A Study of Phonological Khmer Dialect Spoken in Surin Province

Abstract

             The objectives of this study were 1. to study phonemes of Khmer dialect spoken in Mueang Kae Subdistrict, Tha Tum District, Surin Province 2. to compare the similarities and differences of phonemes of Standard Khmer and Khmer dialect spoken in Surin Province. This research design was a qualitative study using the methodological procedure for a study gathering through documentary, vocabulary testing and in-depth interviews with 10 key informants. The researcher employed tools as the questionnaires, interview and the testing using the pronunciation word lists of Khmer language used and Khmer dialect spoken by native speakers of Surin province as respondents in commonly used of 10 categories.

             The research revealed as follows;

             The results of study indicated that speakers of the standard Khmer use the Khmer language for communication in their life as national language due to the Khmer language as a first language used and spoken by their children and grandchildren in communication nowadays. The respondents indicated that they express the Khmer dialect inherited to the new generation through learning of language acquisition. As in the contrast of Khmer dialect speakers of Surin province as indicated that they used and spoken Isaan dialect for communication in their life as a native language in the areas. So, they used only Khmer dialect as a first language for communication including Isaan dialect. In addition, the study explored the phonemes of word lists of the similarities and differences of both languages as in the same and different phonemes of 10 categories. Each category described pronunciation word lists of numbers, dates and natural phenomenon, people, pronouns and kinship terms, Human body parts and animals, verbs, states or conditions, trees, plants, vegetables, fruits and food, animals and insects, personal care products and accessory, equipment and tools, most commonly used in daily life, the key informants produced the similarity and difference in both sounds of languages revealed that the sounds produced were at the same and different sounds of consonants and vowels of words given in various phonological segments respectively.