Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Khmer Learning(6)

Vowel Symbol

Name of Vowel in IPA

Vowel

First Series

Second Series

|

Sraq AA

AA

OO


Sraq aa aa ie

Sraq e

e

i

Sraq ey

ey

ii

Sraq e

e

h

Sraq eh

eh

hh

Sraq o

o

u

Sraq ou

ou

uu

Sraq ue

ue

ue

Sraq ae

ae

ee

Sraq he he he

Sraq ie ie ie

Sraq ei ei ee

Sraq ae ae EE

Sraq ay ay hy

Sraq ao ao oo

Sraq aw aw hw
ុំ
Sraq om om um

Sraq Am Am um
ាំ
Sraq am am oe(m

Sraq ah ah ee(h
ុះ
Sraq oh oh uh
េះ
Sraq eh eh ih
ោះ
Sraq Ah Ah uh

VI. Independent Vowel

Khmer Learning(5)

V. Vowels
The Cambodian vowel may consist of one or a combination of elements written before, above, below, or after the initial consonant. There are 24 vowels in Khmer. Since the abstract vowel (AA) is embedded in a consonant, there are only 23 vowels shown in the table below. The pronunciation of a vowel in Khmer is determined by the series of the initial consonant that it accompanies. Click on the vowels to listen to their pronunciation and practice with the consonants.

The pronunciation of a vowel in Cambodian is determined by the two series of consonants (first and second series). Examples of how to pronounce a vowel with the first and second series consonant are found in the Vowels page. The table below provides the symbol of all vowel sounds in IPA symbol with the first and second series sound. (Huffman, 1970)



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Khmer Learning(5)

When two consonants are pronounced consecutively within a word, the second consonant's symbol is written in a special sub-consonant form which is placed below the first consonant. The sub-consonant always follows the consonant in the pronunciation. The form of the sub-consonant is in most cases a smaller version of its consonant version but some look completely different from the superscript. The tables provided here are the lists of the sub-consonant and the consonant. (Huffman, 1970)
ក្ក
ខ្ខ
គ្គ
ឃ្ឃ
ង្ង
ច្ច
ឆ្ឆ
ជ្ជ
ឈ្ឈ
ញ្ញ
ដ្ដ
ឋ្ឋ
ឌ្ឌ
ឍ្ធ
ណ្ណ
ត្ត
ថ្ថ
ទ្ទ
ធ្ធ
ន្ន
ប្ប
ផ្ផ
ព្ព
ភ្ភ
ម្ម
យ្យ
រ្រ
ល្ល
វ្វ

ស្ស
ហ្ហ

អ្អ


V. Vowels

Khmer Learning(4)

As mentioned above, the consonants in modern Cambodian have two series. The first series is voiceless and the second series is voiced (sometimes are called light voiced and heavy voiced). Here is a table to compare the two different sounds in the first and second series.

First Series

Pronunciation 1st Series

Second Series

Pronunciation 2nd Series


kAA
kOO

khAA
khOO

cAA
cOO

chAA
chOO

nAA

nOO


dAA

dOO


thAA

thOO


tAA
tOO

thAA
thOO

phAA
phOO

lAA


lOO
ង៉

NAA


NOO

ញ៉

n)AA


n)OO

ប៉

pAA


pOO

ម៉

mAA


mOO

យ៉
yAA
yOO
រ៉
rAA
rOO
វ៉

wAA


wOO

sAA ស៊

sOO


hAA ហ៊

hOO


bAA ប៊

bOO


qAA អ៊

qOO


IV. Sub-consonant

Khmer Learning(3)

III. Consonant
There are thirty-three letters in the Cambodian writing system. They are arranged in five groups according to the position of the articulation, proceeding from the back to the front of the mouth, and a sixth group labeled as miscellaneous. The consonants in modern Cambodian are also divided into two categories or series. The first series is voiceless and the second series is voiced (sometimes are called light voiced and heavy voiced). The table below provides the symbol of all consonants sounds in IPA symbol with the first and second series sound. (Huffman, 1970)

Num

Consonants

IPA

Pronunciation 1st Series Pronunciation 2nd Series
1
k kAA
2
kh khAA
3
k kOO
4
kh khOO
5
N NOO
6
c cAA
7
ch chAA
8
c cOO
9
ch chOO
10
n) n)OO
11
d dAA
12
th thAA
13
d dOO
14
th thOO
15
n nAA
16
t tAA
17
th thAA
18
t tOO
19
th thOO
20
n nOO
21
b bAA
22
ph phAA
23
p pOO
24
ph phOO
25
m mOO
26
y yOO
27
r rOO
28
l lOO
29
w wOO
30
s sAA
31
h hAA
32
l lAA
33
q qAA

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