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Lao script or Akson Lao (Lao: ອັກສອນລາວ [ʔák.sɔ̌ːn láːw]) is the primary script used to write the Lao language and other minority languages in Laos. Its earlier form, the Tai Noi script , was also used to write the Isan language , but was replaced by the Thai script .
' Lao letters '), which in contemporary Isan and Lao would be Tua Lao (Northeastern Thai: ตัวลาว /tūa la᷇ːw/ and Lao: ຕົວລາວ /tùa láːw/, respectively. The script is known in Laos as Lao Buhan (Lao: ລາວບູຮານ /láːw bùː.hán/), which means lit. ' ancient Lao '. [5]
Although the shapes of the letters have a superficial resemblance to several writing systems in the area, it was not related to any of them. [ 1 ] The script could be used to write various Bahnaric languages , including the Laven dialects , especially Jru' , and languages like Alak , Ong Kommadam's native language.
The table below shows the Lao consonant letters and their transcriptions according to IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet,) BGN/PCGN romanization (1966 system) and LC (US ALA-LC romanization,) as well as the transcriptions used in the Unicode names of the letters, and in official Lao government usage.
"A linguistic analysis of the Lao writing system and its suitability for minority language orthographies". ANSI Z39.35-1979, System for the Romanization of Lao, Khmer, and Pali, ISBN 0-88738-968-6. Hoshino, Tatsuo and Marcus, Russel. (1989). Lao for Beginners: An Introduction to the Spoken and Written Language of Laos. Tuttle Publishing.
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.
Lao is generally a subject–verb–object language, but emphasis can move the object to the beginning of a sentence. The language lacks both agreement and case marking, but word order is very free, with predicate-argument relations determined largely through context.
The variants differ only slightly in appearance, and the system of writing has remained the same. [9] As the name suggests, the use of the Tham (Dharma) script in Lao was restricted to religious literature, either used to transcribe Pali, or religious treatises written in Lao intended solely for the clergy.