This thread is a spin off from the Khmer topic, "What do outsiders think of our language". I wanna know what outsiders think of our Lao language.

Listen to this brief clip and tell me what you guys think? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DpVcaCAkQs...feature=related

actually i was speaking to an asian guy today and asked what does lao sound like, often mistaking it for viet and khmer but not thai more i had talks with him, the more of an idiot and loser he was so that discredits what he says.

There are some Lao words I learn from this forum like

Buk Hu Kee & Buk Hum hod

Doesnt sound good to me at all


But Any way Yet Mae sound better than DohMah isnt it

Like Vietnamese, but not as intense

Like "allow"but without the A. It's more in the sentiment behind the conversation. You can read it in the forum here right now. Look at what the Lao people contribute to other nations threads. It is easy to work out what the meaning is, but difficult to fathom the reasons.' It never seems kind.

It could easily sound sweeter here, for that is what it sounds like in RL.

Sounds chinese to me but not as dramatic tonally.

Could you be more specific? What do you mean not as intense?

it sounds like some african language

*Raises hand* I know I know, I promise you'll love this one LanXang I promise. U ready?

LAO SOUNDS LIKE THAI 55555555555!!!

Here's another Lao accent, which sounds different from the one above.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD4fHuKSEXI...feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAFW2xl_ODY

He even speak like i do at the end of the sentence *La kah* short and fast.
Haha if he live in CR a little longer, he´ll be speak like kon Jiang Hai.
And uh...he said Jao 555 diam hoo kanard leuy orh!
He kinda look like my niece 555 well his eyes though.

And euh Savan he tend high school in Vienchan does that mean he´s from there or maybe not but he have a different accent then you?


Umm she dont have the same accent like Rhung (above link). I dont know sound hard to follow cause she speak up and down at the same sentence.
Is this typical Vienchan thing? Make me headache to follow a little.
And she said *Lah Kor long and sometime La Kor very short*. She speak too yuedddddddd ah ehehe like kon Jiang Mai yued yued (extended long sound). I like half yued yued accent (my accent of course 555 and like Rhung accent).

But it doesnt mean we dont use kor but kah is more common to CR ppl then CM.
Bor-no in CM more in use then CR. Bah and Mah is more use in CR, speak short and fast.

But Bah like shoulder we use to call other person exspecially for boys. Bah is like Ai (not bigger brother).
Ha is to refer yourself over someone else, more use to the boys but its actually for everyone as well but not a very formal word like (Tua) Hao, Pern, Kah Jao (woman usage), Tua Kah (men but woman can use but not so liab loy you know), Tua Kah Jao (woman very polite).
Pern and Tua is a polite way to say specially for woman or men saying to woman.
Pern = I or Me, Tua is you or as well body as pi-nong already know.
Cause i refer myself to my twin sis as Ha instead of hao or pern. Its normal cause we consider same age and being also friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD4fHuKSEXI...feature=related

I'm not 100% sure, but I think all areas of Vientiane speak with the same dialect (words), but the accent and/or the speed in which they speak may vary from place to place.

Lang didn't say "Sa-Bai-Dee" like other Vientiane people. Typically, the Vientiane pronunciation would be "Sa-Bai-Deeee??", and not "Sa-Bai-Dee", which was how Lang said it.

I don't speak fast like Lang, but his dialect is the same as mine. Lang and Alexandra use the same Vientiane dialect (same words), but vary in how fast they speak and their accents are a little bit different, but still sound like Vientiane accent(s) to me.

I speak more like the guy who was interviewing Alexandra in the clip, but they both have the same accent. Anyway, I have an easier time understanding Alexandra because I'm used to her accent.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAFW2xl_ODY

Vientiane has several sub-dialects (or I guess accents). I think in Lao culture, it's considered more polite to speak in a slow manner, like how Alexandra speaks. Even the male interviewer in that same video clip was speaking very slowly like Alexandra...and yes, he also said "jao" (polite participle).

But yes, Vientiane people typically play around with our tones to sound more polite. We don't stay consistent on purpose. For example, when we say some one-syllable words like "Bpeun" (gun) at the end of a sentence or by itself, we would tend to change it to a rising tone. However, if that same word is used in the middle of the sentence or anywhere other than the end of the sentence, we would pronounce the word the way it is written (non-rising).



Wait...Pern = I or Me (in Lanna)???? In Laos, Pern = Him/Her, but not I or Me.

Yes, I got confused the first time I heard a girl from Chiang Mai who used the word Pern during a discussion with me. I suspect that ka-jao also refers to I or me in Lanna, but I am not sure.

As for the Vientiane accent, nowadays with more and more people moving into the capital from other regions and other countries with their kids born and raised in the capital and exposed to their own parent accent and the accent of their adopted new city. I believe there is more and more of this kind of Viantianized accent sweetened with honey or coconut milk rather the real old Vientiane accent of our grand-parents.

sounds like thai

haha true, true....that's probably why EK doesn't really like modern Vientiane accent. Vientiane accent isn't as tonal as Tai Muang Luang accent, but also not as direct and straight-forward like southern Pakxe accent. So in a way, Vientiane accent is actually more like a hybrid of the two or a mixture of various Lao accents.

He doesnt speak fast na, normal and even slower then me but its that you and Alexandra speak too slow i think ah na. Even though he speak sometime like us in CR but his accent still can consider from Laos cause his accent is still Viengchan. I think maybe he´s from north or something. In Viengchan live alot of ppl from different parts of the country, dont really surprise.

Pern also refer to other person as him/her but also can refer for yourself. Yes in kam muang we use in many purposes.
Haha even i use Pern to my grandma but its actually not so good when come thinking, it sound like too far distance then using nong.
Nong is the best way to call yourself while in conversation with other ppl. Like let see.
Grandma ask : Wannee nong kin kao yhang? (yhang-what not yang-yet)
Me : Nong yang bah hoo nah. Or in another version, Pern yang bah hoo nah (well pern sound far distance then nong)
I dont sure you´re understand this but if you ouh kam muang you will feel it that its different.

Kah as you guys know mean i but very formal old rough military thing word. Jao well you know what it means.
Kah+Jao= me myself, woman use it and very formal and polite.
Tua either for refer other person as You but also mean Body.
Tua Hao - Myself
Tua Pern - Both for yourself and himself/Herself
Tua Kaoh - You guys (woman use it)
Tua Kah (noi) - Me myself (little humble me) would be more for men

Jao is also to refer yourself (for woman) also mean yes in polite way.
Example : Jao kah wa ja pai sue kong nai Wiang.
Woman with age use this +40 up. I´ve never use this myself. Mostly i use nong and pern. Nong to my family.
Pern i mostly use to discribe myself to stranger even though it doesnt sound liab loy huhuhuhu.

Ppl who doesnt ouh kam muang would be a little confuse to know which exactly we mean, either discribe other person or to ourselves.



Haha yeah its a little confusing, i think at first you thought she said about other person but hey it doesnt make any sense, but if you understand that pern is to calling herself the meaning falling into places, that would make more sense right? I´m not good in discribe things but as me speak the dialect myself i understand other ppl will get confuse from our usage.
Yup Kah Jao is very formal use and polite way call herself. Only woman with age use that, not young girls or unmarried one. I have never use that...maybe if i get older.


About what i think of Lao language, since we both speak Tai language i like everything of our Tai languages, Lao is not so much different then my own tongue. Mostly of all is that i understand more then any other languages which i dont need to take classes for. Its beautiful language with diverse accents.

Thanks for explaining Kam Muang to us. It's good to know in case I run into someone who's from your region.

By the way, I just found out that Tai Muang Luang people (northern Laotians) would also use Pern to refer to themselves in the first person, just like Lanna people. Tai Muang Luang people and Lanna people have many things in common. However, people in Vientiane would only use Pern to refer to someone else. It would sound weird to us if we were to use Pern to refer to ourselves in the first person.

Hard for me to distinguish, since i'm the insider.

I think the difference between "kah-jao" (Lanna) versus "kah-jao" (Laos) has to do with the usage of the word "Jao".

When prefixed with the the word "kah" as in "kah-jao", I think Lanna people are using "Jao" as a polite term, whereas Lao people are using "Jao" as in You.

Therefore, "kah-jao" = I (in Lanna)
but "kah-jao" ("kao-jao") = They (in Laos)

Umm, as i think you might know, in Luang Prang live alot of Tai Lue and Tai Lue have alot of common like Tai Yuan from Lanna (language, customs ect...). Also dont forget that Luang Prabang (Muang Sawa) is sister kingdom of Yonok Chiang Saen. Its not that strange if ppl speak the same. Actually Tai Lue who live in Luang Prabang is the same Tai Lue in Nan province, only they live in different country, having different nationality but the same ppl.

Hun kor wa hao phen gon diaw kun, hao mee ah yang tee muang kun nuk luer tee hao kud.
Wanna try Lao Beer, eieie...maybe this summer in Jiang Hai.


Yeah i know about this. Cause i heard kon Lao from Isaan speak Jao to mean other person as You. But to us is a polite word saying yes or as I.
Like this song of Jarun Manophet sung by Suntree Wachanon, name of the song is Sao Jiang Mai.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_VVE0Pp9HY <---Sao Jiang Mai by Lanna Commins, daughter of Suntree Wachanon


*Kah jao phen sao Jiang Mai, hem bor tao dai kor ja hen sao laew, tung wan me bao ma el, ma ouh ma saew phen gon Lapoon (Lamphun)*
*Kah jao ja lerk aow phai, ai bao Jianh Hai (Chiang Rai) jue Kaew Ma Loon, ai Kong gon Pae (Phrae) Kew Soon, ai Kum, Ai Moon, Ai Som, Ai Mee*
*Pern bork wa ja ma korh, kah jao kor ror ma laew phen pee, por mae tha poo salee (bed scheet), ai bao tua dee hai seb hai soi*
*Kah jao bor juer hem laew ja teng kub Miao pai yu paii doi, khai pha khai phet khai ploy, khai waen khai soy yu bon doi Puey*

Last before going off to bed.
We speak Tai language but how come when i look at the sub group Lao have its own group but Kam muang is of Chiang Saen group the same like central Thai (found that strange).
Any one have explanation to this? Was looking for it but havent got came acrossed yet.
Look for the groups and sub groups in Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_languages

Our is under SW Tai languages.
Chiang Saeng languages (10)
Tai Dam (Vietnam)
Northern Thai (Lanna, Thai Yuan) (Thailand, Laos)
Phuan (Thailand)
Thai Song (Thailand)
Thai (Thailand)
Tai Hang Tong (Vietnam)
Tai Dón (Vietnam)
Tai Daeng (Vietnam)
Tay Tac (Vietnam)
Thu Lao (Vietnam)

Lao-Phutai languages (4)
Lao (Laos)
Nyaw (Thailand)
Phu Thai (Thailand)
Isan (Northeastern Thai) (Thailand, Laos)

Kam Muang and even central Thai dialect is under Chiang Saen sub group.
While Lao-Phuthai is of thier own group under SW Tai languages.

How is that made out, you guys have any idea? Does this mean that Lao group isnt close to Chiang Saen sub group?

"like Thai but more ghetto"

This dude is from Viengchan but from my area of Viengchan . People who is from Viengchan can figure it out themselves where it is .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD4fHuKSEXI...feature=related


Alexandra is from Viengchan as in the center and heart of Viengchan ( Chantaburi district) . Her accent is a Chantaburi accent . This accent just annoys the heck out of me . I did ask my mother if they spoke this way in the past and she said that is how they speak . This accent is one of the reason I hate going into to Viengchan city .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAFW2xl_ODY



They are both Viengchan accent but different district .

Our is under SW Tai languages.
Chiang Saeng languages (10)
Tai Dam (Vietnam)= people of the black river of Lanxang
Northern Thai (Lanna, Thai Yuan) (Thailand, Laos)
Phuan (Thailand) =northeastern lanxang of Xieng khuang muang puan
Thai Song (Thailand) = Tai song dam is the Tai dam people ( Siamese called these slaves lao song dam or Lao song )
Thai (Thailand) = Syam
Tai Hang Tong (Vietnam)
Tai Dón (Vietnam)
Tai Daeng (Vietnam) northeastern Lanxang ( like the central Lao )
Tay Tac (Vietnam)
Thu Lao (Vietnam)

Lao-Phutai languages (4)
Lao (Laos)
Nyaw (Thailand)
Phu Thai (Thailand) = 12 Phu Tai ( 12 mountains of Tai ) in northeastern lanxang .
Isan (Northeastern Thai) (Thailand, Laos) = Mostly lao from the north of Lanxang that relocated through out 650 years ( some mix with Khmer ) .

Don't know who label this but they didn't get specific about it . All these group of lao does live in Thailand too from relocation from northern Lanxang .

sound like people speaking none-sense Vietnamese to me

You gotta me kidding me??? Not to sound offensive or anything, but to my ears, when I hear Vietnamese people speak, they always have a "high-pitch voice". LoL

^ Vietnamese is more tonal than Laotian...honestly even though laotian is tonal it doesn't sound that much tonal to me, not as musical as Vietnamese and Chinese.

don't worry, I don't feel offended when someone like you say something about my language

Not as musical as Vietnamese and Chinese??? hahahahha. This has got to be a joke. lol No offense, there is a reason why people think both Vietnamese and Chinese are worst sounding Asian languages. When I hear Vietnamese people speak, I want to close my ears. I'm being honest. When I hear a group of Vietnamese people speak in public and most of time Viets are real loud, I want to get away from them as soon as possible. lol Being Lao, it's very important in our Lao culture to have "Khun Sombat"(it means something like "values/manners" in the English language) because Lao people we often judge people based on these qualities. It's real important to us.

lol these are words coming from a person like "you"...this is why I said I won't feel offended if a person like "you" says anything about my language.

I won't attack you back but just to tell you that in my opinion, both Chinese and Vietnamese sound much better than Laotian.

And I'll tell you my opinion, I think Lao sounds more pleasant than both Vietnamese and Chinese. One thing about Lao people is that we are not "loud" in public and when we talk, it doesn't sound like we're arguing. lol

There's no need to get upset by Xigon's comments. She's entitled to her own opinions. From my experience, most Lao people prefer Laotian tones over Vietnamese tones. I think we're all just accustomed to our own tones. So I'm not surprised that a Vietnamese person would prefer Vietnamese over Laotian...just like how a Lao person would prefer Laotian over Vietnamese.

Agree, people are proud of their own language and their regional accent they were born with and get used to. The whole point is there is not even a standard Lao accent and I don't think there is one either for the Vietnamese. The north, central, south, and various groups and regions of both countries may speak with their own accent that can vary from slightly to greatly. On top of that, it depends on the person him/herself who speaks that specific language. Look at the examples that Lan xan and Savan gave regarding Lao-Wiang accent, you can see how differently they can sound.

Hmm.. my brother in law is Lao and when I first heard him and his family speak Lao, it sounded like they were angry with one another and had only 1 syllable words. But now I'm more accustomed to it.

I find your comment very suspicious. You do realize that it's quite impossible to tell how many syllables are present in a word, if you are unfamiliar with that language. In any language, each syllable is a separate sound.

i.e. in English

"how is it going?"
"how is it go ing?"
"how isit going?"
"howis itgo ing?"
"howisitgoing?"

If you are unfamiliar with English, you would not be able to tell how many words are present in the phrase, "How is it going?". You would just hear 5 syllables. However, if they spoke sloooooowly then of course you'd be able to tell how many words are present. However, no normal person would actually speak that slowly.

yeah, we are angry peoples...lolzzzzzzzzzzzz

I think Southerner accent sounds angry, and Loud. Well that how you clear thing up..

That's why I didn't understand why you thought that Vientiane accent was fake. I think you're just not used to it. I love Alexandra's accent.

if most Laotians are like Lanxan then it's really sad for the Lao nation...seriously they make a topic asking people how Lao sounds like but when people tell them their opinion about Lao language they started to bash that opinion...now note that my comment was very neutral at first, I said it sounded like someone speaking nonsense Vietnamese...still even after lanxan bashed my language, I didn't say anything bad about Laotian, I didn't say it was loud or ghetto or whatever because I didn't want to be rude.

You always ganna find at least one in every race !!!!!!

Lao sounds like Thai but much less tonal. I'd be able to keep a straight face in Laos whereas in Vietnam I'd probably laugh myself to death then commit suicide.

I was directing that comment to lanxan only so calm down lol...just trying to tell him that he should stop acting like that

edit: actually I notice that I use 3rd person pronounce to talk a lot so that may lead to some misunderstanding...like instead of saying "you are like this...you are like that", I say "someome is like this...someone is like that"...well it's the way of Vietnamese people...I hope you understand.

I'm aware of it. i was not mad or anything. I was referring to "One Bad Apple should not spoils the Bunch" Everyone has his/her opinion, including Lanxan.

^ sorry. I didn't mean Lao people were bad. I was implying to lanxan that the way he acts makes him a shame for his people...he should be ashamed of himself.

I am neither chinese or viet but I think Lao sounds much better than Viet. Viet and Chinese has to be the most annoying asian language ever to my ears. Everytime I go to a vietnamese pool hall those guys are loud and annoying as fu-k. Makes me just want to go up to that person and smack the $hit out of him. I know I am not alone when I say this. Alot of non-viets in my town thinks the same. Other than the language they are kool peeps to me.

Most annoying

1. Vietnamese
2. Mandarin & Cantanese
3. Hmong
4. Lao & Thai
5. Tagalog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0mYgTxnTpo...feature=related

lol it's opposite way around to me...cambodian is also on my list

There's many accents in Laos, just like in Thailand. People tend to associate Thai language with central Thai accent, but the depth of their tones also vary depending on the region.

In Laos, the most tonal accent is in the Northern part of Laos. The less tonal accent is in Southern Laos....and in my opinion, the Central accent (Vientiane) sounds the best because it's not too tonal (Northern) and not too monotonous (Southern).

How is my opinion any different than yours? You think Lao sounds like a "nonsense Vietnamese", which in my opinion came off as pretty condescending.

ok...... NO offense to you, but I've read many of your answers on AF. You remind me of the Vietnamese Lanxan at times so you are not innocent either. You are cool sometimes, other times you are not, just like Lanxan. A lot of your replies are just as bias as Lanxan too. The fact that a lot of times (in other chat rooms too, not just in Lao) you are "Pro-Vietnamese" at all costs, while at the same time you act in a very condescending way towards a lot of people who do not agree with your extreme views of what being a proud Vietnamese is all about.

Opinions are different from "belittling people". Do not try to imply that they are the same when it is clear they are not.


Opinions are thoughts and ideas that may not agree with the views or agree with the views of others. These are often times backed up with facts to prove your case about why you had an opinion about it in the first place.


Belittling people or being condescending only shows people that you are not open to hearing other peoples views and anything mention is denounced or mocked. It only shows arrogance, not intelligence.

I'll give you an example (not from yours):

Another person mentioned that Lao sounded like......."a ghetto version of Thai".

^That is an example of being condescending. This person proved no intelligence what so ever and did not define any explaination as to what "ghetto" really means, because like it or not the word "ghetto" has a vast meaning that is far too complexed to be summed up in one definition.

THis person's "opinion" is not a real opinion, it is just a plain condescending statement or a comment, nothing more.

Hmm... It's hard for me to say since Thai and Lao language are very similar. IMO, Lao should sound smoother than Thai since they don't use R and don't roll their tongue anymore. I'd say Lao sound more like Chinese in a softer tone.

Really... Vietnamese and Thai sound alike to me. If Thai were to subtract the Sanskrit and Khmerish type sounds Thai and Vietnamese would sound identical. Maybe its because of the high pitch tones of Vietnamese and Thai that makes them sound alike, who knows. Anyways check out the video the Thai guy sounds Vietnamese vise versa.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Crv3Go3FJZA