Cambodia

The Kingdom of Cambodia (for the various names of the country in Khmer, see naming section below) is a constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia with a population of more than 13 million people. Most Cambodians are Therevada Buddhists of Khmer extraction. A citizen of Cambodia is usually identified as Cambodian. Most Cambodians are ethnically Khmer, but the country also has a substantial number of Cham and small hill tribes.

Naming

In the Khmer language, Cambodia is known by two names.

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The formal name is Prâteh Kampuchea (Khmer: Mul script ; regular script ), literally "the Country of Cambodia". Prâteh is a formal word meaning "country"; it comes from Sanskrit and is a cognate of the word pradesh as in Uttar Pradesh. Cambodia is the traditional transliteration of the Khmer name of the country, while Kampuchea is another transliteration, more faithful to the Khmer pronunciation of the word. Contrary to what some believe, Cambodia and Kampuchea are exactly the same word, being merely two different transliterations of the same Khmer word, much as Peking and Beijing are just two different transliterations of the same Chinese word. Due to its use by the Khmer Rouge, the transliteration Kampuchea is now eschewed in western languages, and the traditional Cambodia/Cambodge is preferred.

Related Topics:
Mul script - Sanskrit - Uttar Pradesh - Khmer Rouge

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The name Cambodia is derived from that of the ancient Khmer kingdom of Kambuja (Kambujadesa). Kambuja or Kamboja is the ancient Sanskrit name of an early north Indian tribe which was named after the founder of that tribe, Kambu Svayambhuva. The French name for Cambodia was Cambodge, which was derived from Kambuja.

Related Topics:
Kambuja - Kamboja - India - Kambu Svayambhuva

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The informal and colloquial name of Cambodia, the one most used by Khmer people, is Srok Khmae (regular script ), literally "the Khmer Land " (the name Khmae is spelled with a final "r" in the Khmer alphabet, but the "r" is not pronounced; final "r" disappeared from Khmer pronunciation in the 19th century). Srok is a more colloquial word than prâteh, but both words roughly mean the same thing. Srok Khmae is used in almost every circumstance of life, while Prâteh Kampuchea is used in more formal occasions, such as in news programs or in political speeches.

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The official name of the country, however, is Preahreachanachâk Kampuchea (Mul script ; regular script ), i.e. "Kingdom of Cambodia". The etymology of Preahreachanachâk is: Preah- ("sacred", cognate of the Indian word Brahmin) -reach- ("king, royal, realm", from Sanskrit, cognate of the Indian words raja and raj as in maharaja and British Raj, cognate of German Reich) -ana- (from Pali {{IPA|āṇā}}, "authority, command, power", itself from Sanskrit {{IPA|ājñā}}, same meaning) -châk (from Sanskrit cakra, meaning "wheel", a symbol of power and rule).

Related Topics:
Brahmin - Maharaja - British Raj - German - Reich - Pali

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Since independence was achieved in 1953, the official name of Cambodia has changed several times, following the troubled history of the country. In English/French, the following names have been used since 1953.

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• Kingdom of Cambodia/Royaume du Cambodge under the rule of the monarchy from 1953 through 1970;
• Khmer Republic/République khmère (a calque of French Republic) under the rule of the fascist military rule of Lon Nol from 1970 to 1975;
• Democratic Kampuchea/Kampuchea démocratique under the rule of the communist Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979;
• People's Republic of Kampuchea/République populaire du Kampuchea (a calque of People's Republic of China) under the rule of the Vietnamese sponsored government from 1979 to 1989;
• State of Cambodia/État du Cambodge (a neutral name, before deciding whether to return to monarchy or not) under the rule of the United Nations transitional authority from 1989 to 1993;
• Kingdom of Cambodia/Royaume du Cambodge (return to the pre-1970's name) used after the restoration of the monarchy in 1993