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/ŏə/
as in /kŏət/ ‘3rd person pronoun’. Sometimes falling, sometimes rising, short diphthong, moving from a position slightly lower than /o/ above to a mid central position.

D. Word Structure

1. Monosyllables

The structure of monosyllables is shown by the formula C1(C2)(C3)V1(V2)(C4), with the limitation that if V2 doesn’t occur, then C4 must occur. In other words, short vowels are always followed by a consonant in stressed syllables. Thus monosyllables containing a short vowel or diphthong will have one of the following three shapes; the third is rare.

  1. CV́C
    • /bət/ ‘to close’
    • /kɨt/ ‘to think’
  2. CCV́C
    • /sdap/ ‘to hear’
    • /proh/ ‘male’
  3. CCCV́C
    • /sthət/ (~ /thət/) ‘to be located’

Monosyllables containing a long vowel or diphthong occur in the following five shapes; the fifth is rare.

  1. CV́V
    • /kaa/ ‘work’
    • /puu/ ‘uncle’
  2. CV́VC
    • /baan/ ‘to have’
    • /qaoy/ ‘to give’
  3. CCV́V
    • /chɨɨ/ ‘to be ill’
    • /psaa/ ‘market’
  4. CCV́VC
    • /craən/ ‘much’
    • /sqaat/ ‘to be clean’
  5. CCCV́VC
    • /sthaan/ (~ /thaan/) ‘place’
    • /lkhaon/ ‘drama’

Sequences of three initial consonants occur only rarely, and then C3 is always /h/.

2. Disyllables

Minor disyllables[1] consist of an unstressed presyllable of shape CV+, CrV+, CVN+, or CrVN+, followed by a stressed syllable. Minor syllables occur with high frequency in Cambodian, and might almost equal the monosyllable in total inventory if not in frequency. In minor disyllables the vowel of the unstressed presyllable is usually reduced to /a/ in normal speech.

  • Examples:
    • CV+Ś
      • /kɑkáay ~ kəkáay/ ‘to scratch about’
    • CrV+Ś
      • /prɑkán ~ prəkán ~ pəkán/ ‘to object’
    • CVN+Ś
      • /bɑŋkáət ~ bəŋkáət ~ pəkáət/ ‘to originate’
    • CrvN+Ś
      • /prambə́y ~ prəmbə́y ~ pəmbə́y/ ‘eight’

Major disyllables consist of two stressed syllables in close juncture. Most such words are compounds; some, however, are morphologically simple (as are the first two examples below).

  • Examples:
    • /sìəwphɨ́w/ (~ /səphɨ́w/) ‘book’
    • /phìəsáa/ ‘language’
    • /bùəŋ-súəŋ/ ‘to pray’
    • /sdúəc-sdáəŋ/ ‘insignificant’
  1. ↑ My use of the terms “minor” and “major” disyllable differs somewhat from that of Henderson in Eugénie J. A. Henderson (1952). "The Main Features of Cambodian Pronunciation". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 14: 149–74. 
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