| Cham | |
|---|---|
| ꨌꩌ چم | |
 'Cham' in Cham script | |
| Pronunciation | [cam] |
| Native to | Cambodia and Vietnam |
| Region | Mainland Southeast Asia |
| Ethnicity | Cham |
Native speakers | 490,000 (2019)[1] |
Early forms | |
| Dialects |
|
| Cham, Jawi (Arabic), Latin | |
| Official status | |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:cja – Western Chamcjm – Eastern Cham |
| Glottolog | cham1328 |
| ELP | Eastern Cham |
 | |
Cham (Cham: ꨌꩌ, Jawi: چم, Latin script: Cam) is a Malayo-Polynesian language of the Austronesian family, spoken by the Chams of Southeast Asia. It is spoken primarily in the territory of the former Kingdom of Champa, which spanned modern Southern Vietnam, as well as in Cambodia by a significant population which descends from refugees that fled during the decline and fall of Champa. The Western variety is spoken by 220,000 people in Cambodia and 25,000 people in Vietnam. As for the Eastern variety, there are about 73,000 speakers in Vietnam,[2] for a total of approximately 491,448 speakers.[1]
Cham belongs to the Chamic languages, which are spoken in parts of mainland Southeast Asia, Indonesia's Aceh Province, and on the island of Hainan. Cham is the oldest-attested Austronesian language, with the Đông Yên Châu inscription being verifiably dated to the late 4th century AD. It has several dialects, with Eastern Cham (Phan Rang Cham; ꨌꩌ ꨚꨰ, Cam pai) and Western Cham (ꨌꩌ ꨚꨭꩉ, Cam pur) being the main ones. The Cham script, derived from the ancient Indic script, is still used for ceremonial and religious purposes.
- ^ a b Western Cham at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
Eastern Cham at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
- ^ "Cham". The Unicode Standard, Version 11.0. Mountain View, CA: Unicode Consortium. p. 661.
