Editing Khmer script (section)

==Independent vowels==
Independent vowels are non-diacritical vowel characters that stand alone (i.e. without being attached to a consonant symbol). In Khmer they are called {{lang|km|ស្រៈពេញតួ}} ''sră pénh tuŏ'', which means "complete vowels". They are used in some words to represent certain combinations of a vowel with an initial [[glottal stop]] or [[liquid consonant|liquid]]. The independent vowels are used in a small number of words, mostly of Indic origin, and consequently there is some inconsistency in their use and pronunciations.<ref name=Huffman/> However, a few words in which they occur are used quite frequently; these include: {{lang|km|ឥឡូវ}} {{transliteration|km|ĕlov}} {{IPA|[ʔəjləw]}} "now", {{lang|km|ឪពុក}} {{transliteration|km|âupŭk}} {{IPA|[ʔəwpuk]}} "father", {{lang|km|ឬ}} {{transliteration|km|rœ}} {{IPA|[rɨː]}} "or", {{lang|km|ឮ}} {{transliteration|km|lœ}} {{IPA|[lɨː]}} "hear", {{lang|km|ឲ្យ}} {{transliteration|km|aôy}} {{IPA|[ʔaoj]}} "give, let", {{lang|km|ឯង}} {{transliteration|km|êng}} {{IPA|[ʔaeŋ]}} "oneself, I, you", {{lang|km|ឯណា}} {{transliteration|km|ê na}} {{IPA|[ʔae naː]}} "where".

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
! Independent<br />vowel
! [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
! [[Romanization of Khmer#Geographic Department|GD]]
! [[Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN|UNGEGN]]
|-
| <big>{{lang|km|ឥ}}</big>
| {{IPA|[ʔə]}}, {{IPA|[ʔɨ]}}, {{IPA|[ʔəj]}}
|''e''
| ''{{transliteration|km|ĕ}}''
|-
| <big>{{lang|km|ឦ}}</big>
| {{IPA|[ʔəj]}}
|''ei''
| ''{{transliteration|km|ei}}''
|-
| <big>{{lang|km|ឧ}}</big>
| {{IPA|[ʔo]}}, {{IPA|[ʔu]}}, {{IPA|[ʔao]}}
|''o''
| ''{{transliteration|km|ŏ, ŭ}}''
|-
| bgcolor="#E5E5E5" | <big>{{lang|km|ឨ}}</big>
| colspan="3" bgcolor="#E5E5E5" |Obsolete (equivalent to the sequence {{lang|km|ឧក}})<ref name="Unicode">[https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1780.pdf Official Unicode Consortium code chart for Khmer] (PDF)</ref>
|-
| <big>{{lang|km|ឩ}}</big>
| {{IPA|[ʔou], [ʔuː]}}
|''ou''
| not given
|-
| <big>{{lang|km|ឪ}}</big>
| {{IPA|[ʔəw]}}
|''au''
| ''{{transliteration|km|âu}}''
|-
| <big>{{lang|km|ឫ}}</big>
| {{IPA|[rɨ]}}
|''rue''
| ''{{transliteration|km|rœ̆}}''
|-
| <big>{{lang|km|ឬ}}</big>
| {{IPA|[rɨː]}}
|''rueu''
| ''{{transliteration|km|rœ}}''
|-
| <big>{{lang|km|ឭ}}</big>
| {{IPA|[lɨ]}}
|''lue''
| ''{{transliteration|km|lœ̆}}''
|-
| <big>{{lang|km|ឮ}}</big>
| {{IPA|[lɨː]}}
|''lueu''
| ''{{transliteration|km|lœ}}''
|-
| <big>{{lang|km|ឯ}}</big>
| {{IPA|[ʔae]}}, {{IPA|[ʔɛː]}}, {{IPA|[ʔeː]}}
|''ae''
| ''{{transliteration|km|ê}}''
|-
| <big>{{lang|km|ឰ}}</big>
| {{IPA|[ʔaj]}}
|''ai''
| ''{{transliteration|km|ai}}''
|-
| <big>{{lang|km|ឱ}}, {{lang|km|ឲ}}</big>
| {{IPA|[ʔao]}}
|''ao''
| ''{{transliteration|km|aô}}''
|-
| <big>{{lang|km|ឳ}}</big>
| {{IPA|[ʔaw]}}
|''au''
| ''{{transliteration|km|au}}''
|}

Independent vowel letters are named similarly to the dependent vowels, with the word {{lang|km|ស្រៈ}} ''sră'' {{IPA|[sraʔ]}} ("vowel") followed by the principal sound of the letter (the pronunciation or first of the pronunciations listed above), followed by an additional glottal stop after a short vowel. However the letter ឥ is called {{lang|km|ស្រៈឥ}} ''sră ĕ'' {{IPA|[sraʔ ʔeʔ]}}.<ref>Huffman (1970), p. 29.</ref>