'Khmer' (ភាសាខ្មែរ), or 'Cambodian', is the language of the
Khmer people and the official language of
Cambodia. One of the more prominent
Austroasiatic languages, the language has been considerably influenced by
Sanskrit and
Pali, especially in the royal and religious
registers, through the vehicles of
Buddhism and
Hinduism. As a result of geographic proximity, the Khmer language has affected, and also been affected by,
Thai,
Lao,
Vietnamese and
Cham which all form a
sprachbund in peninsular
Southeast Asia.
[ Cambodian Linguistics, Literature and History: Collected Articles, David A. Smyth, Judith Margaret Jacob, , , Routledge (UK), 1993, ISBN 0728602180 ]
Khmer differs from neighboring languages such as Thai, Lao and Vietnamese in that it is not a
tonal language. It has three main dialects that are mutually intelligible: the Phnom Penh (considered the standard),
Northern Khmer, also known as Khmer Surin, spoken by ethnic Khmer native to Northeast Thailand, and
Cardamom Khmer, an archaic form spoken by a small population in the Cardamom Mountains of Western Cambodia.
[2]
History
Linguistic study of the Khmer language divides its history into four periods.
[3] Pre-Angkorian Khmer, the language after its divergence from Proto-Mon-Khmer until the ninth century, is only known from words and phrases in Sanskrit texts of the era. Old Khmer (or Angkorian Khmer) is the language as it was spoken in the
Khmer Empire from the 9th century until the weakening of the empire sometime in the 13th century. Old Khmer is attested by many primary sources and has been studied in depth by a few scholars, most notably Saveros Pou, Phillip Jenner and Heinz-Jürgen Pinnow. Following the end of the Khmer Empire the language lost the standardizing influence of being the language of government and accordingly underwent a turbulent period of change in
morphology,
phonology and
lexicon. The language of this transition period, from about the 14th to 18th centuries, is referred to as Middle Khmer and saw borrowing from Thai, Lao and, to a lesser extent, Vietnamese. The changes during this period are so profound that the rules of Modern Khmer can not be applied to correctly understand the Old Khmer. The language became recognizable as the Modern Khmer spoken today in the 19th century.
3
Khmer is classified as a member of the Eastern branch of the
Mon-Khmer language family, itself a subdivision of the larger Austro-Asiatic language group, which has representatives in a large swath of land from Northeast India down through Southeast Asia to the Malay Peninsula and its islands. As such, its closest relatives are the languages of the
Pearic,
Bahnaric, and
Katuic families spoken by the hill tribes of the region.
[4] The
Vietic languages have also been classified as belonging to this family.
Phonology
As described by Huffman, modern standard Khmer has the following consonant and vowel phonemes.
[5] The phonological system described here is the inventory of sounds of the spoken language, not how they are written in the
Khmer alphabet.
Consonants
The consonants , , and may occasionally occur in foreign words from, for example, French and other recent introductions. These consonants do not appear in the chart above because they are not Khmer consonants per se and the sounds do not occur in any Khmer words. These non-native sounds are only heard by speakers familiar with the originating language and have no corresponding symbol in the Khmer script, although combinations of letters otherwise unpronounceable are used to represent these sounds when necessary. In the speech of those who are not bilingual, these sounds are approximated with natively occurring
phonemes:
| Foreign Sound (IPA) | Khmer Representation | Khmer Approximation (IPA) |
|---|
| ហ្គ | |
| ហ្ស | |
| ហ្វ | or |
| ហ្ស | |
Vowel nuclei
| Long vowels | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|
| Short vowels | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|
| Long diphthongs | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|
| Short diphthongs | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|
The precise number and the phonetic value of vowel nuclei vary from dialect to dialect.
3 Short and long vowels of equal quality are distinguished solely by duration.
Syllable structure
Khmer words are predominantly of one or two syllables. There are 85 possible clusters of two consonants at the beginning of syllables and two three-consonant clusters with phonetic alterations as shown below:
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|
| | | - | - | | - | - | | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | |
|---|
| - | | | | | - | - | - | - | | - | - | - | - | | | |
|---|
| - | | | | | - | - | - | - | | - | | - | - | | | - |
|---|
| - | | - | - | | | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | | - |
|---|
| - | | - | - | | - | - | - | - | - | - | | - | - | | | |
|---|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - |
|---|
| | | - | - | | | - | | - | - | | | - | - | - | - | |
|---|
| - | | | | | - | - | - | | | - | | | | | - | - |
|---|
Syllables begin with one of these consonants or consonant clusters, followed by one of the vowel nuclei. When the vowel nucleus is short, there has to be a final consonant.
and can exist in a syllable coda. and become and respectively.
The most common word structure in Khmer is a full syllable as described above, preceded by an unstressed, “minor” syllable that has a consonant-vowel (CV) structure CV-, CrV-, CVN- or CrVN- (N is any nasal in the Khmer inventory). Words can also be made up of two full syllables. The vowel in these preceding syllables is usually reduced in conversation to , however in careful or formal speech and in TV and radio, they are always clearly articulated.
Words with three or more syllables exist, particularly those pertaining to science, the arts, and religion. These words are loanwords, usually derived from Pali, Sanskrit, or more recently, French.
Grammar
Main articles: Khmer grammar
Khmer is generally a
Subject Verb Object (SVO) language with
prepositions.
[6] Although primarily an
isolating language, lexical
derivation by means of
prefixes and
infixes is common.
[ Colloquial Cambodian: A Complete Language Course, David Smyth, , , Routledge (UK), 1995, ISBN 0415100062 ] Adjectives, demonstratives and numerals follow their noun:
ស្រីឡើនោះ (girl pretty that) = that pretty girl
The noun has no grammatical gender or singular/plural distinction. Plurality can be marked by
postnominal particles, numerals, or by doubling the adjective, which can also serve to intensify the adjective:
ឆែ្កធំ (dog large) = large dog
ឆែ្កធំធំ (dog large large) = large dogs or a very large dog
ឆែ្កពីរ (dog two) = two dogs
Classifying particles for use between numerals and nouns exist although are not obligatory as in, for example, Thai. As is typical of most East Asian languages,
[7] the verb does not inflect at all; tense and aspect can be shown by particles and adverbs or understood by context. Verbs are negated by putting "", "" or "" before them and "" at the end of the sentence or clause.
ខ្ញុំជឿ - I believe
ខ្ញុំមិនជឿទេ - I don't believe
Social registers
Khmer employs a system of
registers in which the speaker must always be conscious of the social status of the person spoken to. The different registers, which include those used for common speech, polite speech, speaking to or about royals and speaking to or about monks, employ alternate verbs, names of body parts and pronouns. This results in what appears to foreigners as separate languages and, in fact, isolated villagers often are unsure how to speak with royals and royals raised completely within the court do not feel comfortable speaking the common register. Another result is that the pronominal system is complex and full of honorific variations.
As an example, the word for "to eat" used between intimates or in reference to animals is . Used in polite reference to commoners, it's . When used of those of higher social status, it's or . For monks the word is and for royals, .
Numbers
Main articles: Khmer numerals
The numbers
are:
| 0 | ០ | សូន្យ | (son) | |
| 1 | ១ | មួយ | (muŏy) | |
| 2 | ២ | ពីរ | (pi) | |
| 3 | ៣ | បី | (bei) | |
| 4 | ៤ | បួន | (buŏn) | |
| 5 | ៥ | ប្រាំ | (prăm) | |
| 6 | ៦ | ប្រាំមូយ | (prăm muŏy) | |
| 7 | ៧ | ប្រាំពីរ | (prăm pi) | (also ) |
| 8 | ៨ | ប្រាំបី | (prăm bei) | |
| 9 | ៩ | ប្រាំបួន | (prăm buŏn) | |
| 10 | ១០ | ដប់ | (dâp) | |
| 100 | ១០០ | មួយរយ | (muŏy rôy) | |
| 1,000 | ១០០០ | មួយពាន់ | (muŏy péan) | |
| 10,000 | ១០០០០ | មួយម៉ើន | (muŏy mein) | |
| 100,000 | ១០០០០០ | មួយសែន | (muŏy sên) | |
| 1,000,000 | ១០០០០០០ | មួយលាន | (muŏy léan) | |
Dialects
Dialects are sometimes quite marked. Notable variations are found in speakers from
Phnom Penh (the capital city), the rural
Battambang area, the areas of Northeast Thailand adjacent to Cambodia such as
Surin province, the
Cardamom Mountains, and in southern Vietnam.
3 The dialects form a
continuum running roughly north to south. The speech of Phnom Penh, considered the standard, is mutually intelligible with the others but a
Khmer Krom speaker from Vietnam, for instance, may have great difficulty communicating with a Khmer native to
Sisaket Province in Thailand.
Northern Khmer, the dialect spoken in Thailand, is referred to in Khmer as ''Khmer Surin'' and, although it only began divergence from standard Khmer within the last 200 years, is considered by some linguists to be a separate language. This is due to its distinct accent influenced by the surrounding tonal language,
Thai, lexical differences and its phonemic differences in both vowels and distribution of consonants. Final "r", which has become silent in other dialects of Khmer, is pronounced in Northern Khmer.
Western Khmer, also called
Cardamom Khmer, spoken by a small, isolated population in the Cardamom mountain range extending from Cambodia into Thailand, although little studied, is unique in that it maintains a definite system of
vocal register that has all but disappeared in other dialects of modern Khmer.
3
A notable characteristic of Phnom Penh casual speech is merging or complete
elision of syllables, considered by speakers from other regions as a "relaxed" pronunciation. For instance, "Phnom Penh" will sometimes be shortened to "m'Penh". Another characteristic of Phnom Penh speech is observed in words with an "r" either as an initial consonant or as the second member of a
consonant cluster (as in the English word "bread"). The "r",
trilled or
flapped in other dialects, is either pronounced as an
uvular trill (similar to French) or not pronounced at all. This alters the quality of any preceding consonant causing a harder, more emphasized pronunciation. Another unique result is that the syllable is spoken with a low-rising or "dipping"
tone much like the "hỏi" tone in Northern
Vietnamese. For example, some people pronounce (meaning "fish") as , the "r" is dropped and the vowel begins by dipping much lower in tone than standard speech and then rises, effectively doubling its length. Another example is the word ("study, learn"). It is pronounced , with the "uvular r" and the same intonation described above.
[8]
Writing system
Main articles: Khmer script
Example of Khmer script
Khmer is written with the
Khmer script, an
abugida developed from the
Pallava script of India before the 7th century.
[9] The Khmer script is similar in appearance and usage to both
Thai and
Lao which were based on the Khmer system.
, which were inherited from Indian numerals, are used more widely than
Hindu-Arabic numerals. The Khmer script is also used within Cambodia to transcribe hill tribe languages that have no writing system.
5
References and notes
1. Vietnam's estimated amount of Khmer speakers by Ethnologue.com in (1999)
2. Khmer American: Identity and Moral Education in a Diasporic Community, Nancy Joan Smith-Hefner, , , University of California, 1999, ISBN 0520213491
3. Mon-Khmer Studies Paul Sidwell. Australian National University. Accessed February 23, 2007.
4. Shorto, Harry L. edited by Sidwell, Paul, Cooper, Doug and Bauer, Christian (2006). ''A Mon-Khmer comparative dictionary''. Canberra: Australian National University. Pacific Linguistics. ISBN 0-85883-570-3
5. Huffman, Franklin. 1970. ''Cambodian System of Writing and Beginning Reader''. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-01314-0
6. Huffman, Franklin. 1967. ''An outline of Cambodian Grammar''. PhD thesis, Cornell University.
7. East and Southeast Asian Languages: A First Look at Oxford University Press Online
8. Linguistic Diversity and National Unity: Language Ecology in Thailand, William Allen A. Smalley, , , University of Chicago, 1994, ISBN 0226762882
9. Khmer Alphabet at Omniglot.com
Further reading
★ Stewart, F., & May, S. (2004). ''In the shadow of Angkor: contemporary writing from Cambodia''. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 0824828496
★ Sak-Humphry, C. (2002). ''Communicating in Khmer: an interactive intermediate level Khmer course''. Manoa, Hawai'i: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Hawai'i at Manoa. OCLC: 56840636
★ Jacob, J. M. (1996). ''The traditional literature of Cambodia: a preliminary guide''. London oriental series, v. 40. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0197136125
★ Keesee, A. P. K. (1996). ''An English-spoken Khmer dictionary: with romanized writing system, usage, and indioms, and notes on Khmer speech and grammar''. London: Kegan Paul International. ISBN 0710305141
★ Smyth, D. (1995). ''Colloquial Cambodian: a complete language course''. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415100062
★ Jacob, J. M., & Smyth, D. (1993). ''Cambodian linguistics, literature and history: collected articles''. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. ISBN 0728602180
★ Meechan, M. (1992). ''Register in Khmer the laryngeal specification of pharyngeal expansion''. Ottawa: National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada. ISBN 0315750162
★ Ferlus, Michel. 1992. ''Essai de phonétique historique du khmer'' (Du milieu du premier millénaire de notre ère à l'époque actuelle)", Mon-Khmer Studies XXI: 57-89)
★ Tonkin, D. (1991). ''The Cambodian alphabet: how to write the Khmer language''. Bangkok: Trasvin Publications. ISBN 9748867021
★ Headley, Robert et al. 1977. ''Cambodian-English Dictionary''. Washington, Catholic University Press. ISBN 0813205093
★ Jacob, Judith. 1974. ''A Concise Cambodian-English Dictionary''. London, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0197135749
★ Huffman, F. E., Promchan, C., & Lambert, C.-R. T. (1970). ''Modern spoken Cambodian''. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300013159
★ Huffman, F. E., Lambert, C.-R. T., & Im Proum. (1970). ''Cambodian system of writing and beginning reader with drills and glossary''. Yale linguistic series. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300011997
External links
★
SEAlang Project: Mon-Khmer languages. The Khmeric Branch
★
Ethnologue entry on Khmer
★
How to install Khmer script on your Windows computer
★
Khmer language: its historical development
★ ''
Khmer'' at
UCLA Language Materials project
★
Description of Khmer: Lecture by Paul Sidwell of the Australian National University
★
Small Primer on the Khmer Language
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