Lao language

Lao(Lao:ພາສາລາວ,[pʰáː.sǎːláːw]), sometimes referred to asLaotian, is the official language ofLaosand a significant language in theIsanregion of northeastern Thailand, where it is usually referred to as theIsan language. Spoken by over 3 million people in Laos and 3.7 million in all countries, it serves as a vital link in the cultural and social fabric of these areas. It is written in theLao script, anabugidathat evolved from ancientTaiscripts.
Lao is atonal language, where the pitch or tone of a word can alter its meaning, and isanalytic, forming sentences through the combination of individual words without inflection. These features, common inKra-Dai languages, also bear similarities toSino-Tibetanlanguages likeChineseorAustroasiaticlanguages likeVietnamese. Lao'smutual intelligibilitywithThaiandIsan, fellowSouthwestern Tailanguages, allows for effective intercommunication among their speakers, despite differences in script and regional variations.
In Laos, Lao is not only the official language but also alingua franca, bridging the linguistic diversity of a population that speaks many other languages. Its cultural significance is reflected in Laotian literature, media, and traditional arts. TheVientianedialect has emerged as the de facto standard, though no official standard has been established. Internationally, Lao is spoken amongdiaspora communities, especially in countries like the United States, France, and Australia, reflecting its global diasporic presence.
The Lao language falls within the Lao-Phuthai group of languages, including its closest relatives,Phuthai(BGN/PCGNPhouthai, RTGSPhu Thai) andTai Yo. Together with Northwestern Tai—which includesShan,Ahomand mostDailanguages of China, the Chiang Saen languages—which include Standard Thai, Khorat Thai, andTai Lanna—and Southern Tai form theSouthwesternbranch of Tai languages. Lao (including Isan) and Thai, although they occupy separate groups, are mutually intelligible and were pushed closer through contact and Khmer influence, but all Southwestern Tai languages are mutually intelligible to some degree. The Tai languages also include the languages of theZhuang, which are split into theNorthernandCentralbranches of the Tai languages. The Tai languages form a major division within theKra-Dai language family, distantly related to other languages of southern China, such as theHlaiandBelanguages ofHainanand theKraandKam-Suilanguages on the Chinese Mainland and in neighbouring regions of northern Vietnam.
The ancestors of the Lao people were speakers of Southwestern Tai dialects that migrated from what is now southeastern China, specifically what is nowGuangxiand northernVietnamwhere the diversity of various Tai languages suggests anUrheimat. The Southwestern Tai languages began to diverge from the Northern and Central branches of the Tai languages, covered mainly by variousZhuang languages, sometime around 112 CE, but likely completed by thesixth century.Due to the influx ofHan Chinesesoldiers and settlers, the end of theChinese occupationof Vietnam, the fall ofJiaozhiand turbulence associated with the decline and fall of theTang dynastyled some of the Tai peoples speaking Southwestern Tai to flee into Southeast Asia, with the small-scale migration mainly taking place between theeighthandtwelfthcenturies. The Tais split and followed the major river courses, with the ancestral Lao originating in the Tai migrants that followed theMekong River.
As the Southwestern Tai-speaking peoples diverged, following paths down waterways, their dialects began to diverge into the various languages today, such as the Lao-Phuthai languages that developed along the Mekong River and includes Lao and its Isan sub-variety and the Chiang Saen languages which includes the Central Thai dialect that is the basis of Standard Thai. Despite their close relationship, there were several phonological divergences that drifted the languages apart with time such as the following examples:
Similar influences and proximity allowed for both languages to converge in many aspects as well. Thai and Lao, although separated, passively influenced each other through centuries of proximity. For instance, the Proto-Southwestern Tai *mlɛːŋhas produced the expected Lao /m/ outcomemaeng(ແມງmèng,/mɛ́ːŋ/) and the expected Thai /l/ outcomelaeng(แลง/lɛ̄ːŋ/), although this is only used in Royal Thai or restricted academic usage, with the common formmalaeng(แมลง/máʔ.lɛ̄ːŋ/), actually an archaic variant. In slang and relaxed speech, Thai also hasmaeng(แมง/mɛ̄ːŋ/), likely due to influence of Lao.
Thai and Lao also share similar sources of loan words. Aside from many of the deeply embedded Sinitic loan words adopted at various points in the evolution of Southwestern Tai at the periphery of Chinese influence, the Tais in Southeast Asia encountered the Khmer. Khmer loan words dominate all areas and registers of both languages and many are shared between them. Khmer loan words include body parts, urban living, tools, administration and local plants. The Thai, and likely the Lao, were able to make Khmer-style coinages that were later exported back to Khmer.The heavy imprint of Khmer is shown in the genetics of Tai speakers, with samples from Thai and Isan people of Lao descent showing proof of both the Tai migration but also intermarriage and assimilation of local populations. Scholars such as Khanittanan propose that the deep genetic and linguistic impact of the autochthonous Khmer and their language indicates that the earliest days ofAyutthayahad a largely bilingual population.Although evidence and research in Lao is lacking, major Lao cities were known to have been built atop existing Khmer settlements, suggesting assimilation of the locals. Isan and Lao commonly use a Khmer loan not found in Thai,khanong(ຂະໜົງ/ຂນົງkhanông,/kʰáʔ.nŏŋ/), 'doorframe', from Khmerkhnâng(ខ្នង,/knɑːŋ/), which means 'building', 'foundation' or 'dorsal ridge'.
Indic languages also pushed Thai and Lao closer together, particularly Sanskrit and Pali loan words that they share. Many Sanskrit words were adopted via the Khmer language, particularly concerning Indian concepts of astrology, astronomy, ritual, science, kingship, art, music, dance and mythology. New words were historically coined from Sanskrit roots just as European languages, including English, share Greek and Latin roots used for these purposes, such as 'telephone' from Greek rootsτῆλεtēle, 'distant' andφωνήphōnēwhich was introduced in Thai asthorasap(โทรศัพท์,/tʰōː.ráʔ.sàp/) and spread to Isan asthorasap(ໂທຣະສັບ/ໂທລະສັບthôrasap,/tʰóː.lāʔ.sáp/) from Sanskritdura(दूर,/d̪ura/), 'distant', andśabda(शब्द,/ʃabd̪a/), 'sound'. Indic influences also came viaPali, theliturgical languageofTheravada Buddhism.
The effects of Khmer and Indic vocabulary did not affect all the Tai languages of Southeast Asia equally. TheTai Damof northern Vietnam were shielded from the influence of the Khmer language and the Indic cultural influences that came with them and remain traditionally a non-Buddhist people. Although the Tai Dam language is a Chiang Saen language, albeit with a lexicon and phonology closer to Lao, the lack of Khmer, Sanskrit and Pali loan words makes the language unintelligible to Thai and Lao speakers.
Taking advantage of rapid decline in the Khmer Empire, Phra ChaoFa Ngoum(ຟ້າງູ່ມ/fâːŋūːm/) defeated the Khmer and united the Taimueangof what is now Laos and Isan into themandala kingdomofLan Xangin 1354. Fa Ngoum was a grandson of the ruler ofMuang Xoua(RTGSMueang Sawa), modern-day Louang Phrabang. Lan Xang was powerful enough to thwart Siamese designs from their base atSukhothaiand laterAyutthaya.
Khmer, and Sanskrit via Khmer, continued to influence the Lao language. Since Fa Ngoum was raised in the Khmer court, married to a Khmer princess and had numerous Khmer officials in his court, a now-extinct speech register known asrasa sap(ຣາຊາສັບ/láː.sáːsáp/) was developed to address or discuss the king and high-ranking clergy. Khmer and Sanskrit also contributed many belles-lettres as well as numerous technical, academic and cultural vocabulary, thus differentiating the Lao language from the tribal Tai peoples, but pushing the language closer to Thai, which underwent a similar process. The end of the Lao monarchy in 1975 made the Laoraxasapobsolete, but as Thailand retains its monarchy, Thairachasapis still active.
The 16th century would see the establishment of many of the hallmarks of the contemporary Lao language. Scribes abandoned the use of written Khmer or Lao written in the Khmer alphabet, adopting a simplified, cursive form of the script known asTai Noithat with a few modifications survives as theLao script.Lao literature was also given a major boost with the brief union of Lan Xang with Lan Na during the reign ofXay Xétthathirat(ໄຊເສດຖາທິຣາດ/sájsȅːt.tʰăː.tʰīʔ.lȃːt/) (1546–1551). The libraries ofChiang Maiwere copied, introducing thetua tham(BGN/PCGNtoua tham, RTGStua tham) or 'dharma letters' which was essentially theMon-influenced script of Lan Na but was used in Lao specifically for religious literature.The influence of the related Tai Lan Na language was strengthened after the capitulation of Lan Na to the Burmese, leading many courtiers and people to flee to safety to Lan Xang.
Lan Xang was religiously diverse, with most of the people practicingTai folk religionalbeit somewhat influenced by local Austroasiaticanimism, as well as theBrahmanismandMahayana Buddhismintroduced via the Khmer and Theravada Buddhism which had been adopted and spread by theMon people. Although Lao belief is that the era of Lan Xang began the period of Theravada Buddhism for the Lao people, it was not until the mid-sixteenth centurythat the religion had become the dominant religion.
With Theravada Buddhism came its liturgical language, Pali, an Indic language derived from thePrakrit. Many Pali terms existed alongside earlier Sanskrit borrowings or were Sanskritized, leading to doublets such as Sanskritmaitri(ໄມຕີ/ໄມຕຣີ/máj.tìː/) and Palimetta(ເມດຕາ/ເມຕຕາ/mȇːt.tàː/), both of which signify 'loving kindness' although the Sanskrit term is more generally used for 'friendship'. The spread of Theravada Buddhism spread literacy, as monks served as teachers, teaching reading and writing as well other basic skills to village boys, and theTai Noi scriptwas used for personal letters, record-keeping, and signage, as well as to record short stories and theklon(ກອນ/kɔ̀ːn/) poetry that were often incorporated into traditional folksongs.
Despite the long presence of Lan Xang and Lao settlements along the riverbanks, theKhorat Plateauremained depopulated since thePost-Angkor Periodand a long series of droughts during the 13th–15th centuries. The Lao settlements were found only along the banks of the Mekong River and in the wetter northern areas such asNong Bua Lamphu,Loei,Nong Khai, with most of the population inhabiting the wetter left banks. This began to change when the golden age of Lao prosperity and cultural achievements under KingSourignavôngsa(ສຸຣິຍະວົງສາ/súʔ.līʔ.ɲāʔwóŋ.sǎː/) (1637–1694) ended with a successional dispute, with his grandsons, with Siamese intervention, carving out their separate kingdoms in 1707. From its ashes arose the kingdoms ofLouang Phrabang,Vientianeand later in 1713, theChampasak. The arid hinterlands, deforested and depopulated after a series of droughts, likely led to the collapse of the Khmer Empire, was only occupied by small groups of Austroasiatic peoples and scattered outposts of Laomueangin the far north. In 1718, Mueang Suwannaphum (ສຸວັນນະພູມMuang Souvannaphoum,/súʔ.wán.nāʔ.pʰúːm/) in 1718 in what is nowRoi Et Province, was founded as an outpost of Champasak, establishing the first major Lao presence and the beginning of the expansion of Lao settlement along theSi(ຊີ/síː/) andMun(ມູນ) rivers.
The bulk of the Lao, however, settled after 1778 when KingTaksin, Siamese king during theThonburi Period(1767–1782) conquered Champasak and Vientiane and raidedPhuan areasfor slaves, seizing theEmerald BuddhaandPhra Bang(although the latter was eventually returned) and forcing some of the Lao across the river to settle in Isan. Louang Phrabang was spared most of the destruction by submitting to Siamese overlordship.Although the kingdoms remained nominally autonomous, the Siamese demanded tribute and taxes, kept members of the respective royal houses as hostages to ensure loyalty and required the three Lao kings to come to the capital several times a year to hold an audience with the Siamese king. When the kingdoms revolted, the Siamese armies retaliated by rounding up entire villages, tattooing them to mark them as slaves and forced to settle what is now Isan, forced to serve as soldiers or manpower incorvéeprojects to build roads, to grow food, build canals, or serve as domestics. The greatest population transfer occurred after theLaotian Rebellionby ChaoAnouvông(ອານຸວົງ/ອານຸວົງສ໌,/ʔàː.nūʔ.wóŋ/) in 1828 which led to the death of Anouvông and most of his family. The Siamese abducted nearly the entire population of Vientiane and its surrounding area and forced them to the right bank. Continued raids of people continued until the end of the nineteenth century.
In addition to forced transfers, many Lao were encouraged to settle in Isan, with some disillusioned princes granted lofty titles in exchange for loyalty and taxation, robbing the Lao kings of taxation and wealth as well as what little nominal authority they had left. This greatly expanded the Lao population of Isan and caused assimilation of the local peoples into the mix, a process that is occurring on a smaller scale even now. Siamese intervention paradoxically strengthened the Lao character of the region as the Siamese left the Lao areas alone as long as they continued to produce rice and continued to pay tribute. Direct Siamese rule did not extend pastNakhon Ratchasima, and the Laomueang, whether paying their tribute directly to Bangkok or the remaining Lao kings and princes, were still nominally part of the separate kingdoms. Temples built in what is now Isan still featured the Tai Noi script on its murals and although Siam would intervene in some matters, daily administration was still left to the remaining kings and various Lao princes that served as governors of the largermueang. The result of the population movements re-centered the Lao world to the right bank, as today, if Isan and Lao speakers are counted together, Isan speakers form 80 percent of the Lao-speaking population.
During French rule, missing words for new technologies and political realities were borrowed from French or Vietnamese, repurposed from old Lao vocabulary as well as coined from Sanskrit. These Sanskrit-derived neologisms were generally the same, although not always, as those that developed in Thai.
Whilst previously written in a mixture of etymological and phonetical spellings, depending on audience or author, Lao underwent several reforms that moved the language towards a purely phonetical spelling. During the restoration of the king of Louang Phabang as King of Laos under the last years of French rule in Laos, the government standardized the spelling of the Lao language, with movement towards a phonetical spelling with preservation of a semi-etymological spelling for Pali, Sanskrit and French loan words and the addition of archaic letters for words of Pali and Sanskrit origin concerning Indic culture and Buddhism.
Spelling reforms under the communist rule of Laos in 1975 were more radical, with the complete abolition of semi-etymological spelling in favor of phonetical spelling, with the removal of silent letters, removal of special letters for Indic loan words, all vowels being written out explicitly and even the elimination or replacement of the letter 'ຣ'/r/(but usually pronounced /l/) in official publications, although older people and many in the Lao diaspora continue to use some of the older spelling conventions.
The standard written Lao based on the speech of Vientiane has leveled many lexical differences between dialects found in Laos, and although spoken regional variations remain strong, speakers will adjust to it in formal situations and in dealings with outsiders.
In Laos, the written language has been mainly based on Vientiane Lao for centuries after the capital of Lan Xang was moved in 1560. The speech of the old élite families was cultivated into Standard Lao as emulated by television and radio broadcasts from the capital as well as taught to foreign students of Lao. The speech of the Isan city of Nong Khai, which sits on the opposite bank of the Mekong, is almost indistinguishable in tone and accent from the speech of Vientiane. Vientiane Lao predominates in Vientiane City, the surroundingVientiane Provinceand portions ofBolikhamxaiand some areas ofXaisômboun.
In Isan, Vientiane Lao is the primary form of Isan spoken in the northern third of the region which was long settled since the days of Lan Xang and was ruled as part of the Kingdom of Vientiane, including most ofNong Khai,Nong Bua Lamphu, easternLoeiand portions ofSaiyaphumandBueng Kan. As a result of the Lao rebellion of 1826 theTai Wiang(ໄທວຽງ),/tʰájwíaŋ/), 'Vientiane people' of the city and surrounding parts of the kingdom, were rounded up by Siamese armies and forced to the right bank, greatly boosting the Lao population of what is now Isan. The Tai Wiang strengthened numbers in the northern third, where Vientiane Lao was traditionally spoken, but were scattered across the Isan region overall, with heavier concentrations inYasothon,Khon Kaen, andHoi Etprovinces. This likely had a leveling effect on the Lao language as spoken in Isan, as most Isan speakers regardless of speech variety are prone to using /ʋ/ as opposed to /w/ and the informal conversion of syllable-initial /k/ to /tɕ/ in relaxed, informal speech, which in Laos, is particularly characteristic of Vientiane speech. For example, the wordkaem(ແກ້ມkèm,/kɛ̂ːm/), 'cheek', is often pronounced *chaem(*ແຈ້ມchèm, */tɕɛ̂ːm/).
Northern Lao is a very distinct dialect, exhibiting several features and lexical differences quite apart from other Lao dialects except Northeastern Lao (Phuan). Even though it borders the Vientiane Lao dialect region, there is a sharp boundary that divides them. The dialect shares many similarities withTai Lannaand is classified accordingly as a Chiang Saen language by Ethnologue.The dialect is not common in Isan, restricted to western portions ofLoeiand pockets of villages spread throughoutUdon Thaniprovinces. The Isan people ofPhitsanulokandUttaraditprovinces, particularly the narrow strip hugging the shore of the Mekong and bordering Loei, outside of Isan are generally speakers of Northern Lao. In Laos, it is the primary dialect spoken inLouang PhrabangandXaignabouliprovinces. In the other northern Laotian provinces ofOudômxai,Houaphan,Louang NamthaandPhôngsali, native Lao speakers are a small minority in the major market towns but Northern Lao, highly influenced by the local languages, is spoken as thelingua francaacross ethnic groups of the area.
Northern Lao, specifically the speech of the city ofLouang Phrabangwas originally the prestigious variety of the language with the city serving as the capital of Lan Xang for the first half of its existence, with the kings of the city made kings of all of Laos by the French. Although the language lost its prestige to Vientiane Lao, Northern Lao is important for its history, as many of the earliest Lao literary works were composed in the dialect, and it served, in a refined form, as the royal speech of the Laotian kings until 1975 when the monarchy was abolished. Louang Phrabang remains the largest city in the northern region of Laos, serving as an important center of trade and communication with the surrounding areas.
Despite the proximity to speakers of Vientiane Lao, Northern Lao is quite distinct. Unlike other Lao dialects with six tones, Northern Lao speakers use only five. Due to the distinctive high-pitch, high-falling tone on words with live syllables starting with low-class consonants, the dialect is said to sound softer, sweeter and more effeminate than other Lao dialects, likely aided by the slower speed of speaking.Similar in tonal structure and quality to Tai Lanna, likely facilitated by the immigration of Lanna people to Louang Phrabang after Chiang Mai's fall to the Burmese in 1551, the dialect is classified apart from other Lao dialects as Chiang Saen language by Ethnologue.Northern Lao also resisted the merger of Proto-Tai */aɰ/and */aj/that occurred in all other Lao dialects, except Northeastern Lao. This affects the twenty or so words represented by Thai 'ใ◌' and Lao 'ໃ◌', which preserve /aɰ/ in Northern Lao. This vowel has become /aj/, similar to Thai 'ไ◌' and Lao 'ໄ◌' which is also /aj/. Northern Lao also contains numerous terms not familiar to other Lao speakers.
ThePhuan languageis aChiang Saen (Thai) languagerather than part of theLao–Phutai languages, but it is considered a Lao dialect in Laos. As a Tai language of northern Southeast Asia, it shares many similarities with Tai Dam and Tai Lan Na. In contrast to other minority languages of Isan, it is not losing ground to the Thai or Isan language in Isan.
Central Lao represents a transitional variety, with northern varieties closer to Vientiane Lao and southern varieties, roughly south of the confluence of the Xé Noi river with the Mekong, the speech varieties begin to approach Southern Lao. Some linguists, such as Hartmann, place Vientiane Lao and Central Lao together as a singular dialect region.More Vientiane-like speech predominates in the Isan provinces ofBueng Kan,Sakon Nakhon, most ofNakhon Phanomand some areas ofNong Khaiprovinces and on the Laotian side, portions of eastern and southernBolikhamxaiandKhammouanprovinces. More Southern Lao features are found in the speech ofMukdahanand southernNakhon Phanomprovinces of Thailand andSavannakhét Provinceof Laos.
Nevertheless, the tones of the southern Central varieties, such as spoken in Mukdahan, Thailand and Savannakhét, Laos have a tonal structure more akin to Vientiane Lao, sharing certain splits and contours. These areas do, however, exhibit some Southern features of their lexicon, such as the common use ofse(ເຊxé,/sêː/), 'river', which is typical of Southern Lao as opposed tonam(ນ້ຳ,/nȃːm/), which is the more common word and also signifies 'water' in general. Mukdahan-Savannakhét area speakers also understandmae thao(ແມ່ເຖົ້າ,/mɛ́ːtʰȁw/) as a respectful term for an 'old lady' (as opposed to Vientiane 'mother-in-law') and usepen sang(ເປັນສັງ,/pȅnsȁŋ/) instead of Vientianepen yang(ເປັນຫຍັງ,/pènɲăŋ/), 'what's wrong?', as is typical of Southern Lao.
Southern Lao is spoken along the southern third of Isan and Laos. This region covers the Thai provinces ofSurin,BuriramandSisaket, where a large minority of speakers areKhmerpeople speaking the archaicnorthernvariety of Khmer and another Austroasiatic people, theKuy people, use Southern Lao as a second language to engage with their Isan neighbors. It is also spoken inUbon Ratsathani,Amnat Charoenand portions ofYasothonandNakhon Ratsasima. In Laos, it is the primary dialect ofChampasak,Salavan,AttapeuandXékongprovinces. There are also small pockets of speakers located inSteung Treng Province, Cambodia orSiang Taeng(ຊຽງແຕງ,/síaŋtɛːŋ/), particularly near the Mekong River close to the Laotian border. Many of the areas where Southern Lao is spoken were formerly part of theKingdom of Champasak, one of the three successor states to the Kingdom of Lan Xang, prior to the division of the Lao-speaking world between France and Siam.
Compared to other Isan and Lao dialects, Southern Lao has low tones in syllables that begin with high- or middle-class consonants and have long vowels. High- and middle-class consonants marked with themai thotone mark are low and low-falling, respectively, but in these cases are pronounced with very strongglottalization, which can be described as 'creaky'. Combined with the somewhat faster manner of speaking and reduced tendency to soften consonants at the end of words, Southern Lao sounds very rough and harsh to speakers of other dialects. Many of these features, such as the faster speaking pace and glottalization may be influences from Austroasiatic languages as most of the region was inhabited by the Khmer, Kuy and various other Austroasiatic peoples until the eighteenth century when the Lao began to settle and even now, Khmer speakers comprise half the population of Surin and roughly a quarter each of the populations of Sisaket and Buriram provinces.
Specific dialectal words includedon(ດອນ,/dɔːn/), 'riparian island',se(ເຊxé, /sȅː/)) and many of the words used in Savannakhét that are more typical of Southern Lao such asmae thao(ແມ່ເຖົ້າ,/mɛ́ːtʰȁw/) as a respectful term for an 'old lady' (as opposed to Vientiane 'mother-in-law') and usepen sang(ເປັນສັງ,/pȅnsȁŋ/) instead of Vientianepen yang(ເປັນຫຍັງpén gnang,/penɲăŋ/), 'what's wrong?'. Possibly as a result of historical Khmer influence and current influences from Thai, Southern dialects tend to pronounce some words with initial Proto-Southwestern Tai */r/as either the rhotic tap/ɾ/or a strongly velarized/ɬ/which is confused with/d/by speakers of other Lao dialects which have /h/. For example, Vientiane Laohap(ຮັບ,/hāp/), 'to receive', andhong haem(ໂຮງແຮມhônghèm,/hóːŋhɛ́ːm/) are pronounced aslap(ລັບ,/ɾàp/) andhonglaem(ໂຮງແລມhônglèm,/hɔ̏ːŋɾɛ̏ːm/), respectively but may sound like *dapand *hongdaem(hông dèm) to other Lao, but are really a strongly velarized /ɬ/ or a rhotic tap /ɾ/.Southerners also tend to usechak(ຈັກ,/tɕa᷇k/) to mean 'to know someone' as opposed tohu chak(ຮູ້ຈັກhou chak,/hȗːtɕák/) used in all other dialects.
Western Lao (Standard Isan) does not occur in Laos but is the primary dialect ofKhon Kaen,Kalasin,Roi Et, andMaha Sarakhamin Isan, Thailand. It is also spoken in much ofChaiyaphumand portions ofNakhon Ratsasima.
The Lao language consists primarily of native Lao words. Because ofBuddhism, however,Palihas contributed numerous terms, especially relating to religion and in conversation with members of thesangha. Due to their proximity, Lao has influenced the Khmer and Thai languages and vice versa.
Formal writing has a larger number ofloanwords, especiallyPaliandSanskrit, much as Latin and Greek have influenced European languages. For politeness, pronouns (and more formal pronouns) are used, plus ending statements withແດ່(dae/dɛ̄ː/) orເດີ້(doe/dɤ̂ː/). Negative statements are made more polite by ending withດອກ(dok/dɔ̏ːk/). The following are formal register examples.
After the division of the Lao-speaking world in 1893, French would serve as the administrative language of the French Protectorate of Laos, carved from the Lao lands of the left bank, for sixty years until 1953 when Laos achieved full independence.The close relationship of the Lao monarchy with France continued the promotion and spread of French until the end of theLaotian Civil Warwhen the monarchy was removed and the privileged position of French began its decline. Many of the initial borrowings for terms from Western culture were imported via French. For instance, Lao usessangtimet(ຊັງຕີແມດ/sáŋ.tìː.mɛ́ːt/) in an approximation of Frenchcentimètre(/sɑ̃timɛtʁ/). Lao people also tend to use French forms of geographic place names, thus the Republic ofGuineaiskine(/ກີເນ//kìː.néː/) from FrenchGuinée(/gine/).
Although English has mostly surpassed French as the preferred foreign language of international diplomacy and higher education since the country began opening up to foreign investment in the 1990s, the position of French is stronger in Laos than inCambodiaandVietnam. Since 1972, Laos has been associated withLa Francophonie, achieving full-member status in 1992. Many of the royalists and high-ranking families of Laos left Laos in the wake of the end of the Laotian Civil War for France, but as of 2010, it was estimated that 173,800 people, or three percent of the population, were fluent in French and French is studied by 35% of the population as a second language as a required subject and many courses in engineering, medicine, law, administration and other advanced studies are only available in French.
Laos maintains the French-language weeklyLe Rénovateur, but French-language content is sometimes seen alongside English in publications in older issues ofKhaosane Phathét Lao Newsand sporadically on television ad radio.French still appears on signage, is the language of major civil engineering projects and is the language of the élite, especially the older generations that received secondary and tertiary education in French-medium schools or studied in France. France maintains a large Lao diaspora and some of the very well-to-do still send their children to France for study. The result of this long-standing French influence is the use of hundreds of loan words of French origin in the Lao language of Laos—although many are old-fashioned and somewhat obsolete or co-exist alongside more predominant native usages. They may be contrasted with the neighbouring languages in Thailand, which borrowed from English instead of French.
Because of the depopulation of the left bank to Siam prior to French colonization, the French who were already active inVietnambrought Vietnamese to boost the population of the cities and help administer the region. Many Lao that received a French-language education during the period of French Indochina were educated in French-language schools in Vietnam, exposing them to French and Vietnamese languages and cultures. As the Vietnamese communists supported thePathét Laoforces, supplying Lao communist militia with weaponry and training during the two-decade-long Laotian Civil War, large numbers of Vietnamese troops have been stationed at various times in Laos' post-independence history, although the Vietnamese military presence began to wane in the late 1980s as Laos pursued closer relations with its other neighbors and entered the market economy. Since market reforms in Vietnam, market liberalization has been the main focus between the two countries now.
Many consonants in Lao have alabializedand plain form, thus creating aphonemic contrast. The complete inventory of Lao consonants is as shown in the table below:
Allplosive sounds(besides theglottal stop/ʔ/) areunreleasedin final position. Hence, final/p/,/t/, and/k/sounds are pronounced as[p̚],[t̚], and[k̚]respectively.
All vowels make a phonemiclengthdistinction. Diphthongs are allcentering diphthongswithfalling sonority.The monophthongs and diphthongs are as shown in the following table:
Lao has six lexical tones.However, the Vientiane and the Luang Prabang dialects have five tones (see below) (Brown 1965; Osatananda, 1997, 2015).
There are six tones in smooth syllables, that is, in syllables ending in a vowel or othersonorant sound([m],[n],[ŋ],[w],and[j]).
The number of contrastive tones is reduced to four in checked syllables, that is, in syllables ending in anobstruent sound([p],[t],[k],or theglottal stop[ʔ]).
Lao syllables are of the form (C)V(C), i.e., they consist of a vowel in thesyllable nucleus, optionally preceded by a single consonant in thesyllable onsetand optionally followed by a single consonant in thesyllable coda. The only consonant clusters allowed are syllable initial clusters/kw/or/kʰw/. Any consonant may appear in the onset, but the labialized consonants do not occur beforerounded vowels.
One difference between Thai and Lao is that in Lao initial clusters are simplified. For example, the official name of Laos is Romanized asSathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon LaoorSathalanalat Pasathipatai Pasason Lao, with the Thai analog beingSatharanarat Prachathipatai Prachachon Lao(สาธารณรัฐประชาธิปไตยประชาชนลาว), indicating the simplification of Thaiprto Laop.
Only/ptkʔmnŋwj/may appear in the coda. If the vowel in the nucleus is short, it must be followed by a consonant in the coda;/ʔ/in the coda can be preceded only by a short vowel. Open syllables (i.e., those with no coda consonant) and syllables ending in one of thesonorants/mnŋwj/take one of the six tones, syllables ending in/ptk/take one of four tones, and syllables ending in/ʔ/take one of only two tones.
The majority of Lao words aremonosyllabic, and are not inflected to reflect declension or verbal tense, making Lao ananalytic language. Special particle words serve the purpose of prepositions and verb tenses in lieu of conjugations and declensions. Lao is asubject–verb–object(SVO) language, although the subject is often dropped. In contrast to Thai, Lao uses pronouns more frequently.
The Lao script, derived from theKhmer alphabetof theKhmer Empirein the 14th century,is ultimately rooted in thePallava scriptofSouthern India, one of theBrahmi scripts.Although the Lao script bears resemblance to Thai, the former contains fewer letters than Thai because by 1960 it was simplified to be fairlyphonemic, whereas Thai maintains many etymological spellings that are pronounced the same.
The script is traditionally classified as anabugida, but Lao consonant letters are conceived of as simply representing the consonant sound, rather than a syllable with an inherent vowel.Vowels are written asdiacriticmarks and can be placed above, below, in front of, or behind consonants. The script also contains distinct symbols for numerals, although Arabic numerals are more commonly used.
Lao is written in theTai Tham scriptforliturgicalpurposesand is still used in temples in Laos andIsan.
Experts disagree on the number and nature of tones in the various dialects of Lao. According to some, most dialects of Lao and Isan have six tones, those ofLuang Prabanghave five. Tones are determined as follows:
A silentຫ(/h/) placed before certain consonants will place the proceeding consonant in the high class tone. This can occur before the lettersງ/ŋ/,ຍ/ɲ/,ຣ/r/, andວ/w/and combined in special ligatures (considered separate letters) such asຫຼ/l/,ໜ/n/, andໝ/m/. In addition toອ່(low tone) andອ້(falling tone), there also exists the rareອ໊(high)ອ໋(rising) tone marks.
Traditionally, only secular literature was written with the Lao alphabet. Religious literature was often written inTai Tham, a Mon-based script that is still used for theTai Khün,Tai Lü, and formerly forKham Mueang.The Lao style of this script is known asLao Tham.
Mystical, magical, and some religious literature was written inKhom script(Aksar Khom), a modified version of theKhmer script.