17 of the Kachok language. Probing into the vitality of Kachok with the use of
UNESCO’s Nine Factors in Vitality and Endangerment and Fishman’s GIDS, the result will guide the Cambodian government and non-government organizations in
their future language planning, policy, and programs. In addition, since it is primarily for language planners to determine the status
of a language, whether or not it exists, this study will serve as a scientific basis for Kachok language vitality for future linguists and researchers who will do the next
step in language development. Furthermore, this study is a positive response to the sentiments and clamor of
the Cambodian indigenous people for the preservation of their vernacular language and cultural heritage. Such sentiments and clamor surfaced at the annual language
forum hosted by the NGOs. Finally, the results will be used for a descriptive study by the researcher and
other individuals and for the language development program being undertaken under the auspices of the International Cooperation for Cambodia ICC to which the
researcher is presently connected.
1.6 Scope and Delimitation of the Study
The study was designed to assess the language vitality of the Kachok language in Ratanakiri province, Cambodia. It primarily focused only on language use and
attitudes as indicators of language vitality by using the UNESCO’s Nine Factors in Language Vitality and Endangerment and Fishman’s GIDS. The target area was in
nine Kachok villages in Andoung Meas and Veun Sai districts. This study was done
18 by assessing language use and attitudes of the Kachok people toward their own
language and the other languages they speak. Data for this study were collected through orally administered questionnaires, observations, and informal interviews.
This study did not include other factors in assessing language vitality such as government language policy, language proficiency, language shift, and bilingualism
multilingualism.
1.7 Definition of Terms
The following key terms are described as used in the study. Bahnaric family - commonly recognized as one of the principal branches of the
broader Mon-Khmer or Austro-Asiatic family, which includes Khmer, Vietnamese and numerous minority languages of Southeast Asia
Sidwell, 2000, p. 2. Dialect - a language which 1 is highly similar to at least one other language; 2 has
no other language included within it regionally as a distinct part; and 3 has no officially normalized writing system, pronunciation,
lexicon, or syntax Lingualinks Library, 1996-2002. It also refers to speech varieties which are linguistically similar enough to be
intelligible to speakers of a related variety Blair, 1990, p. 2. Domains - are social factors that are involved with location, topic, and participants.
Family is an example of a typical domain in which a speaker is talking to another member of a family about everyday topics. That speaker is
said to be in the family domain Fasold, 1984.
