvprin

sarNie Adult
I am hmong but didn't know hmong language because I came to USA at the age of four. I took 2 years of hmong to speak it fluently and spell words but adding in 8 years of English, 2 years of Spanish and 1 year of thai affect me to forget half of the hmong letters and mixing green hmong and white hmong together.
 
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