Cham language

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Not to be confused with Cham-Mona language or Cham Albanian dialect.
Cham
Pronunciation [ca?m]
Native to Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, China (Hainan
Island), various countries with recent immigrants
Native speakers
320,000 (2002 � 2008 census)[1]
Language family
Austronesian
Malayo-Polynesian
Nuclear Malayo-Polynesian
Sunda�Sulawesi
Malayo-Sumbawan
Chamic
Coastal
Cham
Dialects
Western Cham (204,000)
Eastern Cham (73,000)
Writing system
Cham alphabet, Arabic, Latin script
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Vietnam
Cambodia
Language codes
ISO 639-3 Either:
cja � Western Cham
cjm � Eastern Cham
Glottolog cham1328[2]
Cham is the language of the Cham people of Southeast Asia, and formerly the
language of the kingdom of Champa in central Vietnam. A member of the Malayo-
Polynesian branch of the Austronesian family, it is spoken by 204,000 people in
Cambodia and 79,000 people in Vietnam. There are also small populations of speakers
in Thailand and Malaysia. Other Chamic languages are spoken in Cambodia and/or
Vietnam (Raglai, Rade, Jarai, Chru and Haroi), on Hainan (Tsat) and in Aceh, North
Sumatra (Acehnese). Cham is notable for being the oldest-attested Austronesian
language, with the Dong Yen Chau inscription being dated to the late 4th century
AD.

Contents
1 Dialectal differences
2 Grammar
2.1 Word formation
2.2 Syntax and word order
2.3 Nominals
2.4 Verbs
3 Dictionaries
4 See also
5 Notes
6 Further reading
7 External links
Dialectal differences
Cham is divided into two primary dialects. Western Cham is spoken by the Cham in
Cambodia as well as in the adjacent Vietnamese provinces of An Giang and T�y Ninh.
Eastern Cham is spoken by the coastal Cham populations in the Vietnamese provinces
of B�nh Thu?n, Ninh Thu?n, and �?ng Nai. The two regions where Cham is spoken are
separated both geographically and culturally. The more numerous Western Cham are
predominantly Muslim (although some in Cambodia now practice Theravada Buddhism)
and use either the Arabic script or the Western version of the Cham alphabet while
the Eastern Cham practice both Islam and Hinduism and use the Eastern version of
the Cham alphabet. Ethnologue states that the two dialects are no longer mutually
intelligible. The table below gives some examples of words where the two dialects
differed as of the 19th century.[3]

Cambodia southern Vietnam

vowels
child an�k an?k
take tuk t�k
not jv?i jvai
sibilants
one sa tha
save from drowning srong throng
salt sara shara
equal samu hamu
final consonants
heavy trap trak
in front anap anak
lexical differences
market pasa darak
hate amo? limuk
L� et al. (2014:175)[4] lists a few Cham subgroups.

Cham Po�ng: in Th?nh Hi?u village, Phan Hi?p commune, B?c B�nh District, B�nh Thu?n
Province. The Cham Po�ng practice burial instead of cremation as the surrounding
Cham do.
Cham Hroi (population 4,000): in Phu?c V�n District (B�nh �?nh Province), �?ng Xu�n
District (Ph� Y�n Province), and T�y Son District (B�nh �?nh Province)
Ch�v� Ku, a mixed Malay-Khmer people in Ch�u �?c
Grammar
Ambox current red.svg
This section needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent
events or newly available information.
Last update: uses sources from the 19th century (August 2013)
Word formation
There are several prefixes and infixes which can be used for word derivation.[5]

prefix pa-: causative, sometimes giving more force to the word

thau (to know) ? pathau (to inform)
bl?i (to buy) ? pabl?i (to sell)
bier (low) ? pabier (to lower)
yau (like, as) ? payau (to compare)
j�� (finished) ? paj�� (well finished)
prefix m�-: sometimes causative, often indicates a state, possession, mutuality,
reciprocity
jruu (poison) ? m�jruu (to poison)
gruu (teacher) ? m�gruu (to study)
t�an (belly) ? m�t�an (pregnancy)
bo? (egg, fruit) ? m�bo? (lay an egg, give fruit)
dak� (horn) ? m�dak� (having horns)