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Ethnologue > Web version > Country index > Asia > Thailand > Khmer, Northern

Khmer, Northern

A language of Thailand

ISO 639-3: kxm

Population	1,400,000 (2006 Mahidol), decreasing. Very few monolingual.
Region	Northeast, mainly Surin, Sisaket, Buriram, Khorat provinces.
Language maps	Northern Thailand, reference number 30 Southern Thailand, reference number 30
Alternate names	Khmer Lue, Thailand Khmer
Dialects	Buriram, Surin, Sisaket. Different from Central Khmer [khm]. Dialects mutually intelligible. Many local varieties.
Classification	Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Khmer
Language use	Vigorous in towns; in cities being replaced by Isan [tts] and Thai. A few Chinese shopkeepers speak it. Used in education, media, religious services, commerce. Positive attitude. Also use Central Thai [tha], Isan (a dialect of Northeastern Thai [tts]), or some Central Khmer [khm].
Language development	Literacy rate in L1: Below 1%. 1,000 can read Northern Khmer, 100 can write it. Literacy rate in L2: 50%–75%. 1,000 can read Northern Khmer, 100 can write it. NT: 1996.
Writing system	Thai script.
Comments	SVO; prepositions; genitives, modifiers, relatives after noun heads; 1 prefix; CV, CVC, CCV; nontonal. Peasant and intensive agriculturalists; craftsmen; educators; officials. Buddhist, Christian.

Entries from the SIL Bibliography about this language:

Academic Publications

Bauer, Christian. 1992. "OKhm. ʼw-, ʼy-, ʼN-."  

Ferlus, Michel. 1992. "Essai de phonétique historique du khmer (Du milieu du premier millénaire de notre ère à l’époque actuelle)."  

Naraset Pisitpanporn. 1998. "Khmer vowels in transition."  

Prakorb Phon-Ngam. 1993. "The problem of aspirates in Central Khmer and Northern Khmer."  

Suwilai Premsrirat. 1997. "Linguistic contributions to the study of the Northern Khmer language of Thailand in the last two decades."  

Thomas, David and Dorothy Thomas. 1982. "Word play in Surin Khmer."

Thomas, David D. and Wanna Tienmee. 1983. "An acoustic study of Northern Khmer vowels."

Thomas, David. 1990. "On the "language" status of Northern Khmer."

Thomas, Dorothy M. 1990. "The instrument/locative and goal affix -n- in Surin Khmer."  

Thomas, Dorothy. 1984. "The deliberate causative in Surin Khmer."

Wayland, Ratree P. and Allard Jongman. 2001. "Chanthaburi Khmer vowels: phonetic and phonemic analyses."  

Vernacular Publications

Botsonthana phasa Khamen Surin: phonngan khong Sathaban Wichai Phasa læ Watthanatham phu'a Phatthana Chonnabot, Mahawitthayala Mahidon. 1984.

nangsue nitian khmerlue. 1987.