The purpose of this book is to prepare the student to read and write Cambodian. It is designed to be used in conjunction with the author's "Modern Spoken Cambodian" (New Haven, Yale University Press, 1970) in an intensive or semi-intensive beginning course. The phonological transcription used is that developed during five years of study and teaching of the Cambodian language, and is identical with that used in "Modern Spoken Cambodian." The book contains four parts: (1) The Cambodian Writing System, a formal description of the relationship between the writing system and the phonology of the language; (2) Programmed Reading Exercises, a series of highly structured reading drills to train the student to read all regular Cambodian word shapes; (3) Beginning Cambodian Reader, 50 reading selections, graded in length and difficulty, ranging from short, simple narratives to essays on various aspects of Cambodian culture; and (4) Cambodian -English Glossary, containing some 2,000 words. (Author/DO)