Speaking Lao: Learning About Language (And Some Handy Phrases)

 Welcome back to the jungle everyone! Today’s post is about verbal communication. After all, if you want to visit a foreign country, it would probably help to be able to speak their language. Even if English is commonly spoken in another country, it may be a different dialect than you’re used to. It could also only be prevalent in the main tourist areas. Should you venture to a more local area or into a more remote place, you could find yourself completely unable to communicate. When traveling, many Americans don’t know the language of the place they’re visiting. This is because English is a common lingua franca, a language that a large group of people can understand. If you look at the Britannica entry that I used, it also mentions pidgins. Pidgins are different from a lingua franca in that they are a blend of languages. Languages like Haitian Creole or the Hawaiian language are a blend of three or four languages, making them pidgins.

Laos’s official language is Lao. French is also commonly spoken, followed by English. In the rural areas, local languages are usually spoken. As we learned in a previous post, French was mandated in schools until a few years ago, so anyone who has had any education likely speaks French. Only being able to speak English wouldn’t be detrimental to an experience in Laos, but should you venture into the mountain country away from a tour group, you may find yourself stranded linguistically. If you’re a French speaker, you would probably fare a bit better than someone who’s limited to English. Now, in case any of us decide to go to Laos anytime soon, here are some simple words and phrases, and how to pronounce them (courtesy of Google Translate and my own interpretation of pronunciations).

Hello! - ສະບາຍດີ (suh-bye-dee)

Yes. - ແມ່ນແລ້ວ (men-lay-oh)

No. - ບໍ່ (boh)

Please. - ກະລຸນາ (tah-lu-nah)

Thank you. - ຂອບໃຈ (cok-tai-e)

Can you help me? - ເຈົ້າສາມາດຊ່ວຍຂ້ອຍໄດ້ບໍ? (do sa mas de soy quey de bo?)

I don’t understand. - ຂ້ອຍບໍ່ເຂົ້າໃຈ (coy bo houtz-aiie)

I don’t speak Lao. - ຂ້ອຍບໍ່ເຂົ້າໃຈ (hoy bavou Lao)

My name is (your name). - ຊື່ຂອງຂ້ອຍແມ່ນ (your name) (su con coy mihn)

 

Now some of you are probably thinking that it is useless to learn another language, since we have all this technology that translates things for us. After all, I just demonstrated how much I don’t know Lao. In particular, the phrase ‘Can you help me?’ is quite difficult to say. The sounds of the Lao language aren’t hard for me, but remembering the order things go in is. This was the most wordy of the phrases I translated. Also, the phrase ‘My name is____’ isn’t totally accurate, since I didn’t translate my name into Lao. Should you find yourself in Laos, I would highly recommend you learn your name in Lao. Now, back to why we shouldn’t rely on these internet aids to translate for us. Perhaps the most obvious one is your device could stop working. This could be for a variety of reasons: you run out of battery, you’re out of service, you’re out of WiFi range, or your device gets damaged. Secondly, it may not always translate correctly. While translation abilities have improved, especially with the strides in AI technology, they can still be lacking. And finally, it’s just more pleasant to be talking directly to someone instead of through your phone. As an experiment, let’s translate a paragraph from the 2020 US Census Guide (page 1, paragraph 1).

The fish marks the mantle of the manbuff

Knottd

Yin in the polling station. They filter out the blessing of the gift

Heath's heart felt that he was in the shadow of the son of the queen.

This is clearly part of a poem they decided to open with. However, some words like manbuff or Knottd make no sense to us. While helpers like Google Translate can help us get by, it is always best to learn the language for yourself if you can.

Before we close out, it is worth mentioning the phrase “Language influences our view of reality”. In this Ted Talk, Lera Boroditsky discusses how people’s perceptions are shaped by their language. Some examples she uses include the use of numbers and not having words for directions. In one of the Australian aboriginal languages, they don’t have words for left, right, forward, and backward. Instead, they use the cardinal directions. While an American like me would be completely lost, they are used to it. In fact, they always know exactly what direction they are facing and where they are going because of it. Their use of directions is even in their greetings. As another example, some languages don’t have words for numbers and counting. For them, numbers and quantities aren’t a big deal. But in English, it would be nearly impossible to communicate without the use of numbers. Language reflects the things a culture finds to be important. In aboriginal Australian, it’s direction. In English, it’s things like quantities, individualism, and an abundance of present and future tenses.

The next time you think about languages, remember their complexity reflects the complexity of the culture they represent. This includes the culture’s thoughts and values. Even with the invention of internet translation, it is still best to learn the language of the country you are visiting. Not only is it more personable, but then you don’t have to worry about technology’s limitations. Now go find a book or course on Lao, and get learning!