Learning resource

Cambodian System of Writing and Beginning Reader

Cambodian System of Writing and Beginning Reader is a 1970 textbook by Franklin E. Huffman that teaches students to read and write Khmer.[1][2] Yale University Press published it in the Yale Language Series on March 11, 1970.[1]

Plain green book cover with the title in Khmer script and English and the author's name, Franklin E. Huffman.
Cover of Cambodian System of Writing and Beginning Reader.

About the resource

The full title is Cambodian System of Writing and Beginning Reader with Drills and Glossary. Chhom-Rak Thong Lambert and Im Proum contributed to the book.[3] It was written to be used with Huffman's Modern Spoken Cambodian in an intensive or semi-intensive beginning course, and it uses the same phonological transcription, a system Huffman developed over five years of studying and teaching the language. The Institute of International Studies of the U.S. Office of Education sponsored the work.[2]

Contents

The book has four parts. The first describes how the Cambodian writing system relates to the sounds of the language. The second is a series of tightly structured reading drills that train students to read every regular Cambodian word shape. The third, a Beginning Cambodian Reader, holds 50 selections graded in length and difficulty, from short, simple narratives to essays on Cambodian culture. The fourth is a Cambodian-English glossary of some 2,000 words.[2]

The Yale paperback has 380 pages; the copy in the ERIC collection has 365.[1][2]

Access

The 1970 text is in the public domain, and it is available as a free PDF.[4][5] As of 2026, the Yale paperback, ISBN 9780300013146, sells for $37.00.[1]

References 5

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This page was last edited on 5 October 2026, at 14:47.