Khmer Dictionary Developing

New Khmer Dictionary, developed by the Institute of National Language (INL) and was officially published in 2005, is being developed from Orthographic Dictionary (Spelling Dictionary of the Cambodian Language) to explanatory dictionary. It identifically follows the orthographic spelling in the Khmer Dictionary, generally known as Samdech Choun Nat Dictionary which published in its fifth edition in 1967.

The Weekly Reporting Progress of Khmer Dictionary Committee in INL

Khmer Consonant

There are, traditionaly, 33 consonants in Khmer language. Linguistically, there are 17-18 consonant sounds. The 33 consonants are:
ក​ខ​គ​ឃ​ង​​ច​ឆ​ជ​ឈ​ញ​​
ដ​ឋ​ឌ​ឍ​ណ​ត​ថ​ទ​ធ​ន​​
ប​ផ​ព​ភ​ម​​យ​រ​ល​វ​ស​ហ​ឡ​អ
​​(​Click clip video to listen)

Khmer Teaching in Mahasarakham

I am happy after listening the Radio of Free Asia broadcasted on December 5th, 2007 about Khmer Surin: Living, Cutlure and Langauage by Mr. San Sowit, and especially one is the news of launching Khmer teaching schools by Mr. Chay Mongkol. It really help to contributes in promoting Khmer language in the territory of ancient Khmer empire. I hope Khmer Surin will be brave in preventing their valuable heritage in order to keep their Khmer identities, firstly Khmer language. 50 years ago, Khmer dialect in Thailand were forbidden by Thai authority at that time and only Thai language was used for every communication (cf. RFA). Nowadays, All languages and dialects are freely used in Thailand. Khmer language used to be abandonned or spoken furtively in the past in this country is being used and promoted by Khmer ethnic. Some Thai Universities or Institutes also have opened courses about Khmer. In Mahasarakham University, for example, the Khmer Study Center (Machamondul Khemara Seksa) which a unit under Department of Thai and Oriental languages, has been working for three year in Khmer courses. At the present time, this unit has twenty students being learning in Khmer major. Each of them will be rewarded a degree of Bachelor of Art in Khmer Literature at the end of their four-year courses in Khmer in the University. Those students are from some provinces in Thailand especially Surin, Buriram and Sisaket. Some of Thai students in Mahasarakham, which are from the some provinces of Northeastern Thailand, also interest in Khmer. Every term of academic year, 300 to 500 students register to take their courses related to Khmer, as such Khmer for Daily Life, Language and Khmer Culture, Khmer for Communication and so on. This is a big step that lead every people, especially the young generation of Khmer neighboring countries have time to understand what Khmer has in the past and they will broaden their good willing to Khmer, I expect.

(More pictures)

Khmer for Tourism

Only learning in class does not really complete the study’s aim, i.e. students have to do their practice on what they have studied out side the class, known as learning by doing.
Planchay is a recreation site of Roi Et province, Thailand. In here, a group of students from Mahasarakham University were describing the view, historical, and other attractive things. They acted themselves as tour guides. They shared each other describing and tried to explane those things to do their best to their clients, their Khmer lecturers. The purposes of this activities, are firstly for finding scores and secondly for practicing their Khmer language, Khmer for Tourism, that they have just completed in class. Khmer for Tourism is one of the courses of Khmer studies in Mahasarakham University launched by the faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences which aims to produce personal abilities to be a guide in Khmer lanugage or for the one who prefers learning Khmer language as professional guide. (More Pictures)

On the way coming back, the tour took the time to visit Prang Ku Ban Kwao, where is one of chapels in Mahasarakham Province. This chapel is located in Maung district of the province. The brief legent of this temple from the note is "The main laterite structures are comprised of a principle tower facing east, enclosure walls on four sides and an entrance pavilion on the east wall. On the southeast of the principle pagoda there are traces of another laterite structure of two Buddha images, it is assmused that Prang Ku Ban Khao was a religious site for the practise of Mahayana Buddhism and also a chapel of the hospital built by King Yayavaraman VII of Khmer in the 18th Buddhist century." (More Pictures)

IPA in Khmer Language

National Conference on Khmer Dictionary

INSTITUTE OF NATIONAL LANGUAGE
Royal Academy of Cambodia
Russian Federation Blvd, Royal University of Phnom Penh, Campus II
Tel: (855) 092 892 343, 011 734 992, 012 906 585, 012 446 416
Fax: (855) 23 890 180
E-mail: http://us.f381.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=inl_rac@yahoo.com

Dear Colleage:

We would like to invite you to participate in a conference on Research, Conservation, and Promotion of Khmer Language on Lexicology and Lexicography organized by the Institute of National Language, Royal Academy of Cambodia. The conference will be held on the 19th October, 2006 at the Royal Academy of Cambodia. Please find enclosed information and the registration form for the conference.

The conference aims to provide a forum for discussion and interaction for participants, especially those who are practitioners in lexicology, and lexicography.

If you have any queries, please feel free to contact us via e-mail: inl_rac@yahoo.com.

We hope you will be the participants at the conference.

Conference Organizing Committee
Institute of National LanguageRoyal Academy of Cambodia

The Qualitative Adjectives in Modern Khmer

Title : The Qualitative Adjectives in Modern Khmer
Author : CHOM Sonnang
Degree : Master in Linguistics
Intitution : Royal Academy of Cambodia
Advisor : Dr. NUV Sun
Head of Committee : Dr. Prum Maol
Defend : July 2003

ABSTRACT

Khmer Adjective has been an objective of research study of both local and foreign researchers. It is, however, still unclear if there is adjective in Khmer language.
This study was aimed to find out the right answer to the absence or presence of adjective in Khmer language. More than 3328 words, which labeled as adjective, are from Khmer dictionary, and nearly 300 sentences, contained those kind of word, are selected from papers, novels, and short stories. The data was analyzed in the aspect of Morphology, Syntax and Semantic.
The study found that Khmer adjective is a kind of word which has many functions in the syntax. Its multi-function led some researcher to assume this kind of word as verb. But according to this study, adjective has its special categories that separate this kind of word from others, especially verb. Khmer adjective, in function of modifier, has ya:ng (superlative and comparative particle), dor (superlative particle), ceang (comparative particle) , krai (superlative particle) as its property. Other kinds of words, function as modifier, this particles can not be added. The study also reveals that doubling adjective, in a function of modifier, expresses the plural of noun that it modifies.

Key word: Adjective, function, absence, present, comparative particle.

Contact: snang_inl@yahoo.com