Pear is a moribund
Austroasiatic language
The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are t ...
of
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
. "Pear" (French ''Péâr'') is a pejorative term for the historical slave caste of the
Khmer
Khmer(s) may refer to:
Cambodia
*''Srok Khmer'' (lit. "Khmer land" or "Land of the Khmer(s)"), a colloquial exonym used to refer to Cambodia by Cambodians; see
*
*Khmer people, the ethnic group to which the great majority of Cambodians belong
** ...
, but nonetheless is the usual term in the literature. Pear is spoken in 3–4 villages of
Rovieng District
Rovieng District is a district located in Preah Vihear Province, in northern Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of ...
,
Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia according to ''Ethnologue''.
(2009), citing Baradat (ms), considers Pear of
Kompong Thom to be the most divergent
Pearic language.
[Sidwell, Paul (2009)]
"Classifying the Austroasiatic languages: history and state of the art"
''LINCOM studies in Asian linguistics'', 76. Munich: Lincom Europa.
References
{{Austroasiatic-lang-stub
Pearic languages
Endangered Austroasiatic languages