PasThe Kingdom of Cambodia has a long, fascinating history full of successful rulers, French colonialism, and heartbreaking and violent struggles. Out of its eventful past Cambodia is probably most well-known for the visually stunning UNESCO World Heritage site Angkor Wat and the bloody rule of Pol Pot and his Communist party, the Khmer Rouge. The effects of both the peak of the Angkor empire and the rule of the Khmer Rouge can still be witnessed throughout the nation. The native language of Cambodia, Khmer, is spoken throughout the country and can be found at many historic sites.
Located near Siem Reap, Angkor Wat is one Cambodia’s most well-known historical sites and tourist destinations. It is a part of the Angkor Archaeological site that covers 400 acres and includes remains from the Khmer period that spanned from the 9th to the 15th century (UNESCO, Angkor). Angkor Wat is the most famous temple in the Angkor Archaeological site and can be found on the Cambodian flag. During the 12th century King Suryavarman II ordered the construction of Angkor Wat to serve as his final resting place. Angkor Wat is thought to have taken around thirty years to complete as it is not only an enormous structure but also an incredibly detailed one. Bas relief sculptures of Hindu gods and scenes from the two Indian epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, cover the walls (The Editors of the Encylopaedia Britannica, 2017). These sculptures reflect the strong presence of Hinduism in Cambodia during the time period in which Angkor Wat was constructed. Many of these sculptures are still intact and recognizable to this day although later influences can be seen in many places. For example, Buddhist imagery replaces the Hindu imagery in places as a result of King Jayavarman VII’s belief that he was abandoned by the Hindu gods after Angkor was attacked by Cham warriors in 1177. He built a new Buddhist capital named Angkor Thom close to Angkor Wat, however it is not as grand or as famous (The Editors of the Encylopaedia Britannica, 2017).
In 1970 Prince Norodom Sihanouk was removed from power by the Cambodian Parliament who felt confident in their ability to remove the invading Vietnamese Communists from Cambodia (Tully, 2017, pg. 9). Unfortunately for Cambodia and its people, in response Prince Sihanouk aligned himself with the Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese Communists. The Khmer Rouge party, or “Red Khmers,” (Tully, 2017, pg. 9) references the Communist Party of Kampuchea who came to power in 1975, or “Year Zero,” when their forces took Phnom Penh. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge followed the example of China and Mao Zedong, “the Khmer people would rapidly develop the country without outside help in with the Maoist prescription of self-reliance” (Tully, 2017, pg. 11). Many citizens were sent from their homes in the city to the countryside where they were expected to work under harsh conditions. Even more citizens, especially those who were educated or part of the middle class, were murdered or imprisoned. This period is referred to by many as the Cambodian Genocide and resulted in the deaths of 1.7 million to 2.2 million Cambodian people (Tully, 2017, pg. 11) While the invasion of the Vietnamese at the end of 1978 forced Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge into hiding, many were still active and Pol Pot himself was not tried for his crimes until the 90’s. Cambodia is still feeling the effects and recovering from the havoc wreaked by the Khmer Rouge and their failed policies.
Khmer is an Austro-Asiatic language primarily spoken in Cambodia and other parts of Southeast Asia. It is also often referred to as Cambodian or Central Khmer (Simons and Fennig, 2018). Ethnologue uses ISO 639-3 code khm to refer to Khmer and currently counts 16,000,000 Khmer speakers in Cambodia and over 17 million speakers internationally. Khmer is considered a fully developed language by Ethnologue and has its own orthography (Simons and Fennig, 2018). Khmer is the national language of Cambodia and is not an at-risk language. It continues to be taught to children as their first language and is spoken throughout Cambodia in schools, businesses, and homes. While English is spoken by many people in the tourist centers Siem Reap and Phnom Penh to accommodate visitors, Khmer is still the country’s primary language. It does not face an immediate threat from language shift and speaking Khmer does not face any negative stigma. It is not spreading into other countries and replacing native languages, but Khmer is established and risk free in Cambodia.
Khmer is part of the Austro-Asiatic language family. It is then part of the Mon-Khmer and Eastern Mon Khmer branches of Austro-Asiatic languages. Northern Khmer, spoken in Thailand, is also a part of the Khmer branch of Eastern Mon-Khmer but should not be confused with Khmer spoken in Cambodia (Simons and Fennig, 2018). A language family tree based on information found on Ethnologue and The World Atlas of Language Structures Online (Wals) can be found on the following page, chart one. The Khmer language can also be found in Southern Vietnam, Laos, China, France, and the United States (Omniglot, 2018). In Vietnam there are over one million Khmer speakers, many of whom are part of the Kho Me ethnic group. In Vietnam Khmer has multiple alternate names including Cambodian, Central Khmer, Cu Tho, Cur Cul, Khmer Nam Bo, Kho Me, Khome, Krom, and the pejorative name Viet Goc Mien (Simons and Fennig, 2018).
Khmer is one of one hundred sixty-seven languages found in the Austro-Asiatic language family. According to Haiman it is closely related to other Khmeric languages like Stieng, Kuaj, and Poa and is more distantly related to Austroasiatic Languages spoken across Asia including but not limited to Vietnamese, Rengao, and Sre (2011, pg. XV).
Vietnamese is related to Khmer, it is in the Austro-Asiatic language family and a part of the Mon-Khmer branch. It is spoken in Vietnam as well as in parts of China by over 65 million people. According to Ethnologue it is spoken by some people in Cambodia and is an SVO language with prepositions like Khmer. The Vietnamese speakers in Cambodia may be bilingual as they are spread throughout the country, many living on Tonle Sap lake in floating villages. It is different as it has 6 tones and triphthongs (Simons and Fennig, 2018).
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