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About the Language
Khmer is the official language of Cambodia
and one of the major languages of Southeast Asia.
It is spoken by eleven million people in Cambodia and nearly three million more outside Cambodia. It belongs to a family
of languages widely distributed in southern Asia and is the idiom of one of the earliest of the great nation-states in
the region. As such it is the vehicle of sophisticated forms of architecture,
the plastic arts, music, dance, literature and statecraft which are
transmitted to Cambodia's
neighbors and which are still admired today. The writing system it employs
is a member of the Indic script family, which spread from India into Inner Asia and all of Southeast Asia
except Vietnam.
Khmer is a non-tonal but has vowel distinctions not found in English;
its grammar is uncomplicated, with neither verb conjugations nor noun
declensions, and is not unlike that of English.
Fulfilling the Language Requirement and the
Certificate In Khmer
Introductory and intermediate coursework in Khmer may be used to fulfill
the foreign language requirement for all bachelor's degrees on the Manoa
campus. Upon completing 15 credit-hours beyond the intermediate level
with a 3.0 GPA in his/her coursework, the student may apply for a Certificate
in Khmer. Also, khmer language through online classes is offered. Please refer to this page.
About the Program
Coursework in Khmer at the University
of Hawai'i (UH)
is offered by the Department of Hawaiian and Indo-Pacific Languages
and Literatures and includes four levels of study (see below). Courses
on other aspects of Cambodia (such as history, anthropology, archeology,
art, art history, historic preservation, economics, environmental studies,
peace studies, business, and Asian Studies) are offered by experts on
the staff of other UH departments. |
