Learn Aksɑ̄ Khmae (Khmer Alphabet)

A forum for guides, lessons and sharing of useful information.
clawgrip
MVP
MVP
Posts: 2257
Joined: 24 Jun 2012 07:33
Location: Tokyo

Re: Learn Aksɑ̄ Khmae (Khmer Alphabet)

Post by clawgrip »

Glad to see some people are still following. Here is the next part:

Part 10: The nasal sign nikkeəʔhet
The nikkeəʔhet adds a final nasal consonant to vowels. Those familiar with Indic scripts will recognize it as the Khmer version of the anusvara. It looks like this:

Image

This sign appears in four configurations, all of which are very similar to vowels we’ve already learned. The inherent vowels and long a vowels are similar to the vowels derived from the use of ɓɑntɑk, and the short u vowels are the same as short u in closed syllables

alone
When the nikkeəʔhet is used alone, it has the following values:
Its a-series pronunciation is /ɑm/
Its o-series pronunciation is /ʊm/

ImageImageImage
sɑmɓot - letter; message; note
pʰnʊm pɨɲ - Phnom Penh

with long a
Its a-series pronunciation is /am/
Its o-series pronunciation is /ɔəm/

ImageImageImage
sɗam - right (side)
rɔəm - to dance

with long a and <ŋ>
Its a-series pronunciation is /aŋ/
Its o-series pronunciation is /eəŋ/

ImageImageImage
kʰlaŋ - to be strong; to be vigorous
teəŋ - together with; including

There are exceptions, however:

Image
ɓaːraŋ - France

with short u
Its a-series pronunciation is /om/
Its o-series pronunciation is /ʊm/

ImageImageImage
kʰɲom – first person pronoun
kʰʊm – village; sub-district

Irregularities
Occasionally, the nikkeəʔhet may indicate some other nasal consonant, though this is again, usually in loanwords from Sanskrit and so on.

Image
saŋyoːk saɲɲaː – short a vowel sign (studied in part 7) (represents /ŋ/)


Exercise: Transliterate the following words into IPA:

Image
to make an effort; to try hard

Image
disease; pain

Image
poem; poetry

Image
to plant seeds; to boil water; to cook rice

Image
turkey (loanword from French)

Image
to bring; to lead; to guide

Image
power; strength

Image
to be ripe; to be mature

Image
"I live in Battambang."

Answers:
Spoiler:
kʰɑm, cʊmŋɨː, kɑmnaːp, ɗam, ɗaŋ ɗoŋ, nɔəm, kɑmlaŋ, tʊm, kʰɲom rʊəh nɨw ɓat ɗɑmɓɑːŋ
clawgrip
MVP
MVP
Posts: 2257
Joined: 24 Jun 2012 07:33
Location: Tokyo

Re: Learn Aksɑ̄ Khmae (Khmer Alphabet)

Post by clawgrip »

Part 11: Switching
Congratulations, you’ve now learned all of the vowel diacritics in Khmer. Now, I imagine I’ve thrown so many vowels and diacritics and letters at you that you probably didn’t even notice certain important deficiencies in the script. For example, based on the rules I have given you, there is no way to write siː, an informal word meaning "eat", ʋaːlih, a loan from French meaning "suitcase", or ceəʔpon "Japan". Of course, Khmer has a solution to this, in the form of two additional diacritics (because even though one diacritic would do, Khmer always goes overboard). Here they are:

ImageImageImage
muːseʔkaʔtɔən, trəi sap

muːseʔkaʔtɔən
The muːseʔkaʔtɔən is used to convert the o-series consonants ង, ញ, ម, យ, រ, and វ to a-series, and also to convert ប from /ɓɑː/ to /pɑː/.
Examples:

ImageImageImage
ʋaːlih, ceəʔpon
Note how it changes ʋiə to ʋaː, and ɓon to pon.

trəi sap
The trəi sap converts the a-series consonants ប, ស, ហ, and អ to o-series.

ImageImageImage
hɔːh – sound of laughter
ʔut – to iron; to press

With other diacritics
Sometimes muːseʔkaʔtɔən will be needed on a letter that already has a vowel sign on top of it. When this happens, the muːseʔkaʔtɔən is replaced by a sign called kʰɓiəh kraom, which is identical in appearance to the short u sign.

Image
siː - to eat

This may seem confusing, but you must simply recognize that a short <u> sign is never combined with an <i> sign, so what you see must be a kʰɓiəh kraom.

Note that while the muːseʔkaʔtɔən becomes a kʰɓiəh kraom, the trəi sap will not.

ImageImageImage
ɲam – to eat
ʔom - uncle

Exercise: Transliterate the following words into IPA:

Image
expression of surprise

Image
this much

Image
topaz

Image
sabre

Image
command for a cow to stop

Image
a kind of fish

Image
that much; like that

Answers:
Spoiler:
ʔajjaː, mleh, ɓʊt, ŋaaw, hɔːp, rɑh, ponnɑh
clawgrip
MVP
MVP
Posts: 2257
Joined: 24 Jun 2012 07:33
Location: Tokyo

Re: Learn Aksɑ̄ Khmae (Khmer Alphabet)

Post by clawgrip »

Part 12: Independent vowel signs
You have learned all the consonants, all the subscripts, all the vowel diacritics, and several additional diacritics. What more could I have to teach you? Well, how about a bunch more letters?

Normally, when a word begins with a vowel (or glottal stop, if you will—there is no difference), we can use អ /ʔɑː/ and attach vowel signs as needed. Examples:

ImageImageImage
ʔomɓəl – salt
ʔaːmeːrik – the United States

Nevertheless, there are specific, dedicated letters that can be used to represent vowels at the beginning of words. Here is a chart of them. For comparison, I have included the same vowel sounds written out both with អ /ʔɑː/ and in IPA.

Image

Note:
* I've noticed that in some typefaces, ឦ appears slightly different. It may have a second loop on lower part (like the ឍ subscript without the bump in the middle). Other times, the vertical right section may be disconnected from the lower left section. But it's all the same letter.
* Similarly, the exact shape of the lower line in ឫ ឬ ឭ ឮ can vary considerably between fonts, the constant being that ឫ and ឭ have a single line down and left, while ឬ and ឮ have something resembling to a greater or lesser extent an upside-down v.

It may seem like a haphazard and incomplete list, but that’s because the original inventory is based on Prakit, Sanskrit or some other ancient Indian language, but definitely not Khmer.
You may also notice that ឱ and ឲ have the same value. ឲ is very rare in the sense that it appears in only two words, as far as I know, but one of those words is pretty common, so it’s necessary to learn it. When you see it, it will look like this:

Image
ʔaoj – to give
That is actually a subscript /j/ attached to it, to complete the spelling. You'll want to get used to seeing that subscript on that letter, because you're basically guaranteed to see it that way every time.

Alternate pronunciations
As you must have noticed, some of these vowel signs are pretty terrible when it comes to pronunciation. The first few can represent both a-series and o-series pronunciation (and sometimes more), and there is no clear way to predict which series you should read it as (but note that ឥ follows the same rules as short <i> when being pronounced as reduced vowels). Let’s take a look at some words using the various pronunciations:

Image
ʔɨccʰaː - desire; wish; longing; jealousy
ʔət – brick; tile
ʔiʔnaʔ - debt
ʔettʰəi – woman; female
ʔəilɨw – now

Image
ʔeʔtiʔsaʔniem - paronym
ʔiːsaʔ - important person; chief; leader; boss
ʔəisaːn – northeast

Image
ʔukkaːɓaːt – meteorite
ʔokrət – to be serious; to be grave; to be criminal

Image
ʔout – camel
ʔuːkaː - louse

What you should recognize is that these are not especially common letters. Some, like ឳ, are so rare that you'll probably never see them. The ones that do appear frequently only do so because they appear in commonly occurring words (like ឥឡូវ ʔəilɨw – now), whose pronunciations can be quickly learned. So overall, it’s not so bad.

Exercise: Transliterate the following words into IPA:

Image
at; on; as for; regarding

Image
father

Image
or

Image
occasion; chance; opportunity (you'll probably get this one wrong; sorry)

Image
to give (I’ve already shown you this one!)

Image
to remember; to recall; to think about; to miss

Image
"Where does he work?"

Image
"Are you tired?"

Answers:
Spoiler:
ʔae, ʔəwpʊk, rɨː, ʔaokaːsaʔ or ʔɑkaːh, ʔaoj, rɔlɨk, kɔət tʋəː kaː nɨw ʔae naː?, loːk ɑh kɑmlaŋ rɨː?
clawgrip
MVP
MVP
Posts: 2257
Joined: 24 Jun 2012 07:33
Location: Tokyo

Re: Learn Aksɑ̄ Khmae (Khmer Alphabet)

Post by clawgrip »

Part 13: Miscellaneous diacritics
You have learned all the consonants, all the subscripts, all the vowel diacritics, several additional diacritics, and a bunch more letters. What more could I have to teach you? Well, how about a bunch more diacritics?

That’s right, there are more diacritics. These diacritics are mostly useless and confusing, but I will introduce them for the sake of completeness, so that if you happen to be reading a Khmer text and come across one, you’ll know what to do with it (i.e. nothing, or alternatively, panic).

rɔɓɑːt
Originally, this sign was the repha, a sign common in indic scripts, which indicates that the consonant is preceded by /r/. Realistically, however, this sign is shorthand for "the actual pronunciation of this word probably doesn’t make sense." Actually, it tends either to cancel the letter beneath it, add /ra/, or change the inherent vowel to /ɔə/, or do other things. It’s highly unpredictable.

Image
Examples:

ImageImageImage
tʰɔə – character; behaviour (cf. Sanskrit dharma)
tʊppʊəl – to be weak; to be infirm

tɔən kʰiə ɗɑː
This is actually a useful diacritic, because it is explicitly telling you that the letter on which it appears should not be pronounced, and is there only for etymological reasons. It might even refer to an entire syllable.

Image
Examples:

ImageImageImage
kaː - deed; act; event (the /n/ is unpronounced)
tŋaj prɔhɔəh – Thursday (the – pateʔ is unpronounced; cf. Skr. bṛhaspativāra)

Because of Unicode limitations, computer fonts will jam it up against <i> vowels, as has happened here. More carefully printed materials will raise it above the <i>. If you're reading on a computer, you'll just have to get used to it.

ʔaːstaː
This sign doesn’t do a whole lot. It mainly serves to identify two common words, but it can also be added to certain particles for emphasis. As far as I can tell, it only ever appears on words that are written with a single letter of the script with no vowel diacritics present, so it likely serves in part as a disambiguation mark.

Image
Examples:

ImageImageImage
kɑː - also; so; then
ɗɑː - emphatic attributive particle

kaːkɓaːt
This sign is added to certain words to add a rising intonation pattern to interjections and pragmatic particles. The vowel quality itself is unchanged.

Image
Examples:

ImageImageImage
caːh - yes (used by women only)
naː - hortative particle

viʔriəm
I told you in the first lesson that there was no way to kill the inherent vowel. This was mostly true, but not entirely. There is an entirely obsolete diacritic, the Khmer version of virāma, that can remove the inherent vowel. However, as it is obsolete, you will never see it unless you’re looking at archaic texts or something, in which case you probably don’t need me to teach you this script in the first place.

Image
Examples:

Image
kɑːk

ʔattʰeəʔcan
This diacritic is also basically obsolete, but it is the exact opposite of the viʔriəm in that it indicates that the inherent vowel of a final consonant should be pronounced. You're not likely to encounter it, but here it is anyway:
Image
Examples:

ImageImageImage
ɗəjsɑː - chalk
tuːkŋɔː - longboat with upturned ends


Exercise: Transliterate the following words into IPA (good luck!):

Image
Saturday

Image
why

Image
stamp (loanword from French)

Image
benefit; usefulness

Image
intensive/emphatic final particle

Image
reputation; honour

Image
exclamatory interjection

Image
colour

Answers:
Spoiler:
tŋaj saw, məc kɑː, taem, prɑjaoc, nɔː, kei, ou, pɔə
Last edited by clawgrip on 17 Jul 2013 08:42, edited 3 times in total.
User avatar
Lambuzhao
korean
korean
Posts: 5405
Joined: 13 May 2012 02:57

Re: Learn Aksɑ̄ Khmae (Khmer Alphabet)

Post by Lambuzhao »

Thanks for your time to post these.
I'm following along as best as I can.
Your lessons remind me of so many good times
with my Khmer neighbors in my old neighborhood

Keep it up!

Image
clawgrip
MVP
MVP
Posts: 2257
Joined: 24 Jun 2012 07:33
Location: Tokyo

Re: Learn Aksɑ̄ Khmae (Khmer Alphabet)

Post by clawgrip »

Thanks. Also, I completely forgot to include one obsolete diacritic in lesson 13. I've added it now.
clawgrip
MVP
MVP
Posts: 2257
Joined: 24 Jun 2012 07:33
Location: Tokyo

Re: Learn Aksɑ̄ Khmae (Khmer Alphabet)

Post by clawgrip »

Part 14: Numerals and punctuation, and three letters you’ll never use
There’s not a whole lot left to teach here. This lesson will teach you the numbers, various punctuation marks, and some letters that exist but aren’t used.

Numerals
Here are the numerals:
Image
Those familiar with Thai script should recognize them right away. The work just as you would expect, so there are no surprises here.

Punctuation
Here is a list of Khmer punctuation marks. They should be fairly self-explanatory:

Image

You have probably noticed that the Khmer script does not mark word boundaries with spaces, as is done with the Roman alphabet. Spaces are used, but they are equivalent to a comma in the Roman alphabet.

Example:

Image
kʰɲom ciə tʰaj, mɔːk piː ɓaːŋkɑːk.
I am Thai, (and I) come from Bangkok.

leːk toː
This is a somewhat common sign, but it has no equivalent in the Roman alphabet. It is a repetition sign. When you see it, it means the previous word should be reduplicated. Here is what it looks like:
Image

Examples:
ImageImageImage
touc-touc – to be small; to be tiny
niəŋ-niəŋ – miss; young lady

The appearance of this sign varies somewhat between fonts; sometimes the curved portion descends below the line, and sometimes there is a full loop on the upper left, or no loop at all. What is common between all variations is that it always has an M shape on the top, and the right descender curves to the left on the bottom.

Obsolete letters
There is just one obsolete letter. It is the following vowel sign:

Image

It’s just a ligature of ឧ and ក. You don’t need to worry about it.

Letters and signs used only for transcribing Sanskrit/Pali
As the heading suggests, the following three letters/signs are used only for transcribing Sanskrit and have no use in the Khmer language itself.

Image
This sign is called ʔaʔveəʔkreəʔhaʔ. It marks the common elision of <a> in Sanskrit. Those familiar with Indic scripts should recognize it as the avagraha.

Image
This is Indic <śa> (for those familiar with Devanagari, it is equivalent to श)

Image
This is Indic <ṣa> (for those familiar with Devanagari, it is equivalent to ष)

Exercise: What are the following numbers?
២៦៨ ៤៩ ១០០៧ ៥៥៣ ៩១៦ ៥៤ ២៧ ៨៣៥០៛

Answers:
Spoiler:
268, 49, 1007, 553, 916, 54, 27, 8350 riels
clawgrip
MVP
MVP
Posts: 2257
Joined: 24 Jun 2012 07:33
Location: Tokyo

Re: Learn Aksɑ̄ Khmae (Khmer Alphabet)

Post by clawgrip »

Part 15: The decorative script: aksɑː muːl
Astute readers will notice I said in a previous post that I estimated there would be at least 15 parts to this, but I stopped at 14. But there is indeed a 15th part, so let’s get this last one done!

There is a decorative form of the Khmer script called aksɑː muːl that appears frequently in titles of books, newspaper articles, signs, etc., that is used in a way somewhat similar to capital letters or bold face. For the most part, the letters of aksɑː muːl are fairly easily identifiable as fancier versions of the standard script you have been learning (aksɑː cʰɔː - upright, aksɑː criəŋ - oblique), but there are a few that are not at all easily recognizable. Here is a table:

Image

You'll want to pay particular attention to ង, ជ, ដ, ទ, and ន, which look significantly different (they more closely resemble historical forms).

Here are some other signs and characters you learned:

Image

I think these are not too hard to figure out.

Your final exercise is this one here. I've selected various words from throughout the lessons and written them out in aksɑː muːl. Can you recognize them? Can you remember how to read them? Good luck.

Image

Example of aksɑː muːl contrasting with aksɑː cʰɔː:

Image

Thanks for reading my guide. I hope you found it informative.
User avatar
Thrice Xandvii
runic
runic
Posts: 2698
Joined: 25 Nov 2012 10:13
Location: Carnassus

Re: Learn Aksɑ̄ Khmae (Khmer Alphabet)

Post by Thrice Xandvii »

Found this due to you linking to it from another thread... And discovered your last image link is broken. [:(]

An awesome set of lessons, but I doubt I'll ever put in the amount of effort required to actually learn Khmer, as beautiful as it is. I do have a few questions: Do you happen to know what the typical "stroke order" for writing the glyphs is? Also, do you know of a source that discusses the descent of Khmer's script from its Indic grandfathers? Finally, how many written languages are you familiar with!?
Image
clawgrip
MVP
MVP
Posts: 2257
Joined: 24 Jun 2012 07:33
Location: Tokyo

Re: Learn Aksɑ̄ Khmae (Khmer Alphabet)

Post by clawgrip »

The last image was an outside link to a Cambodian banknote. I guess I can change it. For now, just search for images of any Cambodian banknotes and you'll see both styles.

I do not the typical way to write them, and I suppose I could add that as a final supplement.

I don't know any specific sources offhand, but I do know more or less the progression.

This image here is not definitive, but it's the best I've managed to piece together based on my own research.

How many scripts I know is impossible to say.
User avatar
Thrice Xandvii
runic
runic
Posts: 2698
Joined: 25 Nov 2012 10:13
Location: Carnassus

Re: Learn Aksɑ̄ Khmae (Khmer Alphabet)

Post by Thrice Xandvii »

clawgrip wrote:I don't know any specific sources offhand, but I do know more or less the progression.
This image here is not definitive, but it's the best I've managed to piece together based on my own research.
That's a great image! Thanks for that.
How many scripts I know is impossible to say.
I'm both shocked and impressed by this answer. [:D]
Image
HoskhMatriarch
roman
roman
Posts: 1500
Joined: 16 May 2015 18:48

Re: Learn Aksɑ̄ Khmae (Khmer Alphabet)

Post by HoskhMatriarch »

clawgrip wrote:
Spoiler:
Part 15: The decorative script: aksɑː muːl
Astute readers will notice I said in a previous post that I estimated there would be at least 15 parts to this, but I stopped at 14. But there is indeed a 15th part, so let’s get this last one done!

There is a decorative form of the Khmer script called aksɑː muːl that appears frequently in titles of books, newspaper articles, signs, etc., that is used in a way somewhat similar to capital letters or bold face. For the most part, the letters of aksɑː muːl are fairly easily identifiable as fancier versions of the standard script you have been learning (aksɑː cʰɔː - upright, aksɑː criəŋ - oblique), but there are a few that are not at all easily recognizable. Here is a table:

Image

You'll want to pay particular attention to ង, ជ, ដ, ទ, and ន, which look significantly different (they more closely resemble historical forms).

Here are some other signs and characters you learned:

Image

I think these are not too hard to figure out.

Your final exercise is this one here. I've selected various words from throughout the lessons and written them out in aksɑː muːl. Can you recognize them? Can you remember how to read them? Good luck.

Image

Example of aksɑː muːl contrasting with aksɑː cʰɔː:

Image

Thanks for reading my guide. I hope you found it informative.
Would it be terrible if I said that the decorative version vaguely reminds me of Fraktur somehow? It's really only vaguely, but it's still enough.

Anyways, this is a very interesting script...
No darkness can harm you if you are guided by your own inner light
clawgrip
MVP
MVP
Posts: 2257
Joined: 24 Jun 2012 07:33
Location: Tokyo

Re: Learn Aksɑ̄ Khmae (Khmer Alphabet)

Post by clawgrip »

Well, it is what it is. I honestly don't know the history or origin of that style beyond the fact that it represents a slightly older form of the script evident in several of the letters, but there's at least some possibility that it even originated as a European style. I know I have seen a historical document in Javanese written in Blackletter style in direct imitation of European Blackletter, so anything's possible.
Post Reply