Lao alphabet

The Lao alphabet, Akson Lao (Lao: ອັກສອນລາວ ), is the primary script used to write the Lao language and other minority languages in Laos. Ultimately of Indic origin, the alphabet includes 27 consonants (ພະຍັນຊະນະ ), 7 consonantal ligatures (ພະຍັນຊະນະປະສົມ ), 33 vowels (ສະຫລະ ) (some based on combinations of symbols), and 4 tone marks (ວັນນະຍຸດ ). According to Article 89 of the Amended Constitution of 2003 of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Lao alphabet, though originally used purely for transcribing the Lao language, is also used to write several minority languages. Some minority languages use separate writing systems, however, while the Hmong have adopted the Roman Alphabet. An older version of the script was also used by the ethnic Lao of Thailand's Isan region before Isan was incorporated into Siam. Its use was banned and supplemented with the very similar Thai alphabet in 1871, although the region remained culturally and politically distant until further government campaigns and integration into the Thai state (Thaification) were imposed in the 20th century. The Lao alphabet is very similar to the Thai alphabet, which has the same roots. Lao, however, has fewer characters and is written in a more curvaceous fashion than Thai.