Somray language

Not to be confused with Samre language.

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

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

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]