An Introduction to the Lao Language
Sam Brier
Phouphanomlack (Tee) Sangkhamphone
TUTTLE PUBLISHING
Tokyo • Rutland, Vermont • Singapore
Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd., with editorial offices at 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, Vermont 05759 U.S.A. and at 61 Tai Seng Avenue #02-12, Singapore 534167.
Copyright © 2010 Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
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Cover photo: © Otvalo. Dreamstime.com. The Pha That Luang monument in Vientiane, Laos.
Library of Congress Cataloging Number: 2009933399
ISBN: 978-1-4629-1362-6 (ebook)
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Acknowledgments
Although this is a short book, many thanks are in order:
Thank you Gordon Allison, the author of Easy Thai—the book that Lao Basics is modeled after. I found Easy Thai in a Bangkok bookstore and quickly saw that it simplified what seemed to me a very complex language. After using it to grasp the basics of Thai in a rather short period of time, I thought to myself, "If there were only a book like this for learning Lao." Unable to find one, I decided to write it myself.
Back in Lao, I asked Tee to be my co-author, and thankfully she accepted. Tee pushed Lao Basics through its most difficult phase—the first draft. Souphing Saphakdy edited it to this final version. Without either of them, this book would not be in your hands now. We hope that Lao Basics survives the test of time, as has Allison's Easy Thai, first printed in 1968 and still widely available after more than 27 printings.
There are also the many others I met in Lao who made me want to stay longer than I had planned. Much longer. And I did. Their names, if I knew half of them, would double the size of this book. Some of them I can't forget, however: Simon Creak, Leisa Tyler, Carrie-Anne Best, Clif Meys, Liam Thammavongsa, Manichanh (Lang) Sichanhthapadid, Rome, Alain, Nick, the entire staff of the U.S. Embassy, plus Ely Ruel and everyone else at the Vientiane International School.
Although I didn't know my wife, Linh, when I started this project, it wouldn't feel right if I didn't thank her for supporting me since the day we met. It would be akin to not thanking my parents, who never thought I'd live in Asia so many years, but have come to visit many times. Thank you.
Even with a great co-author, editor and excellent friends, plus the inspiration, energy and support to finish a book, it takes something special to bring it to market. Some might call it luck, but I call it a publisher. The hardest part in the publishing process is not necessarily finding a publisher, however; it's finding the right publisher, and I have been fortunate enough to find Tuttle Publishing and Sandra Korinchak, my editor, who have been wonderful to work with on this and our other projects together so far: A Chinese Phrase a Day Practice Pad and A Japanese Phrase a Day Practice Pad.
Finally, I'd like to thank you for having an interest in Lao, a language spoken by relatively few, but more than worth the effort to learn.
Introduction
Why Lao Basics?
Some readers may wonder why this book is not called Laotian Basics, or perhaps even Laos Basics. The English words Laos and Laotian are derived from the Lao language, but they are not accurate transliterations. The French added the "s" to Lao, which is the correct pronunciation of the country as well as the language and the people. For example: "Lao people speak Lao in Lao." Hence, we have called this book Lao Basics.
Lao Basics teaches conversational Lao from the very beginning with an emphasis on reading and writing. It follows the same simple, effective learning format as Easy Thai by Gordon Allison, which has remained popular and in print since its publication in 1968.
Students of Thai will find Lao quite simple, as much of these two languages are the same or very similar. Likewise, after learning Lao, Thai (with a more complex alphabet) will be much easier to study. These languages derive from Sanskrit and share many of the same consonants, vowels, vocabulary and grammar. A Thai speaker learning Lao would be comparable to a French speaker studying Italian or vice versa.
Lao Basics is organized so that you will first learn to read, write, speak and comprehend the 26 consonants in their tonal classes. Once you have mastered these, you will study the 28 vowels in subsets. Within each