French cultural influence remains high but jostles with that of newer arrivals

By Roo Griffiths | Published on May 3, 2008

PHNOM PENH - Cambodia was part of the French Indochinese dream, together with Vietnam and Laos. However, most French interventions focused on Vietnam; colonialism for Cambodia passed more quietly than for its eastern neighbor. But the French made a lasting impression on Cambodian culture. A quick look around Phnom Penh or any of the provincial capitals today offers a glimpse of many French-influenced architectural wonders. Even after independence in 1954, many people were fluent in French, and France continued to make inputs in the development of Cambodia.

The Khmer language is one piece of evidence of French influence. Khmer has robinet (tap), robe (dress) and enquête (inquiry). Many of the higher classes in Colonial-era Cambodia spoke French fluently, often mixing it naturally with the national language, said an official from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. Most of Cambodia's elite, in particular academics, royal family members and high-ranking officials, were and still are French speakers, sometimes learning to speak French before learning to speak Khmer, the official said.

Some even mix the languages while speaking.

“Sometimes I cannot find the word in Khmer language when I am in a meeting so I use the French one,” said Phan Socheat, a ministry official. “Almost 100 percent of the high officials understand me when I do this because they do the same.”

After 1979, the USSR rose in importance, giving aid and technical assistance to the then Vietnamese-backed government. Students of the Royal University of Agriculture were taught in Russian. The Royal University of Technology used both French and Russian. Nonetheless, French remained important, particularly as Soviet influence faded after the Vietnamese withdrawal. However, by the end of the 1980s, French was no longer heard in schools. Only older people spoke French fluently; many of whom had disappeared in the Pol Pot era, and with French no longer taught, it was left to an aging elite to carry the torch for the republic and its culture.

“In our meetings, the only people who don't understand us when we speak French are the young people,” Phan Socheat said. “They have no idea about French.”

This has been changing for 15 years. In 1992, the Alliance Française was re-established in Phnom Penh (renamed the Centre Culturel Français du Cambodge – CCF – in 1994), making renewed efforts in cultural cooperation and education. Cambodians wishing to learn French now make up a large proportion of foreign language learners, an observer said.

Hang Chea who is the director of an NGO in Phnom Penh, studied medicine in France.

“I am very excited to see French making a comeback,” Chea said. “My French is fluent and I started to worry that my skills were useless, but now the French have come back and I work with them a lot. Young people come to work with them also. It's a wonderful new period for us all.”

Although French is becoming more popular, English and Chinese remain the languages of choice in the kingdom, observers said.

“Younger generations rush to learn English, currently the second language of NGOs, business and government,” said Chanlach Hem, who is teaching English in a private class at the Baktouk area. There is a large French community, and French aid to Cambodia is high, but often only those French NGOs that communicate in English make it into the mainstream.

Kim Leng, a CCF student studying French, said, “I love studying French. It is more beautiful than English and I can find lots of information about my country's history with France. But it is not as useful as English, everybody knows that. So I learn both: French for me and English for everyone else.”