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Article published In:
International Journal of Language and Culture
Vol. 6:2 (2019) ► pp.305–350

Ethnodiachrony, Buddhism, and ethnicity

An anthropological approach to Khmer dialectology

| Laboratoire Langues et Civilisations à Tradition Orale (LACITO, Paris)
The paper focuses on how ethnicity is constructed and negotiated as well as on how it surfaces through language convergence. The paper aims to demonstrate that, in the very specific Khmer case, dialect convergences cannot be explained through an exclusive internal analysis of the linguistic system that would dismiss the comprehension of the anthropological environment. It is shown that external anthropological factors bound to ethnicity are to be taken into account in the understanding of dialect convergences.
Keywords: linguistic anthropology, “ethnodiachrony”, “Khmer Krom” ethnic identification, Khmer dialectology, linguistic standardisation, panchronic phonology
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • 1.Ethnicity, Panchronic Phonology, and “Ethnodiachrony”
    • 1.1Ethnicity is not what it is but rather what is perceived
    • 1.2Panchronic phonology: Phonology in its anthropological context
    • 1.3An “ethnodiachronic” perspective on Khmer dialectology
      • 1.3.1Definitional problem
      • 1.3.2A predominantly synchronic approach on language
      • 1.3.3An “Ethnodiachronic” approach
    • 1.4Purpose of the paper
  • 2.A short presentation of the Khmeric family
    • 2.1Khmer and its dialects
    • 2.2Diachronic stages
    • 2.3Middle Khmer vowel system
  • 3.Selection of classificatory criteria and Khmer dialectology
    • 3.1The problem
    • 3.2The selected classificatory criterion
    • 3.3Some classificatory sub-criteria
  • 4.Dialect fragmentation in the Mekong Delta
    • 4.1Trà Vinh Khmer: A Cardamom dialect in the Mekong Delta
      • 4.1.1In the R1 open syllables, the mk phonemes /ɨː iː/ did not merge
      • 4.1.2No evolution of mk /eː/ towards /ɛː/ and ultimately /ae/ in R1
      • 4.1.3 mk /ɛː/ is kept in R1
      • 4.1.4No evolution of mk /iː/ towards /eː/ in R1
      • 4.1.5The opposition between mk /ɨ i iː/ is kept through an opposition between three register pairs
      • 4.1.6Significant self-censorship and generational differences
    • 4.2The Sóc Trăng dialect: From a Northern to a Central dialect
    • 4.3Change speed and standardisation vectors
  • 5.Khmer ethnic identification and dialect convergence
    • 5.1Historical breeding ground of Middle Khmer and dialectal consequences
    • 5.2Standard Central Khmer, Buddhism, and affirmation of the Khmer identification
    • 5.3Consequences
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
Published online: 24 January 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ijolc.17001.pai
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