LANGUAGE

The official Cambodian language, called Khmer, is part of the Mon-Khmer family, enriched by the Indian Pali and Sanskrit languages and influenced by Thai and French. Khmer is related to the languages spoken by hilltribe people of Laos, Vietnam and even Malaysia. It has no tones and the script is derived from the South-Indian alphabet, written from left to right and leaving no space between the words. English and French are spoken also - French mainly by some old people, whereas the younger generation learns English.