What's that? You have no idea what those squiggles stand for? That's how I felt starting my first week of classes. We have conquered about half of the alphabet this week by learning 33 consonants (phcuncak) and 24 vowels (sraak). A long way to come in just 5 days, but somehow we did it! Now to learn the other 24 vowels that only go with the other sound group of consonants. Ok, at this point I must seem like I'm talking in jibberish so I'll explain.
The chart for the different vowel sounds. They represent a different sound depending on the type of consonant they're with, either high or low register.
All of the different juin.
Khmer is fortunately not a tonal language. Good! However, for each sound there is a different letter. For example, instead of using "a" to represent the sounds it makes in both cat and father, they use two different vowel symbols. It sounds great! There's no confusion about how to pronounce things. Far easier than having to memorize all the sounds of the different words like we do in English. But then there are all of the characters that necessarily come with having a different letter for each different sound. Hence the need for 33 different consonants and 48 vowels. There are actually more of each, but we haven't learned about all their different forms yet. You and I will both have to stay tuned!
One thing we have learned about in the consonant realm is how to put two consonant sounds together when reading. In the spoken language, this is simply done by listening and attempting to put the correct two sounds together, but when you read you need to know which sound comes first and which comes second. For example, when we read the word "truck" our eyes and brains have become trained to put the separate "t" and "r" sounds together in sequential order to make "tr." When you go back to learning how to read again, you have to relearn how to do this while learning new vocabulary and putting characters to words you already know. Learning what the words look like on paper definitely helps with pronunciation, however, in Khmer, it means that you'll need to learn a new way to write consonants, called juin. The new form of consonants are sometimes smaller versions of the letter and sometimes completely new small symbols. It seems like a lot, doesn't it? I suppose in the end, it will make reading easier, but now, reading seems like a truly magical act.
What does Khmer look like then? A series of consonants with different vowel symbols around them all strung together. My writing is nonexistent right now, but I can offer some visuals from one of my textbooks that talks about family vocabulary.
By the end of my classes in Cambodia, I might be able to read simple sentences without too much trouble (think of the See Spot Run books that are classics in my family's household). For now, I'll stick with trying to remember which sound goes with which letter. Any ideas for how to make that go smoother?
All of the above pictures taken from: Khmer for Foreigners. Royal University of Phnom Penh Linguistics Department. 2012.
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