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Lao (Chieng Khouang)

Phylum: Tai-Kadai

Genus: Tai

Lat/lon: 19.3258785, 103.3746135

ISO code: lao

Consonants

Basic short series

bilabiallabio-velarlabio-dentalalveolarpalatalvelarglottal
stopp, pʰ, bt, tʰ, dck, kʰʔ
fricativef, vsh
nasalmnɲŋ
approximantwj
lateral approximantl

Vowels

Basic short series

frontcentralback
closeiɯ, u
close-mideɤ, o
open-midɛɔ
opena

Diphthongs

/ia/, /ɯɑ/, /ua/

Tones

14, 32, 44ʔ, 33, 43, 55ʔ

Licit initial clusters

kʰw

Licit finals

p, t, k, m, n, ŋ, w, j

Source: Gedney, William J., and Thomas J. Hudak (eds.) 1997. William J. Gedney’s Tai dialect studies: glossaries, texts, and translations. Michigan papers on South and Southeast Asia no. 45. Ann Arbor, Mich: Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, The University of Michigan.

Comments: Vowel length was not investigated.

Contributed by: Dmitry Nikolaev (dnikolaev@fastmail.com)