Lao language

Lao (ພາສາລາວ phaasaa laao) is the official language of Laos. It is a tonal language of the Tai family, and is so closely related to the Isan language of the northeast region of Thailand that the two are often classed as one language. The writing system of Lao is an abugida and is closely related to the writing system used in Thai.

Lao language can be divided into five main dialects :

• Vientiane Lao
• Northern Lao (Luang Prabang)
• North-Eastern Lao (Xieng Khouang)
• Central Lao (Khammouan)
• Southern Lao (Champasak)
• Isan Lao (Isan)

Vientiane Lao is widely understood throughout the country, and all the dialects are largely mutually comprehensible.

Tones

Vientiane Lao has six tones: Low, Mid, High, Rising, High and Low Falling. Pitch levels vary from the speaker's ethnicity and geographic location. Luang Prabang residents use five tones: Mid Falling Rising, Low Rising, Mid, High Falling and Mid Rising.

Script

The Lao alphabet is based on the same script as the Thai alphabet. It made its way into Laos from Sinhalese Buddhists. It is made up of 33 consonants and 28 vowels representing respectively 21 and 27 original sounds, written left to right. It is simpler and thus easier to learn than its Thai, Khmer, and Burmese counterparts. Lao is written phonetically using this script.

See also Lao romanization

External links

• Lao Language & Culture Site
• Omniglot: Lao script