Independent Vowels
Independent vowels are non-diacritical characters that stand alone (i.e. without being attached to a consonant symbol) used to represent vowel phonemes occurring at the beginning of syllables. In Khmer they are called ស្រៈពេញតួ (/sraʔ peɲtuə/) which means "complete vowels". The independent vowels are used in a small number of words, mostly of Indic origin, and consequently there is some inconsistency in their use and pronunciations. However, a few words in which they occur are used quite frequently: ឥឡូវ (/ʔəjləw/ "now"), ឪពុក (/ʔəwpuk/ "father"), ឬ (/ʔrɨː/ ~ /rɨː/ "or").
Independent vowels |
UN romanization | IPA |
---|---|---|
ឥ | ĕ | ʔe |
ឦ | ei | ʔəj |
ឧ | ŏ | ʔ |
ឨ | ||
ឩ | ŭ | ʔu |
ឪ | ŏu | ʔɨw |
ឫ | rœ̆ | ʔrɨ |
ឬ | rœ | ʔrɨː |
ឭ | lœ̆ | ʔlɨ |
ឮ | lœ | ʔlɨː |
ឯ | é | ʔae; ʔɛː,ʔeː |
ឰ | ai | ʔaj |
ឱ, ឲ | aô, aôy | ʔaːo |
ឳ | âu | ʔaw |
Read more about this topic: Khmer Script
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