Editing Khmer language (section)

===Vowels===
Various authors have proposed slightly different analyses of the Khmer vowel system. This may be in part because of the wide degree of variation in pronunciation between individual speakers, even within a dialectal region.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://repository.tufs.ac.jp/bitstream/10108/21736/1/jaas031010.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://repository.tufs.ac.jp/bitstream/10108/21736/1/jaas031010.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live| title= On Takeo Dialects of Khmer: Phonology and World List| first=Makoto| last=Minegishi| year=1986| access-date=2008-12-04}}</ref> The description below follows Huffman (1970).<ref name="HUFF" /> The number of vowel nuclei and their values vary between dialects; differences exist even between the Standard Khmer system and that of the Battambang dialect on which the standard is based.<ref name=Accoustic>Wayland, Ratree. [http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf8/wayland1998acoustic.pdf "An Acoustic Study of Battambang Khmer Vowels."] ''[[Mon-Khmer Studies]]'' 28. (1998): 43–62.</ref>
[[File:Khmer vowel chart.svg|thumb|upright=1.15|Vowel Diagram (Monophthongs)]]
{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|+ Monophthongs of Khmer<ref name="HUFF" />
! rowspan=2 | 
! colspan=2 | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan=2 | [[Central vowel|Central]]
! colspan=2 | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|- class=small
! [[Short vowel|short]]
! [[Long vowel|long]]
! short
! long
! short
! long
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}}<br />អ៊ិ
| {{IPA link|iː}}<br />អ៊ី
| {{IPA link|ɨ}}<br />អ៊ឹ
| {{IPA link|ɨː}}<br />អ៊ឺ
| {{IPA link|u}}<br />អ៊ុ
| {{IPA link|uː}}<br />អ៊ូ
|-
! [[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}}<br />អិ
| {{IPA link|eː}}<br />អេ, អ៊ែ
| {{IPA link|ə}}<br />អ៊់
| {{IPA link|əː}}<br />អ៊, អឺ
| {{IPA link|o}}<br />អុ
| {{IPA link|oː}}<br />អូ, អ៊ោ
|-
! [[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
| {{IPA link|ɛ}}<br />អឹ
| {{IPA link|ɛː}}<br />អ៊ែ
| {{IPA link|ɛː}}<br />អី
| 
|
| {{IPA link|ɔː}}<br />អ៊
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
| colspan=2 |
| {{IPA link|a}}<br />អា់
| {{IPA link|aː}}<br />អា
| {{IPA link|ɑ}}<br />អ់
| {{IPA link|ɑː}}<br />អ
|}

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|+ [[Diphthongs]] of Khmer<ref name="HUFF" />
! colspan="2" |
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! Short
!centering
| {{IPA|ĕə}}<br />អ៊ា
| 
| {{IPA|ŏə, ŭə}}<br />អ៊ួ
|-
! rowspan="5" | Long 
!centering
| {{IPA|iə}}<br />អៀ, អ៊ា់
| {{IPA|ɨə}}<br />អឿ
| {{IPA|ɔə}}, {{IPA|uə}}<br />អួ
|-
!mid closing
| {{IPA|ei}}<br />អ៊ៃ
| {{IPA|ɛi}}<br />អី
| {{IPA|om}}<br />អុំ
|-
!open closing
| {{IPA|ae}}<br />អែ
| {{IPA|aə}}<br />អើ
| {{IPA|ao}}<br />អុ
|-
!mid opening
| {{IPA|um}}<br />អ៊ុំ, អ៊ំ
| {{IPA|eh}}<br />អេះ, អែះ
| {{IPA|eh}}<br />អិះ, អែះ
|-
!close opening
| {{IPA|aw}}<br />អៅ
| {{IPA|am}}<br />អំ, អាំ
| {{IPA|ah}}<br />អោះ, អះ
|}

In addition, some diphthongs and triphthongs are analyzed as a vowel nucleus plus a [[semivowel]] ({{IPA|/j/}} or {{IPA|/w/}}) coda because they cannot be followed by a final consonant. These include: (with short monophthongs) {{IPA|/ɨw/}}, {{IPA|/əw/}}, {{IPA|/aj/}}, {{IPA|/aw/}}, {{IPA|/uj/}}; (with long monophthongs) {{IPA|/əːj/}}, {{IPA|/aːj/}}; (with long diphthongs) {{IPA|/iəj/}}, {{IPA|/iəw/}}, {{IPA|/ɨəj/}}, {{IPA|/aoj/}}, {{IPA|/aəj/}} and {{IPA|/uəj/}}.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jacob|first1=Judith M|title=An Examination of the Vowels and final Consonants in Correspondences between pre-Angkor and modern Khmer|journal=Pacific Linguistics|date=1976|volume=42|issue=19|pages=27–34|url=http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf8/jacob1976examination.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://sealang.net/sala/archives/pdf8/jacob1976examination.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|access-date=27 January 2016}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|+ Independent vowels of Khmer<ref name="HUFF" />
|-
!Khmer Vowels
!IPA
|-
| ឥ
| {{IPA|ʔe}}
|-
| ឦ
| {{IPA|ʔej}}
|-
| ឧ
| {{IPA|ʔu}}
|-
| ឩ
| {{IPA|ʔuː}}
|-
| ឪ
| {{IPA|ʔɜw, ʔɨw}}
|-
| ឫ
| {{IPA|rɨ}}
|-
| ឬ
| {{IPA|rɨː}}
|-
| ឭ
| {{IPA|lɨ}}
|-
| ឮ
| {{IPA|lɨː}}
|-
| ឯ
| {{IPA|ʔae}}
|-
| ឰ
| {{IPA|ʔaj}}
|-
| ឱ, ឲ
| {{IPA|ʔao}}
|-
| ឳ
| {{IPA|ʔaw}}
|}

The independent vowels are the vowels that can exist without a preceding or trailing consonant. The independent vowels may be used as monosyllabic words, or as the initial syllables in longer words. Khmer words never begin with regular vowels; they can, however, begin with independent vowels. Example: ឰដ៏, ឧទាហរណ៍, ឧត្តម, ឱកាស...។