Pearic languages explained

Pearic
Also Known As:	Chongic
Region:	Indochina
Familycolor:	Austro-Asiatic
Child1:	Pear
Child2:	Chong
Protoname:	Proto-Pearic
Glotto:	pear1246
Glottorefname:	Pearic
Map2:	Austroasiatic-en.svg

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]}

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
  • Pear of Kompong Thom (Baradat ms.)
  • Chong
    • Southern
      • Suoi of Kampong Speu (Pannetier ms., Baradat ms.)
      • Saoch, two dialects:
        • Chung of Cambodia - Phum Veal Renh, Prey Nob District in Kampong Som (Isara Chooseri 2007), (Pannetier ms.)
        • Chung of Thailand - Kanchanaburi (Isara Chooseri 2007)
    • Western
      • Chong of Chantaburi (Baradat ms.)
        • • • • • Chong həəp (Martin 1974)
        • Khlong Phlu Chong (Siripen Ungsitibonporn 2001)
          • • • • Chong lɔɔ (Martin 1974)
        • Wang Kraphrae Chong (Siripen Ungsitibonporn 2001)
        • Chong (Huffman 1983)
    • Central
      • Samre of Pursat
      • Samre (Pornsawan Ploykaew 2001)
      • Chong (Baradat ms.)
      • Kasong (Noppawan Thongkham 2003), historically called, Chong of Trat (Pannetier ms., Isarangura 1935)
    • Northern (Somray)
      • Somray of Battambang (Baradat ms.)
      • Somre of Siem Reap [nearly extinct] (Moura 1883)

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).^[7]

• *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)^[8] lists the following Pearic lexical innovations that had replaced original Proto-Austroasiatic forms.

Gloss	Proto-Pearic	Proto-Austroasiatic
fish	meːˀl	kaʔ
fire	pliːw	ʔus
bone	klɔːŋ	cʔaːŋ
chicken	hlɛːk^[9]	ʔiər

Sidwell (2021) subsequently revised the list of Pearic lexical innovations as follows.^[10]

Gloss	Proto-Austroasiatic	Proto-Pearic	Kasong	Chong	Samre	Pear of Kompong Thom
‘fish’	kaʔ	meːˀw	me̤ː⁴⁵³	me̤ːˀw	miːɹ	miəl
‘fire’	ʔuːs	pleːw	ple̤ːw²¹	ple̤ːw	pliːw	phlou
‘bone’	cʔaːŋ	klɔːŋ	klɔːŋ³³	klɑːŋ	kluəŋ	–
‘chicken’	ʔiər	hlɛːk	lɛːk⁴⁵	læːk	liək	lék
‘banana’	–	hlɔːŋ	lɔːŋ³³	lɑːŋ	luəŋ	lâng

Further reading

• Ferlus, Michel. 2009. "Toward Proto Pearic: Problems and Historical Implications". In Sophana Srichampa et al. (eds.), 38–51.

External links

• SEAlang Project: Mon–Khmer languages. The Pearic Branch
• Linguist races to save a dying language spoken in Cambodia
• Musiques Samrê des cardamomes
• Pearic/Chongic Languages Project by Paul Sidwell

Notes and References

1. Sidwell, Paul. 2019. Proto-Pearic and the role of vowel height in register formation. Paper presented at the 8th International Conference on Austroasiatic Linguistics (ICAAL8), Chiang Mai, Thailand, August 29-31, 2019.
2. Web site: Overview of the distribution of Pear (Por) people in Cambodia . 2007-10-11 . ngoforum.org . Ironside . Jeremy . April 2005 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110724063704/http://www.ngoforum.org.kh/Land/Docs/Indigenous/Overview.htm#_ftn1. Jul 24, 2011.
3. Encyclopedia: Pearic languages . Britannica Online Encyclopedia . Encyclopædia Britannica . 2007-11-19.
4. Sidwell, Paul (2009). "Classifying the Austroasiatic languages: history and state of the art". LINCOM studies in Asian linguistics, 76. Munich: Lincom Europa.
5. Sidwell, Paul and Felix Rau (2015). "Austroasiatic Comparative-Historical Reconstruction: An Overview." In Jenny, Mathias and Paul Sidwell, eds (2015). The Handbook of Austroasiatic Languages. Leiden: Brill.
6. Headley, Robert K. 1985. "Proto-Pearic and the classification of Pearic." In Suriya Ratanakult et al. (eds.), Southeast Asian Linguistic Studies Presented to Andre-G. Haudricourt. Institute of Language and Culture for Rural Development, Mahidol University. pp. 428-478.
7. Sidwell, Paul and Felix Rau (2015). "Austroasiatic Comparative-Historical Reconstruction: An Overview." In Jenny, Mathias and Paul Sidwell, eds (2015). The Handbook of Austroasiatic Languages. Leiden: Brill.
8. Sidwell, Paul. 2015. "Austroasiatic classification." In Jenny, Mathias and Paul Sidwell, eds (2015). The Handbook of Austroasiatic Languages. Leiden: Brill.
9. Headley (1985)
10. Book: Sidwell, Paul. The Languages and Linguistics of Mainland Southeast Asia. Classification of MSEA Austroasiatic languages. De Gruyter. 2021. 10.1515/9783110558142-011. 179–206.