Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
that the Lao “ou” rhymes with the French “vous”, not the English “noun”, reading Lao place
names shouldn't be a problem. The transliteration of place names in this guide follows the
modified French system used by the Lao National Geographic Service. For the translitera-
tion of Lao words in the following section, a simplified version of the same system is used.
This is not to say that travellers will find exactly the system in use throughout Laos: the Lao
are quite cavalier when it comes to
consistency
in transliteration. In Vientiane, for instance,
it is possible to see the Arch of Victory monument transliterated as “Patouxai”, “Patousai”,
“Patuxai” and “Patusai”.
Consonants
b
as in
b
ig
d
as in
d
og
f
as in
f
un
h
as in
h
ello
j
(or ch) as in
j
ar
k
as in s
k
in (unaspirated)
k
h as
k
iss
l
as in
l
uck
m
as in
m
ore
n
as in
n
ow
ng
as in si
ng
er (this combination sometimes appears at the beginning of a word)
ny
as in the Russian
ny
et
p
as in s
p
eak (unaspirated)
p
h as in
p
ill
s
(or x) as in
s
ame
t
as in s
t
op (unaspirated)
t
h as in
t
in
w
(or v) as in
w
ish
y
as in
y
es
Vowels
a
as in autob
ah
n
ae
as in c
a
t
ai
as in Th
ai
