ThePearic languages (alternatively called theChongic languages[1]) are a group of endangered languages of the EasternMon–Khmer branch of theAustroasiatic language family, spoken byPear people (thePor, theSamré, theSamray, theSuoy, and theChong) living in westernCambodia and easternThailand.[2][3]
Pearic languages are remnants of the aboriginal languages of much ofCambodia, but have dwindled in numbers due to assimilation. "Pear" is a pejorative term meaning 'slave' or 'caste'.
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 andChong), withChong being further divided into four groups.
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).
^abSidwell, 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.
^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.
^Sidwell, Paul. 2015. "Austroasiatic classification." In Jenny, Mathias and Paul Sidwell, eds (2015).The Handbook of Austroasiatic Languages. Leiden: Brill.
^Sidwell, Paul (2021). "Classification of MSEA Austroasiatic languages".The Languages and Linguistics of Mainland Southeast Asia. De Gruyter. pp. 179–206.doi:10.1515/9783110558142-011.
