Methods of Vietnamizing rivers-water related place names in Southern Vietnam originating from the Khmer language

Abstract

Southern Vietnam is known as a riverine region because it has many rivers, streams, and canals. When coming into contact with Khmer language place names, for ease of pronunciation and naming, Vietnamese people in the South have adapted these names by Vietnamizing them – redering them into Vietnamese in a way that imitates the original Khmer forms. The Vietnamization of element B (proper name) in river- and river-water place names across Southern provinces follows three ways: 1) Translating the name from Khmer into Vietnamese; 2) Transcribing the Khmer name into Vietnamese; and 3) Combining both translation and transcription. These practices reflect the way Vietnamese people respect the Khmer original river-water place names while pronouncing them in Vietnamese.