During my last week in Vientiane I decided that I would attempt to learn the Lao language before returning to the country later in the year.
Although I had been travelling around Laos for over a month and had had no difficulties communicating with people in Thai, I had grown increasingly interested in the country, it’s people and culture and thought the effort of learning the Lao language would reap benefits during future visits. I also enjoy learning languages, I find it rewarding whilst travelling to be able to speak to locals in their native tongue and had picked up a few words of Lao over the previous weeks by conversing with people in guesthouses and restaurants; I had come to realise however that in order to learn effectively I would have to start from the bottom up, and that meant learning to read and write Lao too.I began the following day by visiting the bookshops in the city’s Morning Market and purchasing a Lao-English/English-Lao dictionary, a Lao produced phrasebook and a few children’s booklets teaching the Lao alphabet. A few weeks later in Bangkok’s Don Muang airport I also picked up a copy of Lonely Planet’s Lao Phrasebook.
Upon returning home I set about finding useful Lao language learning resources on the net. The most comprehensive online resource I’ve found to date is the Interactive Lao Language Learning Course from the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University. The site contains sections on Lao Language, Literature, Art & Culture History and other useful information for students of Lao. Using a combination of Quicktime and Real Player files, Java games and picture files, the site through a series of exercises teaches the student basic words, grammar and conversations in Lao. You are also taught how to read and write Lao script and the site has downloadable Lao fonts which are needed by your browser to read Lao in the written exercises. Systematically I’m working my way through the site, jotting down useful words and phrases in a small notebook as I go along and cross referencing with my phrasebooks and dictionary whenever necessary.
So I’ve been learning Lao on and off (like everyone I go through periods when I’m not in the mood to learn) for four months now and feel I’ve made some real progress. I’ve managed to speak with Lao friends by phone on several occasions but could do with some real conversational practice; unfortunately this isn’t so easy to come by in and around London. I’m eager to return to Laos and put so much of what I’ve learnt at home into practice.
But learning a language is never straightforward, each poses it’s own particular problems; for me it has been the similarities between Lao and Thai. Although having a solid grounding in Thai is extremely beneficial when learning Lao as so much of the vocabulary is the same, because the Lao tone system is different to that of the Thai, the words are often, although not always, rendered in a different tone. Because I have been speaking Thai for over ten years now, I naturally through habit want to pronounce a word with the Thai intonation rather than the newly learnt Lao tone; as most Lao understand Thai perfectly well I’m left wondering if the listener is hearing me speak Thai or Lao, although I suspect at this early stage it’s a combination of both.
An example of the close similarities is the word for water in the two languages. In Thai the word is nam. The Lao word is also nam, with both versions being spelt the same (in their respective alphabets) and using the same tone mark. The differing tone rules for the two languages however, means that the Thai word is pronounced with a high tone, whilst the Lao is spoken with a high falling tone.
Autodidactic language learning like any other self taught subject can depend as much upon self discipline and attitude than actual learning ability. With a little dedication and perseverance you should over time pick up enough language to make a real difference on your next trip to Laos. With so much to offer the adventurous traveller ready to explore off the beaten track, the ability to communicate beyond “Sabaai dii” will reward you with a unique travelling experience and the smiling appreciation of a welcoming people.
Sohk dii doe
