Lao, sometimes referred to as Laotian is a tonal language of the Kra–Dai language family. It is the official language of Laos, and it is also spoken in northeast Thailand, where it is usually referred to as the Isan language. [1]
The Lao language serves as an important lingua franca as the country of Laos includes multiple ethnic groups and about 86 different languages are spoken within its borders.
Spoken Lao is mutually intelligible with the Thai language (the two languages are written with slightly different scripts but are linguistically similar).
Lao, like many languages in Laos, is written in the Lao script, an abugida. Although there is no official standard, the Vientiane dialect has become the de facto standard.
Keyboard layouts and imput methods[]
Main article: Guide to keyboard layouts and input methods