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:
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/
sɑmɓot - letter; message; note
pʰnʊm pɨɲ - Phnom Penh
with long a
Its a-series pronunciation is /am/
Its o-series pronunciation is /ɔəm/
sɗam - right (side)
rɔəm - to dance
with long a and <ŋ>
Its a-series pronunciation is /aŋ/
Its o-series pronunciation is /eəŋ/
kʰlaŋ - to be strong; to be vigorous
teəŋ - together with; including
There are exceptions, however:
ɓaːraŋ - France
with short u
Its a-series pronunciation is /om/
Its o-series pronunciation is /ʊm/
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.
saŋyoːk saɲɲaː – short a vowel sign (studied in part 7) (represents /ŋ/)
Exercise: Transliterate the following words into IPA:
to make an effort; to try hard
disease; pain
poem; poetry
to plant seeds; to boil water; to cook rice
turkey (loanword from French)
to bring; to lead; to guide
power; strength
to be ripe; to be mature
"I live in Battambang."
Answers: