Proto-Khmeric language explained

The Proto-Khmeric language is the reconstructed proto-language of the Khmeric languages. It has been reconstructed by Sidwell & Rau (2015), whose reconstruction is based on the sound laws provided in Ferlus (1992). It is agreed by most scholars that this language was phased out by 300 CE.

Reconstructed forms

The reconstructed Proto-Khmeric forms below are from Sidwell & Rau (2015: 273, 340-363).

Gloss	Proto-Khmeric
all	grɔp
ashes	pheːh
bark (of tree)	smpɔːk
belly	buŋ
big	luoŋ ~ *ruoŋ
to bite	tkiːr ~ *tkɛːr, *kat
black	kmaw
blood	ɟhaːm
boat	duok
bone	cʔəŋ
breast	tɔh
to burn (vt.)	tut, *ʔus
candle	dian
claw/nail	krcɔːk
cloud	-(b/w)ɔːk
cold	rŋaː(r)
to come/arrive	mɔːk
die (of a person)	slap
dog	cɔː, *ckɛː
to drink (water)	phik
dry (adj./stat.)	praŋ
ear	(t/c)rciək
earth/soil	tiː
to eat	cie
eye	pnɛːk
fat/grease/oil	klaɲ
feather	slaːp
fire	ʔus
fish (n.)	triː
fly (v.)	həːr
foot	ɟəːŋ
full (vessel)	beːɲ
give	ʔoːj
good	lʔɔː
green	kciː
group	buak
hair (of head)	suk
hand	təj
to hear/listen	stap
heart	klim
horn	sneːŋ
I	ʔaɲ
to kill	psiət, *smlap
know	cih, *sgal
leaf	slik
to learn	rian
to lie (down)	tiek
liver	tləːm
long	wɛːŋ
louse (head)	ciː
man/husband	ɟmoːl
meat/flesh	sac
moon	khɛː
mountain/hill	bnɔm, *duol
mouth	mat
name	ɟmɔh
neck	kɔː
new	tmiː
night	jɔp
nose	crmuh
not	ʔət ~ *ʔɔt ~ *ʔit
oil	prieŋ
one	muoj
person/human	ʔnak
rain	pliəŋ
red	krhɔːm
road, path	gnlɔːŋ
root (of a tree)	ris
round (object)	wiel, *rwiəl, *rwɔŋ
sand	ksac
see	jɔl, *ghəːɲ
sit	guj
skin	spɛːk
sleep	tiːk
small	tic, *cmaːr
smoke (n.)	(?*psɛːɲ)
to offer	ɟuon
to speak, say	srtiː
to stand	ɟhɔːr
star	pkaːj
stone	tmɔː
sun	tŋaj
to swim	hɛːl(?)
that (dist.)	nɔh
this (prox.)	nih
tongue	ʔntaːt
tree	ɟhəː
two	bier
to walk, go	təːr
warm/hot	ktaw
water	tɨk
white	skuː, *sɔː
woman/wife	knsaj, *kntaj

Lexical innovations

Selected Khmeric lexical innovations:^[1]

Gloss			Modern Khmer	Surin Khmer
‘fish’	kaʔ	triː~treː	trəj	trɛj
‘chicken’	ʔiər	–	moan	mɯan
‘dog’	cɔːʔ	cʰkɛː	cʰkae	ʨkɛː

See also

• Proto-Austroasiatic language

References

• Ferlus, Michel. 1992. Essai de phonétique historique du khmer (Du milieu du premier millénaire de notre ère à l'époque actuelle). Mon-Khmer Studies 21: 57–89.
• Sidwell, Paul and Felix Rau (2015). "Austroasiatic Comparative-Historical Reconstruction: An Overview." In Jenny, Mathias and Paul Sidwell, eds (2015). The Handbook of Austroasiatic Languages. Leiden: Brill.

Notes and References

1. Book: Sidwell, Paul. The Languages and Linguistics of Mainland Southeast Asia. Classification of MSEA Austroasiatic languages. De Gruyter. 2021. 10.1515/9783110558142-011. 179–206. 9783110558142 . 242599355 .