Language/Central-khmer/Grammar/Plurals

Central Khmer Grammar - Plurals

Hi Central Khmer learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about plurals in Central Khmer. Plurals are easy to form, but it is important to keep in mind a few rules. We will also discuss some interesting facts about the Khmer language and culture. So, let's get started!

Plurals

In Central Khmer, plurals are formed by adding a suffix to a noun. The most common suffix is "-ទៀង" ("-teing") or "-ង" ("-ng"). The choice of suffix depends on the noun's final consonant or vowel.

For example:

Singular	Plural
សំណួរ (sɑmnuə)	សំណួរ​ទៀង (sɑmnuə-teing)
កន្លែង (knaelɛɛŋ)	កន្លែង​ទៀង (knaelɛɛŋ-teing)
ម្ហូប (hɔp)	ម្ហូប​ទៀង (hɔp-teing)

As you can see in the examples above, the suffix "-teing" is added to the end of the noun to form the plural. However, in the case of the noun "កន្លែង" (place), the suffix "-ng" is used instead of "-teing" because the final consonant is a "ŋ" sound.

It's important to note that the final consonant of the noun is not always the deciding factor in which suffix to use. In some cases, the final vowel of the noun determines the suffix used. For example, the noun "កៅស្រឡាញ់" (dog) becomes "កៅស្រឡាញ់​ង" (dogs), using the "-ng" suffix instead of "-teing" because the final vowel of the noun is "ɑ".

Another way to form plurals is by repeating the noun. This is less common, but it is used for some types of nouns such as animals and birds. For example, "មូលដ្ឋាន" (house) becomes "មូលដ្ឋាន​មូលដ្ឋាន" (houses).

There are also some irregular plural nouns in Central Khmer that do not follow these rules, such as:

ជីវៈ (jiv) - meaning "life", becomes ជីវៈជាតិ (jiv chet) meaning "lives" សភា (sahaa) - meaning "star", becomes សថិរាម្រេត (sattireamreut) meaning "stars"

Interesting facts about Central Khmer

1. Central Khmer, also known as Khmer or Cambodian, is the official language of Cambodia. It is spoken by over 16 million people worldwide.

2. Khmer language and culture share many similarities with Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. However, Khmer has its own unique script and pronunciation.

3. The Khmer script is one of the oldest scripts in the world and has been in use for over 2000 years. It is a syllabic script with each character representing a consonant sound plus a vowel sound.

4. Buddhism has had a big influence on Khmer culture and language. Many Khmer words related to religion and spirituality come from Sanskrit, which was the language of Buddhism.

5. The Khmer language has many loanwords from French, which was the country's colonial language. For example, "ហាង" (haang) means shop, which comes from the French word "hangar".

To improve your Central Khmer Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Dialogue

Let's practice using plurals in a conversation:

• Person 1: ខ្ញុំមាន​កូន​ប្រុស​បេីង។ (khnhom mean kun brohoun be-ng) (I have two brothers)
• Person 2: តើ​កូន​ពីរ​អាច​ឆ្លាត​ទៅ​សាលា​បាន​ឬ? (toŭ koun pii-ar-caol tlaat-touy s'laa baaen?) (Can both brothers go to school?)
• Person 1: ប៉ុណ្ណាល់​ពីគេ​មិន​បាន​ចូល​សាលា​ទេ។ (ponleav pii-koy-mean bon-jeul sa-la teh) (Unfortunately, they cannot go to school)

Sources

• Khmer language
• Cambodia