Theo Todman's Book Collection (Book-Paper Abstracts)

Amazon Book Description

1. This practical hands-on book builds a solid foundation to help students with the Lao writing system.
2. The book contains fun visuals and worksheet activities for beginners who are just learning how to read and write. It covers consonants, vowels, words, and sentences in a gradual step-by-step process.
3. Additionally, you’ll get to hear the audio recordings of all the Lao words in this book! You will learn 100+ Lao words as you learn to write in Lao! Some of the many words you will learn are ສະບາຍດີ / sa-bai-dee / “Hello” and food words like ຕຳຫມາກຫຸ່ງ / Tham Mak Hoong / “Papaya salad.”
4. Plus, know what each of the consonants/vowels represent in the sound of the Lao alphabet.
5. The Sentences section will give you an overview of Lao grammar and provide you with a good amount of practice to write complete sentences.
6. After completing this book, you will be able to recognize and write sentences like these (and more) on your own:
   → ບໍ່ເປັນຫຍັງ = Not a problem
   → ເຈົ້າກິນເຂົ້າໜຽວຫຼາຍກວ່າຂ້ອຍ = You ate more sticky rice than
   → meໝົກປານີ້ແຊບແທ້ໆ = This steamed fish is really delicious
   → ຂ້ອຍກິນຊີ້ນໝູກັບແຈ່ວເຜັດ = I eat pork with hot dipping sauce
   → ຂ້ອຍຢາກກິນຕຳຫມາກຫຸ່ງເຜັດແທ້ = I want to eat papaya salad that’s really spicy
7. If you can write in Lao, then learning to type/text in Lao on your mobile or computer should be easier.
8. There are worksheets and writing exercises to help you retain the skills. With accompanying audio, you’ll be able to recognize many Lao words written in its native script.
9. Amazon Customer Review 1: I took a Lao language class last year and purchased this workbook to add extra practice. This book was more thorough than the information provided in my class so it helped me out a ton. If you speak any Lao at home or grew up speaking some, this book alone can help you read and learn the alphabet. It’s one of the best resources I’ve encountered, I recommend it to all of my Lao family. I HIGHLY recommend LaoLessons, they have some wonderful material (I also really love the alphabet chart) on their website and even a discord to connect and learn with other students!
10. Amazon Customer Review 2: This is a thick book with many pages of writing exercise to practice how to write in Lao. Good value. The book goes over each consonant and includes a visual guide of how to write the script. There are many writing exercises and review quiz throughout the book. You start from writing consonants, to words, and building it up to combine into sentences. It doesn't go into too much detail about grammar, but for an introductory book, it gets you writing right away. And practice makes you more consistent. Audio of all the consonant and word sounds from a native speaker are also available online to refer to!