Khmer Language(ភាសាខ្មែរ)

Khmer(ខ្មែរ) is the official language of Cambodia. The Cambodian language is derived from the Mon-Khmer (Austro-Asiatic) language family. It is renowned for being one of the largest set of alphabets; it consist basically of 33 consonants, 23 vowels and 12 independent vowels.

Tourism may wish to learn a few spoken phrases before or when visiting Cambodia. However, English is widely spoken and understood. French is the second language after English; most elderly Cambodians speak French. The Chinese language is also widely spoken.

Cambodia History

Carbon 14 dating of a cave at Laang Spean in northwest Cambodia reveals people who made pots were living in Cambodia as early as 4200 B.C.E. (Before the Common Era). Further archaeological evidence indicates that other parts of the region now called Cambodia were inhabited from around 1000-2000 B.C.E. by a Neolithic culture. Skulls and human bones found at Samrong Sen date from 1500 B.C.E. These people may have migrated from South Eastern China to the Indochinese Peninsula, although some scholars maintain they may have come from India. Scholars trace the first cultivation of rice and the first bronze making in Southeast Asia to these people. By the first century CE, the inhabitants had developed relatively stable, organized societies and spoke languages very much related to the Cambodian or Khmer of the present day. The culture and technical skills of these people of the first century in the Common Era far surpassed the primitive stage.