Lao language

The Laotian language or Lao (ພາສາລາວ phaasaa laao) is the official language of Laos. It is a tonal language of the Tai family of languages and is closely related to the Isan language, spoken in the Isan region of northeastern Thailand.

The Laotian writing system is alphasyllabic, that is, the characters denote a syllable, the vowel of which is modified by diacritics. It is closely related to the Thai alphabet.

Laotian is commonly classified into five main dialects, which show considerable variation, especially in the use of tonality:

• Laosian of Vientian, the variant usually accepted as standard
• North Laosian (Luang Prabang)
• North-Eastern Laosian (Xieng Khouang)
• Lao Central Lao (Khammouan)
• South Laosian (Champasak)

Tones

Ventiane Lao has six tones: low, middle, high, rising, high, and low falling. Residents of Luang Prabang use five tones: rising mid-descending, rising-low, mid-rising, high-descending, and rising-mid.

Writing

The Lao alphabet is based on the same script as the Thai alphabet. It was introduced to Laos by Sinhalese and Cambodian Buddhist monks during the reign of the first king of Laos. It is simpler and therefore easier to learn than its Thai, Cambodian and Burmese relatives.

It is made up of 33 consonants and 28 vowels that represent respectively 21 and 27 phonemes. It is written from left to right. Lao words are written phonetically using this script.