Northern Khmer, also called Khmer Surin, is the dialect of the
Khmer language spoken by the
Khmer native to the
Thai provinces of
Surin,
Sisaket,
Buriram and
Roi Et as well as those that have migrated from this region into
Cambodia.
Northern Khmer differs from the
Phnom Penh dialect (considered the
standard) in the number and variety of vowel
phonemes, consonantal distribution, lexicon and grammar, giving Northern Khmer a distinct accent easily recognizable by speakers of other dialects. Some speakers of Northern Khmer may understand other varieties of Khmer but speakers of standard Khmer who have not been exposed to Northern Khmer often have trouble understanding Northern Khmer. These facts have led some linguists to advocate considering Northern Khmer a separate, but closely related language.