Editing Khmer language (section)

===Syllable structure===
A Khmer [[syllable]] begins with a single consonant, or else with a [[consonant cluster|cluster]] of two, or rarely three, consonants. The only possible clusters of three consonants at the start of a syllable are {{IPA|/str/, /skr/}},<ref name=ppak>{{Cite web |url=http://www.panl10n.net/english/Outputs%20Phase%202/CCs/Cambodia/ITC/Papers/2007/0701/phonetic-and-phonological-analysis.pdf |title=Phonetic and Phonological Analysis of Khmer |access-date=2012-02-21 |archive-date=2012-06-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619070329/http://www.panl10n.net/english/Outputs%20Phase%202/CCs/Cambodia/ITC/Papers/2007/0701/phonetic-and-phonological-analysis.pdf |url-status=usurped }}</ref> and (with aspirated consonants analyzed as two-consonant sequences) {{IPA|/sth/, /lkh/}}. There are 85 possible two-consonant clusters (including [pʰ] etc. analyzed as {{IPA|/ph/}} etc.). All the clusters are shown in the following table, phonetically, i.e. superscript {{IPA|ʰ}} can mark either contrastive or non-contrastive aspiration (see [[#Consonants|above]]).

{| class="wikitable"
! | || {{IPA|p}} || {{IPA|ɓ}} || {{IPA|t}} || {{IPA|ɗ}} || {{IPA|c}} || {{IPA|k}} || {{IPA|ʔ}} || {{IPA|m}} || {{IPA|n}} || {{IPA|ɲ}} || {{IPA|ŋ}} || {{IPA|j}} || {{IPA|l}} || {{IPA|r}} || {{IPA|s}} || {{IPA|h}} || {{IPA|ʋ}} || t+h || k+h || t+r || k+r
|-
! {{IPA|p}}
| || || {{IPA|pʰt}}- || {{IPA|pɗ}}- || {{IPA|pʰc}}- || {{IPA|pʰk}}- || {{IPA|pʔ}}- || || {{IPA|pʰn}}- || {{IPA|pʰɲ}}- || {{IPA|pʰŋ}}- || {{IPA|pʰj}}- || {{IPA|pʰl}}- || {{IPA|pr}}- || {{IPA|ps}}- || {{IPA|pʰ}}- || || || || ||
|-
! {{IPA|t}}
| {{IPA|tʰp}}- || {{IPA|tɓ}}- || || || || {{IPA|tʰk}}- || {{IPA|tʔ}}- || {{IPA|tʰm}}- || {{IPA|tʰn}}- || || {{IPA|tʰŋ}}- || {{IPA|tʰj}}- || {{IPA|tʰl}}- || {{IPA|tr}}- || || {{IPA|tʰ}}- || {{IPA|tʰʋ}}- || || || ||
|-
! {{IPA|c}}
| {{IPA|cʰp}}- || {{IPA|cɓ}}- || || {{IPA|cɗ}}- || || {{IPA|cʰk}}- || {{IPA|cʔ}}- || {{IPA|cʰm}}- || {{IPA|cʰn}}- || || {{IPA|cʰŋ}}- || || {{IPA|cʰl}}- || {{IPA|cr}}- || || {{IPA|cʰ}}- || {{IPA|cʰʋ}}- || || || ||
|-
! {{IPA|k}}
| {{IPA|kʰp}}- || {{IPA|kɓ}}- || {{IPA|kʰt}}- || {{IPA|kɗ}}- || {{IPA|kʰc}}- || || {{IPA|kʔ}}- || {{IPA|kʰm}}- || {{IPA|kʰn}}- || {{IPA|kʰɲ}}- || {{IPA|kŋ}}- || {{IPA|kʰj}}- || {{IPA|kʰl}}- || {{IPA|kr}}- || {{IPA|ks}}- || {{IPA|kʰ}}- || {{IPA|kʰʋ}}- || || || ||
|-
! {{IPA|s}}
| {{IPA|sp}}- || {{IPA|sɓ}}- || {{IPA|st}}- || {{IPA|sɗ}}- || || {{IPA|sk}}- || {{IPA|sʔ}}- || {{IPA|sm}}- || {{IPA|sn}}- || {{IPA|sɲ}}- || {{IPA|sŋ}}- || || {{IPA|sl}}- || {{IPA|sr}}- || || || {{IPA|sʋ}}- || {{IPA|stʰ}}- || || str- || skr-
|-
! {{IPA|ʔ}}
| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || {{IPA|ʔʋ}}- || || || ||
|-
! {{IPA|m}}
| || || {{IPA|mt}}- || {{IPA|mɗ}}- || {{IPA|mc}}- || || {{IPA|mʔ}}- || || {{IPA|mn}}- || {{IPA|mɲ}}- || || || {{IPA|ml}}- || {{IPA|mr}}- || {{IPA|ms}}- || {{IPA|mh}}- || || || || ||
|-
! {{IPA|l}}
| {{IPA|lp}}- || {{IPA|lɓ}}- || || || || {{IPA|lk}}- || {{IPA|lʔ}}- || {{IPA|lm}}- || || || {{IPA|lŋ}}- || || || || || {{IPA|lh}}- || {{IPA|lʋ}}- || || {{IPA|lkʰ}}- || ||
|}

Slight vowel [[epenthesis]] occurs in the clusters consisting of a plosive followed by {{IPA|/ʔ/, /b/, /d/}}, in those beginning {{IPA|/ʔ/, /m/, /l/}}, and in the cluster {{IPA|/kŋ-/}}.<ref name=ModSpok />{{rp|8–9}}

After the initial consonant or consonant cluster comes the syllabic [[nucleus (syllable)|nucleus]], which is one of the [[#Vowels|vowels]] listed above. This vowel may end the syllable or may be followed by a [[syllable coda|coda]], which is a single consonant. If the syllable is stressed and the vowel is short, there must be a final consonant. All consonant sounds except {{IPA|/b/, /d/, /r/, /s/}} and the aspirates can appear as the coda (although final {{IPA|/r/}} is heard in some dialects, most notably in [[Northern Khmer dialect|Northern Khmer]]).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Nacaskul|first1=Karnchana|title=The syllabic and morphological structure of Cambodian words|journal=[[Mon-Khmer Studies]]|date=1978|volume=7|page=187|url=https://sealang.net/archives/mks/pdf/7:183-200.pdf|access-date=24 January 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011131733/https://sealang.net/archives/mks/pdf/7:183-200.pdf|archive-date=11 October 2017}}</ref>

A [[minor syllable]] (unstressed syllable preceding the main syllable of a word) has a structure of CV-, CrV-, CVN- or CrVN- (where C is a consonant, V a vowel, and N a nasal consonant). The vowels in such syllables are usually short; in conversation they may be [[vowel reduction|reduced]] to {{IPA|[ə]}}, although in careful or formal speech, including on television and radio, they are clearly articulated. An example of such a word is {{lang|km|មនុស្ស}} ''mɔnuh, mɔnɨh, mĕəʾnuh'' ('person'), pronounced {{IPA|[mɔˈnuh]}}, or more casually {{IPA|[məˈnuh]}}.<ref name=ModSpok>{{cite book|last1=Huffman|first1=Franklin|title=Modern Spoken Cambodian|date=1970|publisher=Cornell Southeast Asia Program Publications|location=Ithaca, NY|isbn=978-0877275213|edition=1998}}</ref>{{rp|10}}