Lao language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lao ພາສາລາວ phaasaa laao |
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|---|---|---|
| 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 |
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| Official status | ||
| Official language in: | Laos | |
| Regulated by: | no official regulation | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | lo | |
| ISO 639-2: | lao | |
| ISO 639-3: | lao | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
Lao (ພາສາລາວ phaasaa laao) also Laotian, is the official language of Laos. It is a tonal language of the Tai family, and is closely related to the Isan language of the northeast region of Thailand, so 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.
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[edit] 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.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Phrasebook for the Lao language from Wikitravel
- Ethnologue report
- Lao Language & Culture Site
- Omniglot: Lao script
