Lao language
| Lao ພາສາລາວ phaasaa laao |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Laos, Thailand, U.S., France, Canada, China, Australia | |||
| Total speakers: | 5,225,552 (2006) | |||
| Language family: | Tai-Kadai Kam-Tai Be-Tai Tai-Sek Tai Southwestern Tai Lao-Phutai Lao |
|||
| Official status | ||||
| Official language of: | Laos | |||
| Regulated by: | no official regulation | |||
| Language codes | ||||
| ISO 639-1: | lo | |||
| ISO 639-2: | lao | |||
| ISO 639-3: | lao | |||
|
||||
Lao (ພາສາລາວ phaasaa laao) also Laotian, 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 (a writing system composed of signs denoting consonants with an inherent following vowel) and is closely related to the writing system used in Thai.
The 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)
Vientiane Lao, the predominant dialect due to its use in the capital (whence it gets its name), is widely understood throughout the country, and all the dialects are for the most part mutually intelligible.
Tones
Vientiane Lao has six tones: Low, Mid, High, Rising, High Rising 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
Lao has traditionally been written in two scripts: Lao and Tham.
Both the Lao alphabet and Thai alphabet are likely based on older forms of the Khmer script. The Lao alphabet 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 and Khmer counterparts. Lao is written phonetically using this script.
The Tham script is derived from the script used in Lan Na prior to the standardization of the Thai alphabet, which is itself derived from the Mon script. Tham script is employed in northeastern Thailand and Laos in religious inscriptions, and in reading older religious texts.
Lao is written left to right, without spaces between words.
See also
References
- Phrasebook for the Lao language from Wikitravel
- Ethnologue report
- Lao Language & Culture Site
- Omniglot: Lao script
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
