Sanskrit’s Influence on Khmer

Sanskrit is the life-line of India. There is a harmonious blend of the sacred and philosophy in Indian culture because it is based on the Sanskrit language (Saṁskṛiḥ Saṁkṛitāśritā). We had a pleasant and glorious combination of Sanskrit-Prakrit languages in ancient India. Pali is linguistically a variety of Prakrit, because Prakrit is a collective name of India's ancient spoken languages. Among these ancient Indian languages, Sanskrit is an invaluable source of Vedic civilization and beautiful classical literature. It contains the incalculable knowledge.  Sanskrit was also a spoken language in ancient India and it is still continuing as a spoken language in modern India. Not only Indians, but all human beings on the earth must be proud of this language. Sanskrit literature is a storehouse of jñāna and vijñāna, and the spiritual depths.

Khmer is the language of the  Khmer people and the official language of Cambodia. With approximately 16 million speakers, it is the second most widely spoken Austroasiatic language (after Vietnamese). Khmer language was influenced by Sanskrit and Pali languages which entered Cambodia duringn ancient times along with Hinduism and Buddhism, and thereafter, these languages have enriched Cambodian culture.

Sanskrit, in particular, was a great inspiration for the Khmer scholars in the past. As a consequence, many words of Sanskrit and Pali languages have entered and mingled with the local language Khmer in Cambodia. The terms of these languages and the grammatical structure and literature also have augmented the Khmer language. It is mainly the royal families who used the Sanskrit language as they followed Hindu traditions, and the general people followed Buddhism and their local language, Khmer.

Original words from Sanskrit and Pali languages were used for communication in the past. As there was no standard agreement to write the Sanskrit and Pali words in Khmer, even today, there is a confusion about how to write the Sanskrit and Pali sounds in Khmer. Khmer is an Austroasiatic language, and this family also includes the Mon, the Vietnamese, and the  Munda languages. This family expanded in the area that extended from the Malay Peninsula through Southeast Asia to East India. In this way, Khmer also had a geographical connection with India, besides the religious associations.

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