A Study Of Final Stops In Khmer

As a member of the Mon-khmer of Austro-asiatic family,khmer still has-p,-t,-k,-c four types of final stops,but the description and research on it are still weak.In this paper,the acoustic characteristics of khmer’s final stops are summarized by analyzing the phonogram of the four types of khmer’s final stops with different vowels as the core.Based on the written literature,this paper attempts to discuss the evolution of final stops in khmer and Mon-khmer from synchronic and diachronic perspectives,and then sums up the evolution path and causes of final stops in khmer and Mon-khmer,and discusses related issues as well.The main findings of this paper as follows:First,among the four types of final stops in khmer,final stop-p,-t,-k and-c,-k is the most final stop that easy to change and at the beginning stage of evolution.-k concurrent evolution is: when /a/,/u/,/ia/ as nuclei of-k,alternating with final stop-(?);When /ae/ as nuclei of-k,it becomes final stop-c.When /e/ as nuclei of-k,-k loosen.The final stop-t,-p and-c are stable.In addition,the final stop-p and-t have a "final pause ".Second,khmer’s final stops diachronic evolution can be summarized as three periods: period of ancient Khmer have 11 final stop consonant,period of modern Khmer have 7 final stop consonant,the period of ancient Khmer to period of middle Khmer: final stop-(?) and-(?) was replaced by final stop-p and-t.period of Medieval Khmer transition to period of modern Khmer: final stop-g and-(?) was unvoiced,and replaced by final stop-k and-c.Third,evolution of the final stops’ s place of articulation of Mon-khmer as follows: hard palate → lip → gingiva → root of tongue → throat.Fourth,the final stop-c of Austro-asiatic is still preserve in languages such as Khmer and Vietnamese,but has been lost in most languages.The evolution of the final stop-c in Austro-asiatic can be summarized as follows: first,it loses occlusiveness and becomes final stop-h or vowel /i/.The other is to merge into final stop-p,-t,-k.