Chuon Nath
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| Born: | March 11, 1883 | |
| Expire: | September 25, 1969 | |
Samdech Sangha Raja Jhotañano Choun Nath
Samdech Sangha Raja Jhotañano Choun Nath is the late Supreme Patriarch Kana Mahanikaya of Cambodia. Amongst his achievements is his effort in conservation of the Khmer language in the form of the Khmer dictionary. His protection of Khmer identity and history in the form of the national anthem, Nokor Reach and Savada Khmer are also amongst his contribution to the country.
Conserving the Khmer Language
Since the French set up its protectorate over Cambodia, France had the intention of replacing the Khmer language with its own through the so-called “pseudo-French intellectuals.” This intention rallied many Cambodian scholars to the course of conserving the Khmer language. One of whom was Samdech Choun Nath. A son of farmers who later became a monk, Samdech Choun Nath unselfishly dedicated his life to upholding Buddhism and conservation of Khmer language in the country that was tightly gripped in French colonialism. He outstood everyone in term of his knowledge of the Khmer language. He was probably the most famous and most knowledgeable monk Cambodia had ever had. A master in Buddha’s teaching, he was very well known around the Buddhism circle as well as very adept at languages. Throughout his life he encouraged the use of “Khmerization” in both public education and religions. What Samdech Choun Nath meant by “Khmerization” was he wanted to derive new Khmer words from its ancestral root, the Pali and Sanskrit. For example, when the train arrived first in Cambodia, there was no Khmer word for the train. Samdech Choun Nath thus derived the word for train from Sanskrit and Pali word of Ayomoyo which means something that is made of metal. Together with the word Yana which means vehicle, came the Khmer word for train whcih we know today as Ayaksmeyana, pronounced Ayak-smey-yean.
However, Samdech Choun Nath’s Khmerization was not overall accepted by all Khmers. Other scholars such as Keng Vannsak who were pro-French did not find the kind of Khmer words derived from Pali and Sanskrit to be convenient. They revolutionized another kind of derivation which they want to adopt normalized French word into Khmer vocabulary. The only major change was to use Khmer alphabet to write the word rather than using the Roman alphabets used by the French. But despite opposition, Samdech Choun Nath’s Khmerization succeeded. He was a member of the original committee granted royal order to compile a Khmer dictionary in 1915 and was credited as the founder of the dictionary as he pushed for and finally succeeded in printing the first edition of the current Khmer dictionary in 1967.
NokorReach
Samdech Choun Nath’s other contribution to Cambodia include the current national anthem, Nokor Reach. Nokor Reach was written to correspond to the motto of the nation, Nation, Religion, King as well as demonstrated the grandeur and the mighty past of the Khmer nation.
Savada Khmer
Samdech Choun Nath's balad Savada Khmer calls for all Khmer to united , to remember and to uphold the great history of the Khmer people.
The translation of the balad,
All Khmers, please remember the root and history of our great country. Our boundary is wide and well known. Others always think highly of our race and always place our race as the elder race.
We have great heritage and culture, which had spread so wide on the Far East. Religion, arts and education Music, philosophy and strategies are all that we had spread.
All Khmers, please remember the root and history which talks about the grandeur of our great race. Make up your mind and body and try hard to rebuild in order to lift The value of our nation to once again rise to greatness just like in our history.