Best kennethwongsf Podcasts (2024)

1
On Chin People and Their Customs 35:30

17h ago35:30

35:30

Send us a Text Message. For the most part, people associate Burma, or Myanmar, with pagodas and Buddhist monks, but in reality, the country is much more diverse. Its multi-faith population comprises Christians, Hindus, and Muslim communities in addition to the majority Buddhist Burmans. The population's ethnic makeup also includes Shan, Karen, Kach…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Why is the Garuda Cooking Salt? 9:25

1M ago9:25

9:25

Send us a Text Message. What do you do when you’re in a pinch, out of options, and desperate? In English, you might make a Last-Ditch Effort. If you’re a football player, you might throw a Hail Mary Pass. But in Burmese, you might do what the mythical bird Garuda did: cook salt. To understand the Burmese expression အကြံကုန် ဂဠုန်ဆားချက် (when the G…

1
On Work-Related Words and Phrases 21:14

2M ago21:14

21:14

Send us a Text Message. The phrase လက်ဖက်ရည်ဖိုး literally translates to "cost of tea" or "tea money," but in workplaces, especially in government offices known for corruption, it takes on a different meaning. လက်ဖက်ရည်ဖိုးတောင်းတယ် or "to ask for tea money," is "to demand a bribe"; and လက်ဖက်ရည်ဖိုးပေးတယ် or "to offer tea money" is "to offer a bri…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Oh, the Humanity! 9:36

4M ago9:36

9:36

Send us a Text Message. Humane, inhumane, humanitarian, humanize, humanist, subhuman—there are examples of English words derived from the root word Human . In Burmese, if you want to publicize something, you have to do it so that "men would know and monks would hear (လူသိရှင်ကြား)." If you have lost your influence, you'd become someone who "men don…

1
On Airport-Related Words and Phrases 25:31

5M ago25:31

25:31

Send us a Text Message. To talk about modern-day travel means to talk about air travel primarily. In this episode, my cohost Mol Mol from BLAY (Burmese Language Academy of Yangon) and I teach you all the terms and phrases associated with airport, from custom officers and immigration officers to flight attendants and x-ray machines. We can’t help yo…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: A Word on Words to Describe How People Speak 8:24

6M ago8:24

8:24

Send us a Text Message. If you can butter up someone into doing something in English, you can also “စကားချိုသွေး” or "sweettalk" someone in Burmese. In English, you might describe someone as “a foul mouth”; in Burmese it takes the verb form: “ပါးစပ်ကြမ်းတယ်” or his or her “mouth is foul." If you need to fish for information, you might “စကားချူ” or …

1
On the Word Mingalah for Auspiciousness 24:51

6M ago24:51

24:51

Send us a Text Message. You have probably heard the Burmese phrase မင်္ဂလာပါ Mingalah bah--typically used by hotel receptions and restaurant staff to greet you. Derived from Pali, the word roughly means to be auspicious, to have good omen, and to have good tidings -- a general word of positivity. But do you know that you can also spawn other compou…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Show Me Your Face and I'll Tell You How You're Feeling 9:41

8M ago9:41

9:41

Send us a Text Message. In Burmese, the face is a great way to express your helplessness, pride, shame, or outrage--figuratively. When you’re feeling awkward, you might say, your face is burning (မျက်နှာပူတယ်). When you’re feeling insecure, your face is small (မျက်နှာငယ်တယ်). And when you favor someone, you give them face time (မျက်နှာပေးတယ် or မျက…

1
On Burmese Folk Tales and Bedtime Stories 29:59

9M ago29:59

29:59

Send us a Text Message. What is your favorite bedtime story? Cinderella? Snow White? For Burmese kids, most likely it’s a story associated with a proverb, like Maung Po and the Tiger, or one of the jatakas, a retelling of the Buddha’s past lives that brought him to enlightenment. In this episode, I speak to A Zun Mo, the coauthor of Burmese Stories…

1
On Mon Language and Culture 26:28

10M ago26:28

26:28

Send us a Text Message. The Mons, an ethnic group with its own distinct language and culture, exist in both Burma and Thailand. The Mon script is considered a source of the current Burmese script. The conventional view is Bagan’s conquest of the Mons in 1057 reshaped the character of Bagan, the first Burmese empire, as a Buddhist kingdom. Mon also …

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Gone to Live in the Village of the Spirits 10:52

11M ago10:52

10:52

Send us a Text Message. Gone to live in the village of the sacred spirits (နတ်ရွာစံတယ်), flown away (ပျံလွန်တော်မူတယ်), has taken up residence in Nirvana (ပရိနိဗ္ဗာန်စံတယ် ) ... They all mean "to die," but depending on the type of person involved, some terms may be appropriate, others may not be. Then there are also monosyllabic terms you might use…

1
How is Burmese Different From, and Similar to, English? 34:02

1y ago34:02

34:02

Send us a Text Message. Is Burmese difficult to learn--in particular, for English speakers? What’s the difference between Burmese and English grammar and sentence structures? And how do Burmese tones affect Burmese learners? How does the Burmese expression ရေးတော့အမှန် ဖတ်တော့ အသံ sum up a hurdle Burmese learners must face? To discuss these, I invi…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Between Heaven and Earth 10:42

1y ago10:42

10:42

Send us a Text Message. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the prince of Denmark told his trusted friend Horatio, "There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy." In this episode, I introduce you to Burmese phrases that stemmed from the word မိုး (sky, heaven) and မြေ (ground, earth). You might say "someone is on cloud nine"…

1
On Reading Burmese Books 28:06

1y ago28:06

28:06

Send us a Text Message. For today’s episode, I invited a special guest – the mesmerizing voice behind the podcast စာဖတ်ပြမယ် or “I’ll read you stories.” The podcaster Win Ei regularly uploads recorded audio clips of Burmese short stories and essays to entertain us weekly with her voice. For many Burmese booklovers, her voice is what they hear befor…

1
On Burmese Donation Rituals and Terms 26:33

1y ago26:33

26:33

Send us a Text Message. What might inspire someone in Burma to donate? The reasons can range from celebrating a birthday or remembering a loved one who has passed away to supporting a monastery or nunnery. A rite of passage, such as a young man becoming a novice monk or a young woman getting her ears pierced, could also prompt a community to hold a…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Plain Janes and Hidden Talents Under the Leaves 8:02

1+ y ago8:02

8:02

Send us a Text Message. Where are your hidden talents hiding? If you’re speaking Burmese, they might be hiding under the leaves. The Burmese expression for someone with a hidden talent is ရွက်ပုန်းသီး -- meaning "a fruit hidden under the leaves." And someone you might call a Plain Jane in English is ရွက်ကြမ်းရေကျို or "tea brewed with plain leaves"…

1
Burmese Insults: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 32:05

1+ y ago32:05

32:05

Send us a Text Message. My students -- not all, but the rowdy and curious ones -- often ask me, how do you curse in Burmese? What is the Burmese version of the F-word or the C-word? Since this is supposed to be a G-rate podcast, I won’t be going anywhere near those. But there are well-worn insults, acceptable forms of name calling for the deserving…

1
What's in a Burmese Name? Destiny, for a Start. 31:48

1+ y ago31:48

31:48

Send us a Text Message. The peculiar nature of traditional Burmese names is, they usually do not have last names or family names. Instead, they’re chosen based on the day of the week a person is born. In other words, when you hear someone’s full name, you can often tell which day of the week he or she was born on. Not only that, in Burmese astrolog…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Chinese Shutters, British Drinks, and Gurkha Fruits 10:34

1+ y ago10:34

10:34

Send us a Text Message. When are Venetian blinds not Venetian? In Burmese language, they become Chinese shutters (တရုတ်ကပ်). (Variations of the design are also known as Louvre window or Jalousie window.) The spiky chayote, called Buddha's palm in Chinese (佛手瓜) due to its shape, is called Gurkha fruit (ဂေါ်ရခါးသီး) in Burmese. Cement, even when loca…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: On Four-Letter Words 7:56

1+ y ago7:56

7:56

Send us a Text Message. Balderdash, baby talk, pillow talk, a clumsy act, a half-ass job, or a cuddly pet? Chances are, there's a four-letter, four-syllable word to describe it. They give your speech a certain meter and rhythm and make you sound musical. But many of them also sound quite similar. For language learners, the challenge is not to mix t…

1
On Ghostly Encounters in Burma 30:04

1+ y ago30:04

30:04

Send us a Text Message. In this special Halloween episode, my cohost Mol Mol from the Burmese Language Academy of Yangon (BLAY) and I delve into things that go bump in the night. We share stories of haunted trees, school corridors, and college dormitories. And we trade spine-chilling, goosebump-inducing urban legends. Do you know how to tell a ghos…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Green-Branch Breakup, Green Death, and Green-Faced Folks 12:05

2y ago12:05

12:05

Send us a Text Message. In English, green is the color of jealousy, but in Burmese romance, a green-branch split (သစ်စိမ်းချိုး ချိုးတယ်) is a cruel, hurtful breakup. If a cold shoulder is the precursor to a breakup, in Burmese, the sign is a green-wind blowing (လေစိမ်းတွေတိုက်နေတယ်). Strangers and unfamiliar faces are green men (လူစိမ်း) and green…

1
On Burmese Proverbs and Maxims 31:11

2y ago31:11

31:11

Send us a Text Message. In English, to talk about making the best use of time and circumstances, you’d say, make hay while the sun shines. But in Burmese, it’s to weave while the moon shines. To do things in the wrong order is to put the cart before the horse in English. In Burmese, it’s to put the plough before the ox. If someone is thinking too f…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Droplets of Destiny and Romance Written on the Forehead 11:09

2y ago11:09

11:09

Send us a Text Message. Destiny comes in many shapes and forms, but in Burmese, figuratively speaking, it comes as water droplets, or ရေစက်။ People became friends, neighbors, or lovers because they share some droplets of fate (ရေစက်ဆုံလို့၊ ရေစက်ရှိလို့), as a result of some acts of merit they had done in past lives. By the same token, when the sup…

1
On Pagoda Fairs and Fortunetellers 23:02

2y ago23:02

23:02

Send us a Text Message. What might you expect to find at a Burmese pagoda fair? What kind of food, souvenirs, and attractions would you likely encounter? Aside from cotton candy stands, Ferris wheel rides, and souvenir shops with paper tigers and paper demons, the fair might also give you a chance to have your fortune read by a fortuneteller. There…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Keep Your Butterfly Safe 6:53

2y ago6:53

6:53

Send us a Text Message. If your conscience or your courage were an insect, what might it be? In Burmese imagination, it’s a butterfly. There are some Burmese expressions where the delicate creature represents your conscience, confidence, courage, or life. Do you have a clear conscience or a troubled conscience? Are you a timid, faint-hearted soul? …

1
On Burmese Movies, from the Black-and-White Era to the Age of Surround Sound 26:56

2y ago26:56

26:56

Send us a Text Message. In this episode, my cohost Mol Mol from BLAY (Burmese language academy of Yangon) and I discuss the movie-going experiences in our own times. In my boyhood in the 80s, movie theaters in Yangon were weather-beaten colonial buildings, with only a few offering air condition -- a luxury confined to the embassies and high-end hot…

1
Bite-Size Burmese: Don't Show Up Without a Musical Prelude 6:23

2y ago6:23

6:23

Send us a Text Message. Theatrical performances, dance drama, and shows are such an integral part of Burmese culture that quite a number of everyday expressions can be traced back to them. In this episode, I'll introduce you to two such sayings: ဆိုင်းမဆင့် ဗုံမဆင့် (to show up without a musical prelude) မီးစင်ကြည့်ကတယ် (to dance wherever the spotl…

1
On Travel in Burma, Prophetic Verses, and Cursed Trees 24:27

2y ago24:27

24:27

Send us a Text Message. In this episode, my cohost Mol Mol and I discuss the joy of travel. Mol Mol has just returned from a trip to Tarchileik, a city in the Shan State bordering the notorious Golden Triangle region. While I have not been back in Burma recently, I still have fond memories of my last pilgrimage to the temple-dotted ancient city of …

1
Bite-Size Burmese: The Shadows of Social Intercourse 7:07

2+ y ago7:07

7:07

Send us a Text Message. Hello! My cohost Mol Mol is on vacation this week. Rest assured, when she returns, we will resume our Learn Burmese from Natural Talk series, but in this episode, I'll give you a bite-size lesson. This is the first of what will become a series of mini lessons sandwiched between our regular talks. I’ll call it Bite-Size Burme…

1
On Dance, Drama, and Comedians 23:27

2+ y ago23:27

23:27

Send us a Text Message. Anyeint, Zat, Pwe: these are terms associated with classical music, dance, and drama, sometimes performed in respected public halls but more often in open spaces and fields, under makeshift tents and on temporary stages lit with torches or dangling lightbulbs. What kind of instruments can you expect to hear in these performa…

1
On Ethnic Cuisine and Memorable Meals 20:50

2+ y ago20:50

20:50

Send us a Text Message. Time to talk about food! From Ramen bowls that rival the best in Tokyo to Kayah sausages stuffed with spiced minced meat, Burma’s big cities and small towns offer a rich variety of dishes to tickle your fancy and palate. In this episode, my cohost Mol Mol from Burmese Language Academy of Yangon (BLAY) and I discuss fritters …

1
On Witches, Wizzard, and Nats 14:30

2+ y ago14:30

14:30

Send us a Text Message. Hello everyone! It’s my pleasure to bring you the debut episode of a new podcast series for intermediate Burmese learners. My cohost is Mol Mol (မိုမို), a teacher from the Burmese Language Academy of Yangon, also known as BLAY. Our goal here is not to offer formal instructions and practice drills, but rather, to expose you …

1
On Dating and Courtship 21:19

2+ y ago21:19

21:19

Send us a Text Message. Hello everyone! In this episode, my cohost Mol Mol from BLAY (Burmese Language Academy of Yangon) and I discuss the dating and courtship rituals in Burma. How does a man express his romantic interest? What are the protocols for serenading a girl? How might a girl reveal to a suitor that she, too, is interested? How have tech…

1
Teashop Culture in Burma 21:11

2+ y ago21:11

21:11

Send us a Text Message. Welcome to another episode of Learn Burmese from Natural Talk! In Burmese teashops, have you ever listened closely to how regular customers order tea, and how the waiters and waitresses relay these orders to the kitchen? What do people mean when they ask for cho pawt, pawt kya, pawt seint, kyauk badaung or see lone tea? What…

1
What is Your New Year Resolution? 19:26

2+ y ago19:26

19:26

Send us a Text Message. Happy new year, Burmese learners! In this episode, Mol Mol from Burmese Language Academy of Yangon (BLAY) and I share our new year resolutions. Mol Mol is determined to expand her social circle, to make new friends, and to go scuba diving—something she’s always wanted to do. For the past two years, I’ve had to cancel my trip…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Kennethwongsf Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide