Lao script

Name	Lao
Languages	Lao and others
Time	c. 1350–present
Fam1	Proto-Sinaitic alphabet
Fam2	Phoenician alphabet
Fam3	Aramaic alphabet
Fam4	Brāhmī
Fam5	Pallava
Fam6	Khmer
Type	Abugida
Unicode	U+0E80–U+0EFF
Iso15924	Laoo
Sample	Lao Script Sample.svg

The Lao Script or Aksone Lao (Lao: ອັກສອນລາວ, ) is the main script used to write the Lao language and other minority languages in Laos. The script is ultimately of Indic origin, the alphabet includes 27 consonants (ພະຍັນຊະນະ ), 7 consonantal ligatures (ພະຍັນຊະນະຜະສົມ ), 33 vowels (ສະລະ ) (some based on combinations of symbols), and 4 tone marks (ວັນນະຍຸດ ). According to Article LXXV of Constitution of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Lao alphabet is the official script to the official language, but is also used to transcribe minority languages in the country, but some minority language speakers continue to use their traditional writing systems while the Hmong have adopted the Roman Alphabet. An older version of the script was also used by the Lao people of Thailand, the Thai Isan, until its use was banned and supplemented with the Thai alphabet in 1871, although the region remained distant culturally and politically until further government campaigns and integration into the Thai state (Thaification) were imposed in the 20th century.

Lao is traditionally written from left to right. Traditionally considered an abugida script, where certain 'implied' vowels are unwritten, recent spelling reforms make this definition somewhat problematic. Vowels can be written above, below, in front of, or behind consonants, with some vowel combinations written before, over and after. Spaces and punctuations were traditionally not used, but a space would function in place of a comma or period. Since the letters have no majuscule or minuscule differentiations, rules regarding capitalisation are moot.

History

The Lao script was slowly standardised in the Mekong River valley after the various Tai principalities of the region were merged under the rule of the Kingdom of Lane Xang in the 14th century. This script, known as Tai Noy, has changed little since its inception and continued in use in the Lao-speaking regions of modern-day Laos and Isan, while the Thai alphabet continued to evolve, but similarity of the scripts can still be seen. This script was ultimately influenced by earlier writing systems in use by the Mon and the Khmer.

Traditionally, only secular literature was written with the Lao alphabet. Religious literature was often written in Tai Tham, a Mon-based script that is still used for the Tai Khün, Tai Lue, and formerly for Kham Mueang. Mystical, magical, and some religious literature was written in a modified version of the Khmer alphabet. Furthermore, the Thai alphabet was used in Laos by those educated in Thailand, and due to the lack of available printing presses with Lao type, and currently by the Isan people in Thailand.

Consonants

The 27 consonants of the Lao alphabet are divided into three tone classes—high (ສູງ ), middle (ກາງ ), low (ຕ່ຳ )—which determine the tonal pronunciation of the word in conjunction with the four tone marks and distinctions between short and long vowels, but aside from tone, there are only 20 or 21 (if speakers pronounce distinct from ) distinct consonant sounds that occur in the Lao language. Each letter has an acrophonical name that either begins with or features the word prominently and is used to teach the letter and serves to distinguish them from other, homophonous consonants. The letter ອ ໂອ is a special null consonant used as an anchor for vowels, which cannot stand alone, as well as serves as a vowel in its own right.

Consonant Chart

The table below shows the Lao consonant, its name, its pronunciation according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), as well as various romanisation schemes, such as the French-based systems in use by both the US Board of Geographic Names and the British Permanent Committee on Geographical Names (BGN/PCGN), the English-based system in use by the US Library of Congress (LC), Royal Thai General System of Transcription (RTSG) used in Thailand, and finally its Unicode name. A slash indicates the pronunciation at the beginning juxtaposed with its pronunciation at the end of a syllable. {|class="wikitable" !rowspan=2|Letter!!colspan=2 rowspan=2|Name!!colspan=4|Initial position!!colspan=4|Final position !rowspan=2|Unicode!!rowspan=2|Tone Class |- !IPA!!BGN/PCGN!!LC!!RTSG !IPA!!BGN/PCGN!!LC!!RTSG |-align=center |ກ |align=left| ກ ໄກ່ ||align=left|, chicken |||colspan=3|k |||colspan=3|k |k||Middle |-align=center |ຂ |align=left| ຂ ໄຂ່ ||align=left|, egg |||colspan=3|kh | ||colspan=3|k |k ||High |-align=center |ຄ |align=left| ຄ ຄວາຍ ||align=left|, water buffalo |||colspan=3|kh | ||colspan=3|k |k ||Low |-align=center |ງ |align=left| ງ ງົວ or ງູ ||align=left|, ox or , snake | ||colspan=3|ng | ||colspan=3|ng |ng||Low |-align=center |ຈ |align=left| ຈ ຈອກ ||align=left|, glass |||colspan=3|ch | ||colspan=3|t |c ||Middle |-align=center |ສ |align=left| ສ ເສືອ ||align=left|, tiger |||colspan=3|s |||colspan=3|t |s||High |-align=center |ຊ |align=left| ຊ ຊ້າງ ||align=left|, elephant |||x||colspan=2|s |||colspan=3|t |s||Low |-align=center |ຍ |align=left| ຍ ຍຸງ ||align=left|, mosquito | ||gn||ny||j |– ||colspan=3|– |ny||Low |-align=center |ດ |align=left| ດ ເດັກ ||align=left|, child |||colspan=3|d |||colspan=3|t |d||Middle |-align=center |ຕ |align=left| ຕ ຕາ ||align=left|, eye |||colspan=3|t |||colspan=3|t |t||Middle |-align=center |ຖ |align=left| ຖ ຖົງ ||align=left|, stocking |||colspan=3|th | ||colspan=3|t |th||High |-align=center |ທ |align=left| ທ ທຸງ ||align=left|, flag |||colspan=3|th | ||colspan=3|t |th||Low |-align=center |ນ |align=left| ນ ນົກ ||align=left|, bird |||colspan=3|n |||ne||colspan=2|n |n||Low |-align=center |ບ |align=left| ບ ແບ້ ||align=left|, goat |||colspan=3|b |||colspan=3|p |b||Middle |-align=center |ປ |align=left| ປ ປາ ||align=left|, fish |||colspan=3|p |||colspan=3|p |p||Middle |-align=center |ຜ |align=left| ຜ ເຜິ້ງ ||align=left|, bee |||colspan=3|ph |– ||colspan=3|– |ph||High |-align=center |ຝ |align=left| ຝ ຝົນ ||align=left|, rain |||colspan=3|f |||colspan=3|p |f||High |-align=center |ພ |align=left| ພ ພູ ||align=left|, mountain |||colspan=3|ph | ||colspan=3|p |ph||Low |-align=center |ຟ |align=left| ຟ ໄຟ ||align=left|, fire |||colspan=3|f |||colspan=3|p |f||Low |-align=center |ມ |align=left| ມ ແມວ ||align=left|, cat |||colspan=3|m |||colspan=3|m |m||Low |-align=center |ຢ |align=left| ຢ ຢາ ||align=left|, medicine |||colspan=3|y |–||colspan=3|– |y||Middle |-align=center |ຣ |align=left| ຣ ຣົຖ or ຣະຄັງ ||align=left|, car or , bell |,||colspan=3|r |n||ne||colspan=2|n |r||Low |-align=center |ລ |align=left| ລ ລີງ ||align=left|, monkey |||colspan=3|l |||ne||colspan=2|n |l||Low |-align=center |ວ |align=left| ວ ວີ ||align=left|, fan |,||v||colspan=2|v,w |–||colspan=3|– |w||Low |-align=center |ຫ |align=left| ຫ ຫ່ານ ||align=left|, goose |||colspan=3|h |–||colspan=3|– |h||High |-align=center |ອ |align=left| ອ ໂອ ||align=left|, bowl |||colspan=3|– |–||colspan=3|– |o||Middle |-align=center |ຮ |align=left| ຮ ເຮືອນ ||align=left|, house |||colspan=3|h |–||colspan=3|– |h||Low |}

Consonantal Digraphs and Ligatures

Lao also uses digraphs based on combinations of silent ຫ ຫ່ານ with certain other consonants, some of which also have special ligature forms that are optionally used. Because of the first silent component is of the 'high' tone class, all the digraphs and ligatures are also of the high tone class. The older versions of the script also included special forms for combinations of ພ (pʰ) + ຍ (ɲ), ສ (s) + ນ (n), and ມ (m) + ລ (l). In addition, consonant clusters that had the second component of ຣ (r or l) or ລ (l) were written with a special form ຼ underneath the consonant. Since these were not pronounced in Lao, they were removed during various spelling reforms and this symbol only appears in the ligature ຫຼ. {|class="wikitable" !width=80 rowspan=2|Letter!!colspan=4|Initial position !rowspan=2|Unicode!!rowspan=2|Tone Class |- !IPA!!BGN/PCGN!!LC!!RTSG |-align=center |align=left| ຫງ | ||colspan=3|ng |ng||High |-align=center |align=left| ຫຍ | ||gn||j||ny |ny||High |-align=center |align=left| ໜ or ຫນ |||colspan=3|n |n||High |-align=center |align=left| ໝ or ຫມ |||colspan=3|m |m||High |-align=center |align=left| ຫຼ or ຫຣ |,||colspan=3|r |r||High |-align=center |align=left| ຫຼ or ຫລ |||colspan=3|l |l||High |-align=center |align=left| ຫວ |,||v||colspan=2|v,w |w||High |}

Phonetic

Lao characters in initial position (several letters appearing in the same box have identical pronunciation). {|class=wikitable !colspan=2| !!Bilabial!!Labio-dental !Alveolar!!Alveolo-palatal !Palatal!!Velar!!Glottal |-align=center !colspan=2|Nasal |ມ|| ||ນ|| ||ຍ||ງ|| |-align=center !rowspan=3|Plosive!!voiced |ບ|| ||ດ|| || || || |-align=center !voiceless |ປ|| ||ຕ|| || ||ກ||ອ |-align=center !aspirated |ຜ, ພ|| ||ຖ,ທ|| || ||ຂ, ຄ|| |-align=center !colspan=2|Fricative | ||ຝ, ຟ||ສ, ຊ|| || || ||ຫ, ຮ |-align=center !colspan=2|Affricate | || || ||ຈ|| || || |-align=center !colspan=2|Approximant | ||ວ**|| || ||ຢ|| ||ວ** |-align=center !colspan=2|Lateralapproximant | || ||ຣ*, ລ|| || || || |}

:^* ຣ was removed by the government, but still widely used. :^** Depends on the dialects. Lao characters in final position. {|class=wikitable ! !!Bilabial!!Labio-dental !Alveolar!!Alveolo-palatal !Palatal!!Velar!!Glottal |-align=center !Nasal |ມ|| ||ນ, ຣ*, ລ|| || ||ງ|| |-align=center !Plosive |ບ, ປ, ພ, ຝ, ຟ|| ||ຈ, ສ, ຊ, ດ, ຕ, ຖ, ທ|| || ||ກ, ຂ, ຄ|| |-align=center !Approximant | ||ວ**|| || ||ຢ|| ||ວ** |}

:^* ຣ was removed by the government, but still widely used. :^** Depends on the dialects.

Vowels

There are only a handful of basic symbols, but they can be combined with other vowel forms and semi-vowels like to create the full repertoire of diphthongs and triphthongs used in the language. Vowels cannot stand alone or begin a syllable, so the null consonant, ອ, which can function as a vowel in its own right, is used as a base. The names of the vowels are just as easy as saying sala (ສະລະ, ) before the vowel sign. Some vowels have unique names, and these are ໃອ (ໄມ້ມ້ວນ, , rolled stem), ໄອ (ໄມ້ມາຽ, , unwound stem), ອົ (ໄມ້ກົງ, , straight stem), ອັ (ໄມ້ກັນ, , ear stem), ອຽ (ວິຣາມ, ), and ອໍ (ນິກຄະຫິດ, ). {|class="wikitable" !colspan=6|Short vowels!!rowspan=11| !!colspan=6|Long vowels |- !Letter!!IPA!!BGN/PCGN!!LC!!RTSG!!Unicode !Letter!!IPA!!BGN/PCGN!!LC!!RTSG!!Unicode |-align=center |◌ະ, ັ◌||||colspan=3|a||a |◌າ||||a||ā||a||aa |-align=center |ິ||||colspan=3|i||i |ີ||||i||ī||i||ii |-align=center |ຶ||||u||ư||ue||y |ື||||u||ư̄||ue||yy |-align=center |ຸ||||ou||u||u||u |ູ||||ou||ū||u||uu |-align=center |ເ◌ະ, ເັ||||é||e||e|| |ເ◌||||é||ē||e||e |-align=center |ແ◌ະ, ແັ||||è||æ||ae|| |ແ◌||||è||ǣ||ae||ei |-align=center |ໂ◌ະ, ົ◌||||ô||o||o|| |ໂ◌||||ô||ō||o||o |-align=center |ເ◌າະ, ັອ◌||||o||ǫ||o|| |ໍ, ◌ອ◌||||o||ǭ||o|| |-align=center |ເິະ, ເິ◌||||eu||œ||oe|| |ເີ, ເື◌||||eu||œ̄||oe|| |-align=center |colspan=13| |-align=center | ເັຽະ, ັຽ◌ ||||colspan=3|ia|| ||rowspan=6| | ເັຽ, ◌ຽ◌ ||||ia||īa||ia|| |-align=center | ເຶອະ, ເຶອ◌ ||||ua||ưa||uea|| | ເືອ ||||ua||ư̄a||uea|| |-align=center | ົວະ, ັວ◌ ||||oua||ua||ua|| | ົວ, ◌ວ ||||oua||ūa||ua|| |-align=center | ໄ◌, ໃ◌, ັຽ, ັຍ ||||colspan=3|ai||ai or ay | ◌າຍ, ◌າຽ ||||ay||āi||ai|| |-align=center | ເົາ ||||colspan=3|ao|| |colspan=6| |-align=center | ຳ ||||colspan=3|am|| |colspan=6| |}

Numerals

{| class=wikitable !Arabic numerals !width=40| 0 !!width=40| 1 !!width=40| 2 !!width=40| 3 !!width=40| 4 !!width=40| 5 !width=40| 6 !!width=40| 7 !!width=40| 8 !!width=40| 9 !!width=40| 10 !!width=40| 20 |-align=center !Lao numerals | ໐ || ໑ || ໒ || ໓ || ໔ || ໕ | ໖ || ໗ || ໘ || ໙ || ໑໐ || ໒໐ |-align=center !Lao names | ສູນ || ນຶ່ງ || ສອງ || ສາມ || ສີ່ || ຫ້າ | ຫົກ || ເຈັດ || ແປດ || ເກົ້າ || ສິບ || ຊາວ |-align=center !Transliteration |sun||nung||song||sam||si||ha||hok||chet||paet||kao||sip||xao |}

Lao compatible software

Lao has been available for Linux for many years.

Lao was not officially released for Windows until Windows Vista. Although user generated fonts are freely available online, viewing them required the user to download the fonts; place them into the "Windows", "Fonts", folder; and then open an Internet Explorer window. The user would then navigate to the "Tools" menu, "Internet Options" option, "General" tab. They would need to click on the "Fonts" option and then select the font that they downloaded.

Unicode

Lao script was added to the Unicode Standard in October, 1991 with the release of version 1.0.

The Unicode block for Lao is U+0E80–U+0EFF. The first 10 characters of the row U+0EDx are the Lao numerals 0 through 9. Throughout the chart, grey areas indicate non-assigned code points. Although there are many unassigned code points, the ones that are assigned for Lao characters match the relative positions of the corresponding Thai characters.

See also

Romanization of Lao

Brahmic family

References

Simmala, Buasawan and Benjawan Poomsan Becker (2003), Lao for Beginners. Paiboon Publishing. ISBN 1-887521-28-3

External links

Omniglot - Lao alphabet

The Lao Alphabet at SEAsite

Laos - language situation by N. J. Enfield

Numerals in many different writing systems, which includes Lao numerals; retrieved 2008-11-12

Lao Range: 0E80 - 0EFF, from the Unicode Consortium

Free Lao script for Windows and Mac OS X

Category:Brahmic scripts Category:Laotian culture Category:Writing systems without word boundaries