Laotian is basically monosyllabic and tonal, but there has been extensive borrowing from Sanskrit and Pali at different periods in history. Almost all polysyllabic words relating to government, the Court, Buddhism, science, and philosophy are of Sanskrit or Pali origin. The Reading Lao course is designed to teach you to read newspaper articles, short stories, technical descriptions of moderate difficulty, literary narratives, political speeches, and other materials of similar difficulty.
FSI Lao Basic Course, Volume I, provides introductory material in modem spoken Lao for the student who wishes to achieve proficiency in the language spoken by about three million persons in Laos and an additional ten million persons in Thailand. The Vientiane dialect, used in official government communications and generally the most useful for American students, is the dialect represented here.
