Thongvanh [dot] com

I have finally started to learn to read and write Lao about a week ago using the language files http://www.fsi-language-courses.org. Everyone else can try to learn these on their own too, but it may be difficult because they use some pretty technical linguistic terms. So, as I go through the lessons, I will be reinterpreting them using some easier-to-digest language here for the family, and anyone else who might be interested in learning to read or write Lao. We always talk about forgetting Lao, and this is a fun way to keep the language alive in the family. Hopefully, this will give the moms and dads a more organized and focused approach to teaching Lao literacy and a way to spend a bit of time with the kids practicing Lao. Let me know what you think of this idea with some comments and also let me know if have suggestions on how to improve the lessons! Now, the first lesson...

Today we will learn two vowels: a long "e" and a short "e".

Let's look at this symbol.

From laolanguage

One part of this symbol is the X. For now, let's forget about the x. It does not mean anything for now. It's just holding a place for something else.

The second part is above the X. What does it look like? (Yes, answer the questions aloud to yourself!) It looks like a circle with a tail. This symbol can only be above the x. Can it be below? No! Can it be turned upside-down? No!

The symbol there represents a sound. The sound is 'ee' in the word 'see'. We will call this sound 'long e' and 'sarat-e'. It's the same sound as in the Lao word for 'good' [dee]. Click on the picture above to hear the sound and learn more about it.

Let's take a look at the second symbol.

From laolanguage

Here we can forget the X again. (From here on, remember that X is just standing in place for something else, and it does not mean anything.)

Above the x, we have another symbol. What does it look like? How is this symbol different from the long-e? This symbol has no tail. How is it the same? Well, it is above the X and it looks kind of like a circle. Like the long-e, it can only be above the X, with the open side pointing down. Look at the symbols side by side.

From laolanguage

Now, what does the short-e sound like? Say the following sentence quickly: I eat donuts.

Did you notice how you say "eat"? Say the sentence again quickly and listen to it. 'Eat' stops quickly at the end and you can barely hear the 't'. In fact, it doesn't sound like 't' at all. Say it again fast: eat. This sound is the short-e. We will call it 'short-e' or 'sarat-eat'. Click on the symbol to hear it pronounced and also to hear more useful info about it.



EXERCISES

Now we have learned the first two Lao vowels. Let's do some practices with them. Answers will be at the end.

Exercise 1. Which one is the long vowel?

From laolanguage

Exercise 2. Are any of these symbols written correctly. Yes or No.

From laolanguage

Exercise 3. Which symbols are written correctly?

From laolanguage

Exercise 4. Write the symbol for sarat-e [long-e]. (always include the X in these writing exercise)

Exercise 5. Write the symbol for sarat-eat [short-e].

Exercise 6. Again, which symbols are written correctly.

From laolanguage

Answers

Finally, the homework is to practice writing the long-i and short-i. Write it 5 times each. Each time you write one, pronounce it aloud.