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
Famous quotes containing the words independent and/or vowels:
“Where beauty is worshipped for beauty’s sake as a goddess, independent of and superior to morality and philosophy, the most horrible putrefaction is apt to set in. The lives of the aesthetes are the far from edifying commentary on the religion of beauty.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
“As no one can tell what was the Roman pronunciation, each nation makes the Latin conform, for the most part, to the rules of its own language; so that with us of the vowels only A has a peculiar sound.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)