Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Khmer
Belonging to the Austro-Asiatic family of languages, Khmer is the national
language of Cambodia, and is also spoken in the Mekong delta and pockets
of northeast Thailand, as well as forming the basis of the language used at
the Thai royal court. Many Khmer words have their origins in two old Indian
languages - Sanskrit (which was introduced along with Hinduism during the
Funan era) and Pali - while Malay, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, French and
English have all added to the language's development.
Although in the major towns and tourist centres English is increasingly spoken
(particularly by the younger generation who learn it at school and often take private
lessons to develop this sought-after skill), learning even a few words of Khmer will
go a long way to endearing you to Cambodians; off the beaten track you'll find it
especially helpful to know some basic Khmer phrases. Fortunately, it is a relatively
easy language to get to grips with, being
non-tonal
and relatively simple in its
grammar. Sentences follow the subject-verb-object pattern of English, although,
as in French, adjectives are added after the noun. Khmer verbs don't conjugate, and
tenses are indicated by the addition before the verb of a word indicating the time
frame;
nung
, for instance, indicates an action taking place in the future. Articles and
plurals aren't used in Khmer (quantity is indicated by stating the number or using
general terms for “some” or “many”).
Khmer
script
is an artistic mix of loops and swirls, comprising
33
consonants
and
23
vowels
; the vowels are written above and below the consonants and to either side.
Capital forms of the letters exist, but are seldom used. In writing, words run left to
right with no spaces in between; sentences end with a little symbol that looks a bit like
the numeral “7”, playing the role of a full stop.
Transliteration
into the Roman
alphabet is not straightforward, and differences in approach account for many of the
variations on maps and restaurant menus. The rudiments of a system were developed
during the French protectorate, though this is rarely employed nowadays.
Pronunciation
If you are trying out your language skills, the Cambodians will do their best to
understand you and will patiently repeat words for you to copy.
Regional dialects
present a challenge, as many words are quite different from the formally correct words
spoken in Phnom Penh. Another problem is that Cambodians often abbreviate their
sentences, missing out many words, chopping them short and changing words and
LANGUAGE PRIMERS
The most widely available primer is the long-running
Colloquial Cambodian
, with book plus
CD; alternatively, the interactive
Talk Now! Learn Khmer
CD-ROM is another good resource. The
Foreign Service Method Khmer Basic Course
(available at
W
multilingualbooks.com) is for those
wishing to delve deeper. In Phnom Penh, at Psar Thmei and Psar Toul Tom Poung, you can buy
the excellent
Seam & Blake's English-Khmer
pocket dictionary, which lists words in Khmer script
and in Roman transliteration.
A free
iPhone app
(also available as an iPod-compatible MP3 download) with a fifteen-
minute Khmer language lesson and fifty introductory phrases is available at
W
journals
.worldnomads.com/language-guides. It's also worth searching for “learn Khmer” on
YouTube
.
