Language The official Cambodian language, called Khmer, is part of the Mon-Khmer family enriched by the Indian Bali and Sanskrit languages and influenced by Thai and French. Khmer is related to the languages spoken by hill tribe people of Laos, Vietnam, and even Malaysia. It has no tones, and the script, derived from the South-Indian alphabet, is written from left to right and leaves no spaces between the words. English and French are also spoken - French mainly by older people, and the younger generation learn English.