The people of Cambodia generally identify as Khmers, although how this term is understood greatly differs between people and groups. “Khmer” is an identity based upon ethnicity, language, and religion above all else. The ethnic Khmers are generally Buddhist in a country with over 90% of the population identifying as Buddhist. However, today many people struggle to define this identity as Khmer in more detail. The past of Cambodia has been one that many people feel ashamed of as they seek a new path in the future. Due to past of violence, takeovers, and civil wars, many people are attempting to redefine Khmer to exclude politics and magnify culture. But there is no agreement on this direction or even what aspects of the culture should be defined. Unusually, most ethnic small groups in the country actually shift the other direction and identify as Khmers as they know identifying as Khmer will get them more opportunities in the country, even if they are not ethnic Khmers; this is leading to a slow loss of minority languages and cultures in Cambodia. So, generally speaking, most people identify as being “Khmer,” but how this term is defined differs wildly from individual to individual or from group to group.
The central idea of this paragraph is the effect of Cambodia loses different languages and cultures. According to the text, it shows that when the author talks about the shift from one identity to another identity. The author states, “Most ethnic minorities in the country actually shift the other direction and identify as Khmers as they know identifying as Khmer will get them more opportunities in the country, even if they are not ethnic Khmers…” This shows that ethnic minorities in Cambodia change from their original identity to Khmer to get more chances to do things. Then, the author realizes the cost of it. The author states, “This is leading to a slow loss of minority languages and cultures in Cambodia.” This demonstrates the disadvantage when Cambodia is starting to lose the variety of languages and cultures.