"The Khmer Language is not United": What Khmer Language Complaints Reveal about Cambodian Society, Education, and Dreams for a Better Future

"The Khmer Language is not United": What Khmer Language Complaints Reveal about Cambodian Society, Education, and Dreams for a Better Future

Keynote Speaker: Cheryl Yin
Date & Time: Friday, March 27, 2026 | 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM
Location: 178 Pillsbury Dr SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455 | Burton Hall 227

In Cambodia, it is common to hear Cambodians complain about the Khmer (Cambodian) language. For some, the language is "dying" as youths prefer to learn foreign languages such as English. Others believe that Khmer grammar is no longer taught in public schools. In this keynote, I analyze language complaints as an indirect critique of Cambodian society, but also as a desire for a better future. For some Cambodians, private schools and foreign languages offer a path toward upward mobility in a globalized world. For others, they represent a threat to Khmer language maintenance. I argue that these language complaints represent competing dreams: one rooted in change and progress, another anchored in history and tradition.
By exploring these tensions, this talk invites educators in Minnesota and beyond to learn about language and education in a different context and to consider how transnational dialogue might inspire us to imagine radical possibility in our own classrooms.