Koon Khmer

I really should have got this clarified before now but there are a couple of things about female names I'm puzzled about. It's not actually the names, it's what gets put in front of them and why. What does it actually mean?

First, Srey. My understanding is the generally accepted translation is "sister", or possibly "little sister". Why is it used so widely, when is it applied and what social/societal implications does its application have?

Second, A. This threw me for a long time because I didn't realise it was being used as a prefix to a name. For example, Aporn, Apip, Ada, Alin are all names I have heard but also with the A, as in Porn, Pip, Da, Lin. So the same questions apply to the usage. Why, when and what does it mean when used?

One of the next days I'll try to come with an overview of 'how to address other people in Khmer' because there are also 'look', 'look srey', 'taa', 'po', 'yeay', 'ming', 'bong', 'oun', 'bong pros/srey', 'pe-oon pros/srey', 'om',...

For some people the subject isn't unimportant:

Thanks very much for the detailed reply.

Wow. I had absolutely no idea I'd actually asked a question that had such a complex answer.

As far as "Srey" is concerned, you say it is, by one definition, "to be female". Does this equate with the any of the western equivalents, such as Miss, Mrs, Mademoiselle, Fraulein etc? Similarly, does "Pros" translate to Mr, Herr, Monsieur etc? Or is that incorrectly assigning a western linguistic or social construct that simply doesn't apply in Khmer language and society?

As far as the "a-" prefix is concerned, I've only ever used it with people I been introduced to by name that starts with "a-". My puzzlement about its use didn't get prompted by the presence of the "a-", it was its absence. I've just noticed a typo in my original post that may have reduced the clarity of what I was saying.

At first, I though there was a lot of names beginning with "A" and that the dropping of the "A" was just a shortening of the name. For example, I was introduced to someone called Aliu (sp?). Her friend told me that was her name but when I later met her barang boyfriend he referred to his girlfriend Liu, never once using the "A-". I figured that it was just a shortening of her name. I heard other Khmers doing something similar, Aporn being called Porn, Alin being called Lin etc.

Then one day the flicker of a light went on in my head - and I don't know what caused it or when it happened - that made me think, "Hold on. That guy's girlfriend isn't birth named Alin, she was being called A-Lin. What's that about? What does that mean?"

I assume that the usage I encountered was the, " It is commonly used in addressing close friends...when preceding the name of a girl, it conveys a notion of endearment" area of definition because it was people introducing friends to me using that appellation for them.

I suppose it's not beyond possibility that there was a subtle social message that went way over my head if the user was actually implying they were "persons regarded as inferiors" because they didn't actually like them that much.

Thanks again for all that information and insight, it is enormously helpful and educational. One thing is for sure, though, however much I learn and however long I live, I'll not grasp all of the nuances and mysteries of Cambodian society.