Besides, the official language of country — Lao is used as an important 2 nd language for the ethnic groups in Laos and in Isan, who have their own dialects and languages, to communicate with outsiders. In which, the most common are Khmu and Hmong language.
Here we will learn about the two most common minority languages in Laos. Khmu is the largest ethnic community of Laos with the population of speakers at around , and live in the five northern provinces: Bokeo, Luang Prabang, Luangnam Tha, Oudomxay, and Phongsaly.
Although mostly used among peer-to-peer people, most of these people are also eloquent in the dialect used by the dominant community in the area, can speak three or four diverse languages. Lao is spoken by them when working with government representatives, dealing with people in the lowlands of Laos, or at schools. Although living next to each other, Hmong Daw plays as the dominant language and the Hmong writing system with eight or twelve sounds also reflects the pronunciation of Hmong Daw dialect.
Vocabulary and pronunciation as well as word structure and grammar are the main differences between these two languages. However, both dialects are having a few changes to fit each other better now. Their language is separate but most of them speak Lao. The Hmong people were farmers, most living in small villages high in the mountains of Laos. Besides the official national language, foreign languages are also in their very important roles in Laos, especially in development of tourism.
There are immigration languages spoken in Laos, such as Khmer Chinese who are refugees from Cambodia who fled the war-ravaged country and mostly live in the southwestern region of Laos near the border of Cambodia and Thailand. Most of them speak Cantonese and Teochew and a few speak Southwestern Mandarin. Among of all foreign languages spoken in Laos now, French and English are the most commonly used, especially in the major tourist centers of Laos.
The spread of French was started after the arrival of French explorers in Laos in the 19th century who created a colonial protection regime in this country. Lao has ten vowel phonemes, i. Most vowels can be short or long.
Vowel length distinguishes between otherwise identical words. There are also three diphthongs. Lao has 23 consonant phonemes, i. All consonants can be used at the beginning of syllables but only some can be used in syllable-final position. Dialects vary as to the number of consonant clusters they allow. Lao consonant phonemes are listed below. Lao is a tonal language. The tone of a syllable is determined by a combination of the type of consonant, the type of syllable open or closed , and the type of vowel.
Other dialects have 5 -7 tones. As a rule, dialects with fewer consonant clusters have more tones. Like its closest relative Thai , Lao is an analytic language which means that it does not use inflections to represent grammatical relations, such as case, gender, number or tense.
The syntactic function of words is marked by word order and by various particles that follow nouns and verbs, rather than by inflections, as is the case in Indo-European languages. Particles function as subject markers, equivalents of prepositions, and classifiers, among other uses. Lao has a complex system of pronouns.
The choice of pronouns in any given situation is determined by the sex, age, social position and the attitude of the speaker towards the addressee. Different pronouns are used in different situations. Verbs are not inflected for person, number, tense, aspect, or mood. These functions are determined by context or by adverbs and expressions of time. Modifiers follow the nouns they modify. Historically, Lao has borrowed words from Sanskrit and Pali , particularly iwith respect to religious terms.
The vocabulary of Lao spoken in Laos has been has been influenced by French , while that of Lao spoken in Northeastern Thailand has been influenced by Thai and English. Chinese has also been an important source of early loans, contributing numerals and a few hundred basic terms.
English has now become an important source of loans, especially in the areas of popular culture, mass media, and business. The most productive word formation processes in modern Lao are compounding and reduplication.
Below are some examples:. Lao script dates back to the 16th century BC. It descended from Old Khmer which, in turn, evolved from the Brahmi script. There is no official Latin transliteration system for Lao. In Laos, French-based systems are used with considerable variation in spelling. Toggle navigation. Lao Yin dee torn lap — Welcome. No one's going to get upset if your pronunciation isn't perfect. If, when eating out, you manage to order in Lao, don't be surprised if you're met with astonishment or if you unleash fits of giggles.
The few words that you'll pick up in Lao won't be enough to hold down a conversation. Fortunately you can fall back on speaking English. If English doesn't work and if you know some French, you can always try the latter during your trip to Laos , particularly when speaking to the older generation.
You'll also see that official documents are written in both Lao and French. But encountering French speaking Laotians is becoming rare. Young Laotians tend to speak English and it's more widely spoken than its European counterpart. Throughout the country you'll find that anyone in contact with tourists will be able to speak English. Your information is sent to EVANEOS, located at 27 rue de Mogador, Paris, France, in order provide you with its services, personalized information relevant to you, and practical advice regarding your travel plans.
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