View source for Barang (Khmer word)

{{Short description|Khmer term meaning "French"}}

'''Barang''' ({{langx|km|បារាំង}} {{IPA|km|ɓaːraŋ|}} or {{IPA|km|paːraŋ|}}) is a [[Khmer language|Khmer]] term meaning [[France|French]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Huffman |first1=Franklin E |last2=Promchan |first2=Charan |last3=Lambert |first3=Chhom-Rak Thong |title=Modern Spoken Cambodian|edition=7th}}</ref> a Cambodian rendition of the word [[France]]. 

As a remnant of the [[French protectorate of Cambodia|French colonial rule in Cambodia]] and the resulting significant French minority in Cambodia, in some regions of Cambodia the locals will often simply assume people of European ancestry to be French and refer to them as ''barang''.

==Etymology==
Since [[Khmer language#Phonology|Khmer phonology]] does not have the unvoiced fricative ''[[f]]'', it is pronounced with the voiced plosive ''[[b]]''. In many of Khmer's loanwords, an ''[[n]]'' often changes to an ''[[Ng (digraph)|ng]]'', as in the word ''Allœmáng'' ({{lang|km|អាល្លឺម៉ង់}}, "Germany" or "German") which comes from the French word ''[[Alamanni|Allemand]]''.  The rarely used Khmer term ''Barăngsês'' ({{lang|km|បារាំងសែស}}) also shows its relation to the word {{lang|fr|Français}}.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

==Usage==
''Barang'' is also used as a suffix in some Khmer words such as ''moan barang'' ({{lang|km|មាន់បារាំង}}, "French chicken") which refers to a [[turkey (bird)|turkey]] as well as ''khtuem barang'' ({{lang|km|ខ្ទឹមបារាំង}}, "French [[allium]]") which refers to an [[onion]].

==See also==
* [[Farang]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Khmer language]]
[[Category:Ethno-cultural designations]]