Samre (Samre pronunciation: [samɣeː]), is a nearly extinct Pearic language of Thailand and, formerly, Cambodia. The language is evidently extinct in Cambodia,[1][but this is the figure for Somre of Siem Reap, which is a Northern Chong dialect] but a 1998 survey found 20–30 speakers in Nonsi Subdistrict, Bo Rai District, Trat Province, Thailand and estimated the total number of people able to speak the language to be 200.[2]
| Samre | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Thailand, Cambodia |
| Region | Trat Province formerly Pursat Province |
| Ethnicity | 200 (2000)[1][but this is the figure for Somre of Siem Reap, which is a Northern Chong dialect] |
Native speakers | (20–30 cited 1998)[2] |
Austroasiatic
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | None |
| ELP | Samre |
Phonology
editThe phonemic inventory is typical of modern Mon-Khmer languages and, along with the other Pearic languages, shows some phonological influences from the late Middle Khmer of the 17th century.[3] Samre also shows influence from Thai in that it has a developing tonal system. Like many other Austroasiatic languages in general, and the Pearic languages in particular, Samre vowels may differ in voice quality, a system known as "register", or "phonation". However, the breathy voice versus clear voice distinction is no longer contrastive and is secondary to a word's tone.[2]
Consonants
editSamre has 21 consonant phonemes with [ɹ] and [ɰ] occurring as allophones of /ɣ/. They are listed in table form below.
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | Aspirated | pʰ | tʰ | cʰ | kʰ | ||
| Voiceless | p | t | c | k | ʔ | ||
| Voiced | b | d | |||||
| Nasal | Voiced | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ||
| Fricative | Voiceless | s | h | ||||
| Voiced | ɣ | ||||||
| Approximant | Voiced | w | l | [ɹ] | j | [ɰ] | |
The Samre recognize [ɣ] as a sound unique to their language in comparison to Thai and other surrounding indigenous languages. This voiced velar fricative occurs in free variation with the voiced alveolar approximant, [ɹ], except when following /a/ or /aː/ word-finally, in which case it is pronounced as [ɰ], the voiced velar approximant. The pronunciation [ɣ] is mostly heard among the older generation who consider it to be the "correct" pronunciation.[2] It can be considered a "harsh" sound and [ɹ] is sometimes used when the speaker wishes to sound "softer" or "soothing". The [ɣ] sound is not often heard among younger or less fluent speakers who use [ɹ] or replace the sound with a tapped or trilled /r/ due to influence from Thai.[2]
Vowels
editSamre contrasts nine vowel qualities which can be either short or long, yielding a total of 18 vowel phonemes. There are three diphthongs: /iə/, /ɨə/, and /uə/. The vowels of Samre are:
| Front | Central | Back | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| short | long | short | long | short | long | |
| Close | /i/ | /iː/ | /ɨ/ | /ɨː/ | /u/ | /uː/ |
| Close-mid | /e/ | /eː/ | /ə/ | /əː/ | /o/ | /oː/ |
| Open-mid | /ɛ/ | /ɛː/ | /ɔ/ | /ɔː/ | ||
| Open | /a/ | /aː/ | ||||
References
edit- ^ a b Somre of Siem Reap at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ a b c d e Pornsawan Ploykaew. 2001, "The phonology of Samre", in Mon-Khmer Studies, vol. 31, pp. 15-27
- ^ Ferlus, Michel (2011). "Toward Proto Pearic: problems and historical implications". Mon-Khmer Studies. Special Issue No. 2: Austroasiatic Studies - papers from ICAAL4. Retrieved 30 November 2015.