Khmer, also known as Cambodian, is spoken by the majority of the population of Cambodia, as well as by people in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and beyond. It is heavily intertwined with Thai, borrowing and lending vocabulary; other words are taken from Sanskirt and Pali, as well as French. The standard Khmer dialect is based on the Central Plains and can be understood by speakers of most other dialects. Khmer is a member of the Austronesian language family and is related to Vietnamese - although, unlike Vietnamese, it is not a tonal language.§
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Austroasiatic
Mon-Khmer
Eastern Mon-Khmer
Khmer is written without spaces, and consonants are stacked on top of each other.
Basic numbers only exist for 1 to 5, so 6 is 5 + 1, 7 is 5 + 2, 8 is 5 + 3 etc.
There is a separate word for 'yes' depending on whether you're a man - 'bat' - or a woman - 'chas'.
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