Lao Language Tutorial: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners214

Introduction

Lao is a tonal language spoken by over 20 million people in Laos and neighboring countries. It is a member of the Tai-Kadai language family and is closely related to Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese.

Phonology

Consonants

Lao has 20 consonant phonemes, which are as follows:
[p] - voiceless bilabial stop
[b] - voiced bilabial stop
[t] - voiceless alveolar stop
[d] - voiced alveolar stop
[k] - voiceless velar stop
[g] - voiced velar stop
[f] - voiceless labiodental fricative
[v] - voiced labiodental fricative
[θ] - voiceless dental fricative
[ð] - voiced dental fricative
[s] - voiceless alveolar fricative
[z] - voiced alveolar fricative
[ʃ] - voiceless postalveolar fricative
[ʒ] - voiced postalveolar fricative
[h] - voiceless glottal fricative
[m] - voiced bilabial nasal
[n] - voiced alveolar nasal
[ŋ] - voiced velar nasal
[l] - voiced alveolar lateral
[w] - voiced labial-velar approximant
[j] - voiced palatal approximant

Vowels

Lao has 28 vowel phonemes, which are as follows:
[i] - high front unrounded vowel
[e] - mid front unrounded vowel
[ɛ] - low front unrounded vowel
[a] - low central unrounded vowel
[o] - mid back rounded vowel
[u] - high back rounded vowel
[ɯ] - high back unrounded vowel
[ɪ] - high front near-close unrounded vowel
[ɛ̝] - mid front near-close unrounded vowel
[ɔ] - mid back near-close rounded vowel
[ɯ̽] - high back near-close unrounded vowel
[iə] - high front closing diphthong
[eə] - mid front closing diphthong
[ɛə] - low front closing diphthong
[aː] - low central long vowel
[oː] - mid back long rounded vowel
[uː] - high back long rounded vowel
[ɯː] - high back long unrounded vowel
[ɪː] - high front long near-close unrounded vowel
[ɛ̝ː] - mid front long near-close unrounded vowel
[ɔː] - mid back long near-close rounded vowel
[ɯ̽ː] - high back long near-close unrounded vowel
[iəː] - high front long closing diphthong
[eəː] - mid front long closing diphthong
[ɛəː] - low front long closing diphthong
[aɪ̯] - low central rising diphthong
[au̯] - low central rising diphthong
[iu̯] - high front rising diphthong
[eu̯] - mid front rising diphthong

Tones

Lao is a tonal language, which means that the meaning of a word can change depending on the tone in which it is spoken. Lao has six tones:
Low (mid)
Mid
High
Falling
Rising
Extra high

Grammar

Nouns

Lao nouns do not have gender or plural forms. They can be classified into two types: common nouns and proper nouns.

Common nouns refer to general things, such as "book" or "house." Proper nouns refer to specific people, places, or things, such as "John" or "New York City."

Verbs

Lao verbs do not conjugate for tense or person. Instead, they use a system of auxiliary verbs to express time and modality.

The most common auxiliary verb is "ເປັນ" (pen), which means "to be." Other auxiliary verbs include "ມີ" (mii), which means "to have," and "ໄດ້" (dai), which means "to can."

Adjectives

Lao adjectives come after the nouns they modify. They do not change form for gender or number.

Some common adjectives include "ໃຫຍ່" (yai), which means "big," and "ນ້ອຍ" (noi), which means "small."

Adverbs

Lao adverbs come before the verbs they modify. They do not change form for tense or person.

Some common adverbs include "ດີ" (dii), which means "well," and "ເລວ" (leo), which means "badly."

Pronouns

Lao pronouns are divided into two types: personal pronouns and demonstrative pronouns.

Personal pronouns refer to the speaker, the person being spoken to, or the person being spoken about.

Demonstrative pronouns refer to things that are close to the speaker, things that are far from the speaker, or things that are in between the speaker and the listener.

Vocabulary

Here are some common Lao words and phrases:

Lao
English

ສະບາຍດີ
Hello

ຂອບໃຈ
Thank you

ບໍ່ເປັນไร
You're welcome

ຂໍອະໄພ
Excuse me

ບໍ່ເຂົ້າໃຈ
I don't understand

ພูดອີກເທື່ອໜຶ່ງໄດ້ບໍ່
Can you say that again?

ຊື່ຂອງທ່ານຫຍັງ
What is your name?

ຂ້ອຍຊື່...
My name is...

ທ່ານສบายດີບໍ່
How are you?

ຂ້ອຍສบายດີ
I'm fine