Sophat Annotated Khmer Novel Samples
Sophat, the first Khmer novel, written by Rim Kin in the early 1940s, may seem simplistic or naive to the modern reader of Western (or Thai, or Indian, or Indonesian, etc.) novels. It's important to remember, however, the historical and social significance of this novel, as it was the first time that a creative work was written in Khmer prose (as opposed in verse). In addition, due to its brevity and direct, simple prose, Sophat is ideal for the Intermediate student of Khmer as a first foray into more complex texts beyond folk tales and news articles.
This annotated version of the novel, retyped in an easy-to-read font, draws on the important grammatical and cultural material in the novel and explains it clearly in English to deepen your understanding of the novel, and to prepare you for reading longer, more difficult works. Here are some samples of various sections in the novel, so you can see how this version accomplishes the above.
Note that the PDFs containing the examples will open in a separate browser window.
Contents and Introduction to My Annotated Version of Sophat
Sophat Sample Text Excerpts, Explanations and Exercises
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