who has the true khmer accents

iluvnumandoil

sarNie OldFart
i got this from a khmer site and im interested in what u guys think.....
Who in Cambodia has the true Khmer accent?

The Surin or Khmer Luer to the North,
Khmer Krom to the South,
Khmer te-krong in Phnom Penh,
Or Khmer Kondal in the Central Provinces?

This simple question had been subjects of many heated arguments. If asked, anyone from those areas, each area thinks they have the true accent.

To the north, the Khmer Surin speech sounds so much like Thais and Laos because they are remnants of the many Thai invasions into Cambodia. The Khmer Surin are wonderful and loving people but they do not hold the true Khmer dialect.

To the South, the Khmer Krom speech sounds so much like Vietnamese because they are products of the many Vietnamese invasions into Cambodia. They, like the Khmer Surin, Khmer Krom are wonderful people. They are hard working and peace loving. But they too are not the holders of the true Khmer dialect.

Khmer te-Krong, the city dialect is a mixture of everything put together.

It all goes back to the days when the Phnom Penh first became the Capital. Chinese merchants who came to live there could not pronounce Khmer words correctly so they substituted some sounds with another. Most common replacement was the “roar� with the “haw�.

Examples:

Trey (Fish) is pronounced as T’hey
Slek Krey(Lemongrass) is pronounced as Slek Hey
Mouy Roy(One hundred) is Mouy Hoy
The Chinese merchants became rich in Phnom Penh and the Khmers who move to the city began to imitate the Chinese-Khmer accent. Soon the accent became a status symbol. Ordinary Khmers began to speak the accent to sound rich and sophisticated. Having a Phnom Penh accent was and still is a symbol of sophistication and elitism. Still, Phnom Penh speech is not the true dialect of Khmers.
 

Secrets

sarNie Hatchling
That is interesting to know. So doesn't that leave Khmer Kondal to have the true Khmer accent then?
 

Rickella

sarNie Egg
I had a conversation about this with my mom, aunt's and uncle's awhile ago. I think they said something about people from Battabong speaking the correct khmer. They pronounce all their words accordingly to the letters.
 

Sawina

sarNie Hatchling
some of my family member talk like that lol i love how it sound my mom and grandma ahha theyre so good at it.. for me i really dont have an acent iono i speak both khemr and english together l;ol and i cant even speak khmer right soemtime slol. oo well
 

Anika

sarNie Egg
Sawina said:
some of my family member talk like that lol i love how it sound my mom and grandma ahha theyre so good at it.. for me i really dont have an acent iono i speak both khemr and english together l;ol and i cant even speak khmer right soemtime slol. oo well
[post="49633"][/post]​
:D That's khmenglish. We don't speak perfect khmer, either.

So Khmer kondal that is???
 
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