Khmer grammar
Encyclopedia
This article discusses the grammar
of the Khmer language
, focusing on the standard dialect.
has no grammatical gender or singular/plural distinction. Plurality can be marked by post-nominal particles, numerals, or by reduplication
, doubling the adjective, which can also serve to intensify the adjective:
ឆ្កែធំ /cʰkae tʰom/ (dog large) = large dog
ឆ្កែធំៗ /cʰkae tʰom tʰom/ (dog large large) = large dogs or a very large dog
ឆ្កែបី /cʰkae ɓəj/ (dog three) = three dogs
ឆ្កែខ្លះ cʰkae klah/ (dog some) = some dogs
for use between numerals and nouns exist although are not obligatory as in, for example, Thai
, except in introductory clauses. They are used for clarity or formality. Number precedes classifiers.
សត្វក្របីពីរ /sat krɑbəy pii/ (animal buffalo two) = two buffaloes
សត្វក្របីពីរក្បាល /sat krɑbəy pii kbaal/ (animal buffalo two + animal classifier) = two heads of buffaloes
សៀវភៅបួន /siəw pʰɨw ɓuən/ (book four) = four books
Exceptions include nouns indicating passage of time such as hours or days, units of measurements and currencies, all of which function as noun classifiers without the explicit mention of what is being classified. Reversal of the order can lead to different meanings such as:
បីម៉ោង /ɓəj maoŋ/ (three hour) = three hours
ម៉ោងបី /maoŋ ɓəj/ (hour three) = three o'clock
The following example illustrates the unnecessary mention of what is being classified:
បីរៀល /ɓəj riəl/ (three riel) = three riels
លុយបីរៀល /luj ɓəj riəl/ (money three riel) = three riels of money or simply three riels
system is complex, full of honorific variations. There is generally no single pronoun appropriate for all situations, with the choice of pronoun based on age, gender, and relationship. Nouns referring to a specific person like brother or uncle can be used as pronouns when even when directly addressing the person.
ខ្ញុំជឿ /kʰɲom cɨə/ - I believe
ខ្ញុំមិនជឿទេ /kʰɲom mɨn cɨə teː/ - I don't believe
Another fairly common way of indicating negation uses អត់ (also spelled ឥត) "/ɑt/" instead of មិន. "អត់", as an independent word, means "without" or "lacking" and expresses a similar connotation when used to negate a verb.
ខ្ញុំអត់ឃ្លានទេ /kʰɲom ɑt khliə̯n teː/ - "I am not hungry" or literally, "I (am) without hunger".
A third method is basically identical to the first method except ពុំ "/pum/" is used instead of "/mɨn/". This is used only in literary or very formal contexts.
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
of the Khmer language
Khmer language
Khmer , or Cambodian, is the language of the Khmer people and the official language of Cambodia. It is the second most widely spoken Austroasiatic language , with speakers in the tens of millions. Khmer has been considerably influenced by Sanskrit and Pali, especially in the royal and religious...
, focusing on the standard dialect.
Word order
Khmer is generally a subject–verb–object (SVO) language with prepositions. Since it is an isolating language, meaning is highly dependent on word order.Nouns
The nounNoun
In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
has no grammatical gender or singular/plural distinction. Plurality can be marked by post-nominal particles, numerals, or by reduplication
Reduplication
Reduplication in linguistics is a morphological process in which the root or stem of a word is repeated exactly or with a slight change....
, doubling the adjective, which can also serve to intensify the adjective:
ឆ្កែធំ /cʰkae tʰom/ (dog large) = large dog
ឆ្កែធំៗ /cʰkae tʰom tʰom/ (dog large large) = large dogs or a very large dog
ឆ្កែបី /cʰkae ɓəj/ (dog three) = three dogs
ឆ្កែខ្លះ cʰkae klah/ (dog some) = some dogs
Classifiers
Classifying particlesClassifier (linguistics)
A classifier, in linguistics, sometimes called a measure word, is a word or morpheme used in some languages to classify the referent of a countable noun according to its meaning. In languages that have classifiers, they are often used when the noun is being counted or specified...
for use between numerals and nouns exist although are not obligatory as in, for example, Thai
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
, except in introductory clauses. They are used for clarity or formality. Number precedes classifiers.
សត្វក្របីពីរ /sat krɑbəy pii/ (animal buffalo two) = two buffaloes
សត្វក្របីពីរក្បាល /sat krɑbəy pii kbaal/ (animal buffalo two + animal classifier) = two heads of buffaloes
Numbers
In Khmer, number that indicates quantity follows the noun.សៀវភៅបួន /siəw pʰɨw ɓuən/ (book four) = four books
Exceptions include nouns indicating passage of time such as hours or days, units of measurements and currencies, all of which function as noun classifiers without the explicit mention of what is being classified. Reversal of the order can lead to different meanings such as:
បីម៉ោង /ɓəj maoŋ/ (three hour) = three hours
ម៉ោងបី /maoŋ ɓəj/ (hour three) = three o'clock
The following example illustrates the unnecessary mention of what is being classified:
បីរៀល /ɓəj riəl/ (three riel) = three riels
លុយបីរៀល /luj ɓəj riəl/ (money three riel) = three riels of money or simply three riels
Demonstratives
In Khmer, demonstratives follow the nouns they modify. In standard literary Khmer, there are two degrees of distance, though there are other distinctions in colloquial language. Demonstratives can also function as articles, but only after introductory clauses.| Demonstrative | Alternative Forms | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| នេះ (nih) | ហ្នឹង (nəŋ) | This |
| នោះ (nuh) | ហ្នុង (noŋ) | That |
Pronouns
The pronominalPronoun
In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun , such as, in English, the words it and he...
system is complex, full of honorific variations. There is generally no single pronoun appropriate for all situations, with the choice of pronoun based on age, gender, and relationship. Nouns referring to a specific person like brother or uncle can be used as pronouns when even when directly addressing the person.
Adjectives
Adjectives in Khmer follows the noun, doubling the adjective can serve as a function of plurality or it can intensify the meaning. Adjectives follow verbs when they function as adverbs. Adjectives in Khmer are in actuality stative verbs. They cannot be combined with a copula and can be negated.Reduplication
In Khmer, nouns and adjectives can be reduplicated. Reduplication can either occur as perfect reduplicates or by altering the rhyme of words. Khmer also uses compound reduplication where two phonologically unrelated words with similar or identical meanings are compounded.Morphology
Although Modern Khmer shows a highly complex system of prefixes and infixes, there is generally no productive morphology with most affixed words crystallized in the lexicon inherited from Old Khmer. In general, even in Old Khmer, affixes have fluid functions with the same affix functioning as a nominalizer in one word and as a causativizer in another word. One nominal is marked by the symbol 'ៗ' to indicate that the word is to be repeated.Verbs
Verbs in Khmer do not inflect at all; tense and aspect can be shown by particles and adverbs or understood by context.Negation
Verbs can be negated in three primary fashions, all of which convey a slightly different connotation or formality. The most common method of negation is a discontinuous construction placing មិន "/mɨn/" (not, not to be) before the verb and ending the verb phrase with ទេ "/teː/", which, as a stand-alone word can be either "no" or a particle contradicting a previous statement. Colloquially, the final "ទេ" may be omitted.ខ្ញុំជឿ /kʰɲom cɨə/ - I believe
ខ្ញុំមិនជឿទេ /kʰɲom mɨn cɨə teː/ - I don't believe
Another fairly common way of indicating negation uses អត់ (also spelled ឥត) "/ɑt/" instead of មិន. "អត់", as an independent word, means "without" or "lacking" and expresses a similar connotation when used to negate a verb.
ខ្ញុំអត់ឃ្លានទេ /kʰɲom ɑt khliə̯n teː/ - "I am not hungry" or literally, "I (am) without hunger".
A third method is basically identical to the first method except ពុំ "/pum/" is used instead of "/mɨn/". This is used only in literary or very formal contexts.