Somray language

Not to be confused with Samre language.

Somray
Northern Chong
Native to	Cambodia
Region	Pursat Province
Native speakers	4,100 (2005) [1]
Language family	Austroasiatic Pearic Chong languages Somray
Writing system	Khmer script
Language codes
ISO 639-3	smu – inclusive code Individual code: sxm  – Somre of Siem Reap
Glottolog	somr1240
ELP	Somray

Somray, or Northern Chong, is a Pearic language of Cambodia.

Geographical distribution

Somray is spoken in the following areas of Cambodia.

• Battambang province: Phumi Chhak Rokar area (Baradat ms.)
• Koh Kong province: far north
• Pursat province: 2 areas, north, east, and west of Phum Tasanh, and Tanyong river around Phum Pra Moi

The extinct Somre of Siem Reap (Moura 1883) was a dialect of the same language.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		m	n	(ɲ)	ŋ
Stop	voiceless	p	t	c	k	ʔ
	aspirated	pʰ	tʰ	cʰ	kʰ
	voiced	b	d
Fricative		v	s			h
Trill			r
Approximant			l	j

• An initial [ɲ] mainly exists from Khmer word-borrowings.
• The voiced stops /b,d/ in word-initial position are heard as glottalized [ˀb,ˀd].

Final consonants

	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	m	n	ɲ*	ŋ
Stop	p	t	c	k	ʔ
Fricative	v				h
Trill		r
Approximant		l	j

*- only in a few cases in final position.

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i,iː	ɯ,ɯː	u,uː
Close-Mid	e,eː	ə,əː	o,oː
Open-mid	ɛ,ɛː		ɔ,ɔː
Open		a,aː

• Vowels may also occur as glottalized [Vˀ].
• Vowels /ɯ,ɯː/ can be heard as either back [ɯ,ɯː] or central [ɨ,ɨː].
• /a/ can also be heard as [ɤ,ə] when preceding /n,t/. ^[2]

References

1. Somray at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
   Somre of Siem Reap at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
2. Martin, Marie Alexandrine (1974). Esquisse phonologique du Somree. Asie du sud-est et monde insulindien 5. pp. 97–106.