What a surprise! It is assumed that among the Cambodian population – estimated in November 2024 as 17.64 million – there are about 14 million registered Facebook accounts. Does this really indicate that here is a lively and profound public exchange of opinions going on?
No. In reality, the high amount of messages in voicemail is probably related to the difficulty to write in the Khmer language – and voicemail is an easy way to communicate with voicemail.
The Khmer script was gradually developed from an Indian script, and by the 9th century, a writing system for the Khmer language had developed which is close to the present one.
But it is a difficult system, which doed not easily lead to wide literacy, and the difficulties can not be overcome nowadays by using the Khmer script on computers – quite to the contrary.
To write in English, we use an alphabet that consists of only 26 letters, which are written in uppercase
and lowercase forms, and in addition, there are punctuation marks such as periods, commas, exclamation and question marks. But the Khmer script has a total of 128 graphic elements to write consonants, independent vowels, dependent vowels, diacritics, numerals, and punctuation marks. But as computer keyboards have much less keys, special software had to be developed to produce these 128 graphic elements by pushing one key, or two or three key combinations at the same time. This high number comes also from some further peculiarities – and difficulties – of the Khmer script. To show just a few of the many ones here:
The letter sound corresponding to the English r-sound has two different graphic forms: when it stands at the beginning of a word, it looks like this រ, but if it occurs in a combination with another consonant of the k p t kind, it is written before, but pronounced after the related consonant. For example in the word kru (គ្រូ teacher), where the r is on the left side, as the sound of kru is written with the r and k in reverse order, as rku, and the u is under the k-sound. – To write certain vowel sounds, two graphic elements are written in front of and after the consonant, after which the vowel is pronounced: ឿ ៀ ោ ៅ or above, or below the consonant, after which the vowel is pronounced.
So it is understandable why so many Cambodian people avoid writing in the Khmer script and use voicemail instead. But this has serious social consequences. When responding to an information, the program offers already some non-verbal help to “React” by clicking on one of the following graphic faces:
Convenient? Yes. In Facebook areas in other languages, we can see how engaged discussions with arguments and detailed formulated counter-arguments go on, while in similar Facebook places in Cambodia, we can often see long columns of very short notes in Khmer words (which I present here in English translation):
- Want to go there but no money
- Ministry should post more tourist sites than politics
- Price?
- China is the future
- Khmer can do it! Cheers! Peace
- Thank you for sharing
- So happy
- Good luck
Or just a small example of many more icons, indicating agreement, approval, support, happiness, or some unclear emotions, or disagreement:
The wast majority of such graphic responses express agreement; fewer express some reluctance, and I had to search a lot for the few examples where somebody expresses disagreement. All this is reflecting a general reluctance to engage in controversial exchanges in public.
Convenient? Yes. But such “communication” with pictures does not initiate real communication, where facts and opinions are stated, agreed upon, and shown in relation to detailed content, or questioned, or even rejected, with alternative arguments, which then could also be easily re-quoted as text, even many days later, in an ongoing argumented discussion. The definition of Cambodia in the Cambodian Constitution – “a multi-party liberal democratic regime guaranteeing human rights” – expects that such public different argumented exchanges would happen.
What does it mean for a society, when a place like this – maybe the most inviting public place for the presentation and exchange of opinions and positions – when it is a place where detailed verbal communication is mostly reduced to some few words, or avoided, by replacing words with simple signs?
The Ministry of Education is obviously aware of the need to emphasize the significance of reading, by organizing a National Reading Day, together with schools, teachers and parents. “The annual celebration is aimed to cultivate reading habits, reading culture, and enhance reading and writing skills to contribute to the protection and strengthening of Khmer culture and civilization. Differentactivities ranging from reading, poetry and composing competitions, to presentations and discussions, will be held on the occasion.”
Obviously, reading and writing in Cambodia does not only have to struggle with the Khmer writing system, but also with another powerful competitor which provides pre-fabricated answer without the need to think personally:
Of course, reading may help writing. But if also active reading is just replaced with what is offered already fixed to be installed into the brain, no active social life is develops.
Not many may be aware of it, like this girl in a cartoon from Argentina:
“The danger of living without reading is that it forces you to believe in what they tell you.”
