The Pearic languages (alternatively called the Chongic languages[1]) are a group of endangered languages of the Eastern Mon–Khmer branch of the Austroasiatic language family, spoken by Pear people (the Por, the Samré, the Samray, the Suoy, and the Chong) living in western Cambodia and eastern Thailand.[2][3]

Quick Facts Geographic distribution, Linguistic classification ...
Pearic
Chongic
Geographic
distribution
Indochina
Linguistic classificationAustroasiatic
  • Pearic
Proto-languageProto-Pearic
Subdivisions
Glottologpear1246

  Pearic
Close

Pearic languages are remnants of the aboriginal languages of much of Cambodia, but have dwindled in numbers due to assimilation. "Pear" is a pejorative term meaning 'slave' or 'caste'.

Classification

Paul Sidwell proposed the following classification of the Pearic languages in Sidwell (2009:137), synthesizing analyses from Headley (1985), Choosri (2002), Martin (1974), and Peiros (2004)[4] He divides Pearic into two primary branches (Pear and Chong), with Chong being further divided into four groups.

Pearic lexical innovations include 'fish', 'moon', 'water leech', 'chicken', and 'fire'.[5]

Reconstruction

Headley (1985)

The Proto-Pearic language, the reconstructed ancestor of the Pearic languages, has been reconstructed by Robert Headley (1985).[6] The 149 Proto-Pearic forms below are from Headley (1985).

  • *peːm 'angry'
  • *pe(ː)ʔ 'three'
  • *taːɲ 'to weave'
  • *kam 'arrow'
  • *keːv 'to call'
  • *caː 'to eat'
  • *ciʔ 'louse'
  • *ʔic 'excrement'
  • *ʔan 'here'
  • *Pa(ː)ŋ 'flower'
  • *Poːt 'to cut, hack'
  • *Tɔːŋ 'to fear'
  • *Teːv 'right (dexter)'
  • *Cak 'to hunt'
  • *Ceːv 'to go'
  • *Kaːŋ 'month'
  • *Kɔːj 'long(time)'
  • *Kic 'small'
  • *buːl 'drunk'
  • *beːt(?) 'knife'
  • *baːŋ 'morning'
  • *dɔːn 'must'
  • *deːv 'to buy'
  • *daːk 'water'
  • *ɟuːm 'vine'
  • *ɟeːv 'soup'
  • *ɟɔːr 'sap'
  • *graːɲ 'alcohol'
  • *gɨl 'to sit'
  • *guːm 'to winnow'
  • *suk 'hair'
  • *saŋ 'to hear'
  • *sɔːŋ 'to dance'
  • *huːm 'to bathe'
  • *hɔː 'not'
  • *h(ɨː)r 'to fly'
  • *hjɔk 'breast'
  • *hmɔːk 'bat'
  • *hmaːr 'field'
  • *hnoːk 'to stretch oneself'
  • *hŋɔːn 'thatch'
  • *hrɔːk 'to hide'
  • *hlɔːŋ 'banana'
  • *hluk 'salt'
  • *v(ɛː)ŋ 'raw, uncooked'
  • *rəvaːj 'tiger'
  • *jaːv 'scorpion'
  • *j(i)p 'to come'
  • *m(a)t 'eye'
  • *nɔːŋ 'mountain'
  • *nɨm 'year'
  • *ŋ(əː)r 'red'
  • *reːs 'root'
  • *rɔːj 'fly'
  • *raːj 'ten'
  • *loːm 'to ask'
  • *laːc 'lightning'
  • *_liɲ 'elder sibling'
  • *Pac 'to break'
  • *hoːc 'dead'
  • *hoːc 'dead'
  • *pah 'to slap'
  • *c(u)h 'to spit'
  • *tak 'broken apart'
  • *lɨk 'bran'
  • *-haːm 'blood'
  • *tɨm 'to cook'
  • *k(eː)n 'child'
  • *kɨn 'female'
  • *hlɨŋ 'deep'
  • *ɟiɲ 'foot'
  • *ʔɔːɲ 'to keep, put'
  • *Təp 'to bury'
  • *h(ɔː)p 'to eat'
  • *veːt 'blue'
  • *klaːv 'skink'
  • *knaːj 'elephant'
  • *Tɔːj 'before'
  • *sɨl 'sharp-edged'
  • *taːl 'to stand'
  • *coːl 'to plant'
  • *meːl 'fish'
  • *Peːr 'water leech'
  • *Keːr 'to bark'
  • *h(oː)r 'to blow'
  • *Ceːs 'kind of deer'
  • *loːs 'kind of deer'
  • *coːs 'hundred'
  • *cɨs 'old'
  • *pa(ː)s 'tail'
  • *c(ɔ)ʔ 'dog'
  • *rəgiʔ 'thin'
  • *tŋiʔ 'day'
  • *poʔ 'dream'
  • *teˀ 'earth'
  • *(c)kaː 'mouth'
  • *(c)mɨː 'civet'
  • *(c)ŋ(ɨ)n 'wife'
  • *(c)rɛːŋ 'ring'
  • *ɟrəlaʔ 'thorn'
  • *kdɔːŋ 'six'
  • *kleˀ 'ashamed'
  • *klɔːŋ 'bone'
  • *kmaːs 'smoke'
  • *kmɔk 'cough'
  • *gmaʔ 'rain'
  • *knɔːk 'to flail'
  • *gnuːl 'seven'
  • *grɨk 'to awaken'
  • *ks(ɨ)m 'star'
  • *kvak 'to hook'
  • *kjoŋ 'kind of lizard'
  • *gjaːŋ 'turtle'
  • *ml(ɔː)ŋ 'eel'
  • *pliː 'fruit'
  • *bluː 'thigh'
  • *pnaːk 'basket'
  • *bnaːm 'ugly'
  • *(p)ŋaːm 'bee'
  • *brɔːŋ 'Khmer'
  • *braːj 'cotton thread'
  • *psiː 'snake'
  • *skɛːŋ 'wing'
  • *smaɲ 'cramp'
  • *snɛːŋ 'after'
  • *sŋal 'to know'
  • *sriː 'to ask'
  • *tmoˀ 'stone'
  • *tpɔʔ 'winnowing basket'
  • *trɔːj 'wild cow'
  • *ʔiːn 'to get'
  • *briː 'forest'
  • *kriɲ 'drum'
  • *ksuː 'red ant'
  • *bleːv 'fire'
  • *ləkheːt 'to slide'
  • *ʔoːc 'to take'
  • *Coːj 'sore, wound'
  • *Toːs 'head'
  • *koːj 'tooth'
  • *(m)oːt 'younger sibling'
  • *b(oː) 'you'
  • *koj 'kind of lizard'
  • *hlɛːk 'chicken'
  • *Tɛːŋ 'left'
  • *bɛːk 'to laugh'
  • *tɛ(h) 'lightning'
  • *gɔŋ 'long'
  • *tɔŋ 'house'

Sidwell & Rau (2015)

The following Proto-Pearic lexical proto-forms have been reconstructed by Sidwell & Rau (2015: 303, 340-363).[5]

  • *ʔɨːs 'all'
  • *bɔh 'ashes'
  • *ker 'to bark'
  • *tkɔːˀ 'bark (of tree)'
  • *guŋ 'belly'
  • *tak 'big'
  • *ciːˀm 'bird'
  • *tap 'to bite'
  • *caˀŋ 'black'
  • *pNhaːm 'blood'
  • *klɔːŋ 'bone'
  • *j̊ɔk, *tuh 'breast'
  • *pɔːs, *tuːt 'to burn (vt.)'
  • *ktraːˀs 'claw/nail'
  • *juːr 'cloud'
  • *saˀc 'cold'
  • *jip 'to come/arrive'
  • *hoːc 'die (of a person)'
  • *cɔː 'dog'
  • *taːˀl 'to drink (water)'
  • *bah, *jeːˀs 'dry (adj./stat.)'
  • *prlaːŋ 'ear'
  • *teːˀ 'earth/soil'
  • *caː 'to eat'
  • *tuŋ 'egg'
  • *mat 'eye'
  • *pɨːs 'fat/grease/oil'
  • *suk 'feather'
  • *pliːw 'fire'
  • *meːˀl 'fish (n.)'
  • *hɨːr 'fly (v.)'
  • *ɟɨŋ 'foot'
  • *briː 'forest'
  • *bɔːŋ 'full (vessel)'
  • *ʔɨs 'give'
  • *ceːw 'to go'
  • toːˀn 'good'
  • *weːt 'green'
  • *suk 'hair (of head)'
  • *tiː 'hand'
  • *saŋ 'to hear/listen'
  • *soːc, *sroːc 'horn'
  • *ʔiɲ 'I'
  • *pNhoːc 'to kill'
  • *-nuːl, *mkuːr 'knee'
  • *kah 'know'
  • *-laːˀ 'leaf'
  • *bic 'to lie (down)'
  • *lɔːm 'liver'
  • *goŋ 'long'
  • *ciː 'louse (head)'
  • *(c/k)lɔːŋ 'man/husband'
  • *lɔː 'many'
  • *pɔːm, *ɟuːc 'meat/flesh'
  • *kaːŋ 'moon'
  • *nɔːŋ 'mountain/hill'
  • *(c)kaː 'mouth'
  • *kɔːk 'neck'
  • *blaː 'new'
  • *klɛːˀŋ 'night'
  • *-toːt, *mu(ː)s 'nose'
  • *ʔih 'not'
  • *moːˀj 'one'
  • *kɟɨm 'person/human'
  • *kɔːˀn 'rat'
  • *gmaːˀ 'rain'
  • *ŋar 'red'
  • *ɟar 'resin'
  • *kraː 'road, path'
  • *reːs 'root (of a tree)'
  • *moːl 'round (object)'
  • *(g)laːŋ 'sand'
  • *daŋ 'see'
  • *kɨl 'sit'
  • *-loːˀ 'skin'
  • *bic 'sleep'
  • *kic 'small'
  • *kmaː⁽ˀ⁾s 'smoke (n.)'
  • *ɲaːj 'to speak, say'
  • *taːl 'to stand'
  • *ksɨm 'star'
  • *tmoːˀ 'stone'
  • *(t/s)ŋiːˀ 'sun'
  • *heːl 'to swim'
  • *paːs 'tail'
  • *dan 'that (dist.)'
  • *ʔan 'this (prox.)'
  • *boː 'thou/you'
  • *ɟrlaʔ 'thorn'
  • *ktaːˀk 'tongue'
  • *koːj 'tooth'
  • *neːˀm 'tree'
  • *baːˀr 'two'
  • *ceːw 'to walk, go'
  • *tuːˀ 'warm/hot'
  • *daːk 'water'
  • *hɛːŋ 'we (excl.)'
  • *taːɲ 'to weave'
  • *cmpiːˀj 'what?'
  • *broːŋ, *pruːs 'white'
  • *ʔmih 'who?'
  • *kɨn 'woman/wife'
  • *joːˀs 'yellow'

Lexical innovations

Paul Sidwell (2015:203)[7] lists the following Pearic lexical innovations that had replaced original Proto-Austroasiatic forms.

More information Gloss, Proto-Pearic ...
GlossProto-PearicProto-Austroasiatic
fish*meːˀl*kaʔ
fire*pliːw*ʔus
bone*klɔːŋ*cʔaːŋ
chicken*hlɛːk[8]*ʔiər
Close

Sidwell (2021) subsequently revised the list of Pearic lexical innovations as follows.[9]

More information Gloss, Proto-Austroasiatic ...
GlossProto-AustroasiaticProto-PearicKasongChongSamrePear of Kompong Thom
‘fish’*kaʔ*meːˀwme̤ː⁴⁵³me̤ːˀwmiːɹmiəl
‘fire’*ʔuːs*pleːwple̤ːw²¹ple̤ːwpliːwphlou
‘bone’*cʔaːŋ*klɔːŋklɔːŋ³³klɑːŋkluəŋ
‘chicken’*ʔiər*hlɛːklɛːk⁴⁵læːkliəklék
‘banana’*hlɔːŋlɔːŋ³³lɑːŋluəŋlâng
Close

References

Further reading

Wikiwand in your browser!

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.

Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.