Khmer Script - Dependent Vowels

Dependent Vowels

The Khmer script uses dependent vowels, or diacritical vowels, to modify the inherent vowels of consonants. Dependent vowels are known in Khmer as srăk nissăy (ស្រៈនិស្ស័យ) or srăk phsâm (ស្រៈផ្សំ). Dependent vowels must always be combined with a consonant in orthography. For most of the vowel symbols, there are two sounds (registers). The sound of the vowel used depends on the series (the inherent vowel) of the dominant consonant in a syllable cluster.

Dependent
vowels		 UN romanization IPA
a-series o-series a-series o-series
អា a éa aː iːə
អិ ĕ ĭ e i
អី ei i əj iː
អឹ œ̆ ə ɨ
អឺ œ əːɨ ɨː
អុ ŏ ŭ o u
អូ o u oːu uː
អួ uŏ uːə
អើ aeu eu aːə əː
អឿ eua ɨːə
អៀ iĕ iːə
អេ é eːi eː
អែ ê aːe ɛː
អៃ ai ey aj ɨj
អោ aô oŭ aːo oː
អៅ au ŏu aw ɨw
Diacritics UN romanization IPA
a-series o-series a-series o-series
អុំ om ŭm om um
អំ âm um ɑm um
អាំ ăm ŏâm am oəm
អាំង ăng eăng aŋ eəŋ
អះ ăh eăh aʰ eəʰ
អុះ ŏh uh oʰ uʰ
អេះ éh eiʰ eʰ
អោះ aŏh uŏh ɑʰ ʊəʰ
អៈ aʔ eəʔ

For technical reasons, the dependent vowels are seen here paired with the letter អ (KHMER LETTER QA in Unicode) as not all browsers will display them by themselves correctly.

Read more about this topic:  Khmer Script

Famous quotes containing the words dependent and/or vowels:

    “Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child within us—i.e., the weak, helpless, dependent creature—in order to become an independent competent adult deserving of respect. When we reencounter this creature in our children, we persecute it with the same measures once used in ourselves.”
    —Alice Miller (20th century)

    “These equal syllables alone require,
    Though oft the ear the open vowels tire;”
    —Alexander Pope (1688–1744)