|
 Population
and People
Cambodia's population stands at 12 million, of which the
Khmer make up 90%. Other groups include Vietnamese, Chinese,
Thai and Burmese and various ethnic hill tribes, many of the
latter living in the mountainous regions to the north and
southwest. The Khmer account for 80 percent of agricultural
workers, while the Vietnamese and Chinese dominate the
business sector.
Language
Cambodia's official language is Khmer, and this is spoken by
the majority of the population. However, Vietnamese and
several Chinese dialects can also be heard. Unlike the
languages of Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and China, Khmer is
non-tonal, but has also picked up and adapted many words
from Sanskrit and Pali. Khmer has also borrowed many terms
from Chinese and European languages, particularly French.
The roots of written Khmer derive from a South Indian
alphabet. It uses thirty-three consonants, twenty-four
dependent vowels, twelve independent vowels, and diacritic
markers. Vowels may be written before, after, over, or under
a consonant symbol. Unfortunately, 50% of the population is
illiterate.
Religion
The state religion of Theravada Buddhism was first
introduced to Cambodia during the days of the great Angkor
kingdom and prospered. For centuries, monks were the only
literate people residing in rural communities, and filled
the important role of teachers. However, in 1975, the Khmer
Rouge massacred the majority of monks and destroyed most of
the temples and it was not until after the Vietnamese
invasion that Buddhism was openly practiced.
|
&
Culture
