Lao (Lao: ພາສາລາວ , [pʰáː.sǎː láːw] ), sometimes referred to as Laotian , is the official language of Laos and a significant language in the Isan region of northeastern Thailand, where it is usually referred to as the Isan language . Spoken by over 3 million people in Laos and 3.7 million in all countries, it serves as a vital link in the cultural and social fabric of these areas. It is written in the Lao script , an abugida that evolved from ancient Tai scripts.
17-543: Sainyabuli , ( Lao : ໄຊຍະບູລີ ; alternatively spelled Xaignabouli , Xayaburi , or Xayaboury ) is the capital of Sainyabuli Province , Laos . It lies on Route 4 which along with Route 13 connects it to Luang Prabang , roughly 80 kilometres northeast by road and to the Thai border across the Luang Prabang Range in the southwest. A passport control point is in the area. Sainyabuli Airport lies southwest of
34-652: A Be–Tai grouping. Based on toponymic evidence from place names with the prefix dya - (调 diao), Jinfang Li considers Be to have originated from the Leizhou peninsula of Guangdong province. Liang (1997:16) considers Be to have migrated to Hainan from the Leizhou Peninsula of Guangdong about 2,500 years ago during the Warring States Period , but not over 3,000 years ago. Liang & Zhang (1996:21–25) also believe that Be had migrated from
51-537: Is a pair of languages spoken by 600,000 people, 100,000 of them monolingual, on the north-central coast of Hainan Island , including the suburbs of the provincial capital Haikou . The speakers are counted as part of the Han Chinese nationality in census. According to Ethnologue , it is taught in primary schools. Be speakers refer to themselves as ʔaŋ³³vo³³ , with ʔaŋ³³ being the prefix for persons and vo³³ meaning 'village'. Liang (1997) notes that it
68-493: Is not only the official language but also a lingua franca , bridging the linguistic diversity of a population that speaks many other languages. Its cultural significance is reflected in Laotian literature, media, and traditional arts. The Vientiane dialect has emerged as the de facto standard, though no official standard has been established. Internationally, Lao is spoken among diaspora communities , especially in countries like
85-543: Is now southeastern China, specifically what is now Guangxi and northern Vietnam where the diversity of various Tai languages suggests an Urheimat . The Southwestern Tai languages began to diverge from the Northern and Central branches of the Tai languages, covered mainly by various Zhuang languages , sometime around 112 CE, but likely completed by the sixth century . Due to the influx of Han Chinese soldiers and settlers,
102-540: Is similar to the autonym ŋaːu¹¹fɔːn¹¹ (from ŋaːu¹¹ 'person' and fɔːn¹¹ 'village'), by which Gelong 仡隆 ( Cun language ) speakers refer to themselves. The Be languages are a pair of Kra–Dai languages , but its precise relationship to other branches within the Kra-Dai family has yet not been conclusively determined. Hansell (1988) considers Be to be a sister of the Tai branch based on shared vocabulary, and proposes
119-566: The Southwestern branch of Tai languages. Lao (including Isan) and Thai, although they occupy separate groups, are mutually intelligible and were pushed closer through contact and Khmer influence, but all Southwestern Tai languages are mutually intelligible to some degree. The Tai languages also include the languages of the Zhuang , which are split into the Northern and Central branches of
136-675: The Leizhou Peninsula to northern Hainan about 2,500 years ago during the Warring States period . Weera Ostapirat (1998), analyzing data from Zhang (1992), notes that Be and Jizhao share many lexical similarities and sound correspondences, and that Jizhao may be a remnant Be-related language on the Chinese mainland. Be consists of the Lincheng 临城 (Western) and Qiongshan 琼山 (Eastern) dialects. Liang (1997:32) documents
153-683: The Tai languages. The Tai languages form a major division within the Kra-Dai language family , distantly related to other languages of southern China, such as the Hlai and Be languages of Hainan and the Kra and Kam-Sui languages on the Chinese Mainland and in neighbouring regions of northern Vietnam. The ancestors of the Lao people were speakers of Southwestern Tai dialects that migrated from what
170-894: The Tai migrants that followed the Mekong River . As the Southwestern Tai-speaking peoples diverged, following paths down waterways, their dialects began to diverge into the various languages today, such as the Lao-Phuthai languages that developed along the Mekong River and includes Lao and its Isan sub-variety and the Chiang Saen languages which includes the Central Thai dialect that is the basis of Standard Thai. Despite their close relationship, there were several phonological divergences that drifted
187-513: The United States, France, and Australia, reflecting its global diasporic presence. The Lao language falls within the Lao-Phuthai group of languages, including its closest relatives, Phuthai (BGN/PCGN Phouthai , RTGS Phu Thai ) and Tai Yo . Together with Northwestern Tai—which includes Shan , Ahom and most Dai languages of China, the Chiang Saen languages—which include Standard Thai, Khorat Thai, and Tai Lanna —and Southern Tai form
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#1732783227438204-441: The combination of individual words without inflection. These features, common in Kra-Dai languages , also bear similarities to Sino-Tibetan languages like Chinese or Austroasiatic languages like Vietnamese . Lao's mutual intelligibility with Thai and Isan , fellow Southwestern Tai languages, allows for effective intercommunication among their speakers, despite differences in script and regional variations. In Laos, Lao
221-518: The end of the Chinese occupation of Vietnam, the fall of Jiaozhi and turbulence associated with the decline and fall of the Tang dynasty led some of the Tai peoples speaking Southwestern Tai to flee into Southeast Asia, with the small-scale migration mainly taking place between the eighth and twelfth centuries. The Tais split and followed the major river courses, with the ancestral Lao originating in
238-589: The following varieties of Be. Be of Chengmai is intermediate between the Lincheng and Qiongshan dialects, and has features of both. Chen (2018) contains extensive comparative lexical data for the Be dialects of Changliu (長流), Yongxing (永興), Longtang (龍塘), Qiaotou (橋頭), Huangtong (皇桐), and Xinying (新盈). The Qiaotou, Huangtong, and Xinying dialects are unintelligible with the Changliu, Yongxing, Longtang, and Shishan (石山) dialects. Chen (2018) also reconstructs Proto-Ong-Be on
255-1066: The languages apart with time such as the following examples: *mlɯn 'slippery' → {\displaystyle \rightarrow } ມື່ນ muen /mɯ̄ːn/ → {\displaystyle \rightarrow } ลื่น luen /lɯ̂ːn/ {} {} ມື່ນ {} ลื่น {} {} muen {} luen *mlɯn → {\displaystyle \rightarrow } /mɯ̄ːn/ → {\displaystyle \rightarrow } /lɯ̂ːn/ 'slippery' {} {} {} {} *raːk 'to vomit' → {\displaystyle \rightarrow } ຮາກ hak /hâːk/ → {\displaystyle \rightarrow } ราก rak /râːk/ Be language Be ( native pronunciation: [ʔɑŋ˧ɓe˧] ), also known as Ong Be , Bê , or Vo Limgao (Mandarin: 临高话 Lín'gāohuà ),
272-426: The site of a former temple. The town contains a museum and library and two bus terminals each of which are about 2 kilometres north and south of the town respectively. 19°15′N 101°45′E / 19.250°N 101.750°E / 19.250; 101.750 Lao language Lao is a tonal language , where the pitch or tone of a word can alter its meaning, and is analytic , forming sentences through
289-525: The town. The capital stands on the banks of the Nam Hung, a tributary of the Mekong River towards the northern end of the province. The area is allegedly a heartland for military involvement in illegal timber trade . Wat Si Bun Huang, a Buddhist temple of over 500 years vintage lies in the southern part of the town. Also of note is Wat Si Phan Don, noted for its diamond-shaped stupa and Wat Sisavang Vong, reputedly erected by King Sisavang Vong himself on
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