Lao Alphabet

[iGotNoTime]

Many of the words are so very close. The very example you gave Lenss of Saang and Chang is a great one. In Lao they say Saang for elephant and in Thai they say Chang. The major difference (not knowing where your wife is from) is in Bangkok they say Chang with an English 'CH' sound, however any Isaan person would say it as they do in Lao with an English 'S' sound. So while there are amazing similarities a good portion of Thailand speaks with a Lao accent.

Another example is the term for man, in BKK Thai they say PooChai, but in Lao and North Eastern Thailand it sounds more like PooSai. Occasionally (I don't know why maybe immigration?) you do hear Lao words and terms used in Bkk, once in a while you will hear Kop Chai rather than Kop Khun.

In Lao also there are no polite particles for gender such as Krap, Pom, Ka or Diichan, in Lao they simply use the term koi. But as in Thai keep careful watch on your pronunciation of this one. 55555

[Betti]

"kop jai" seems to be around in Chiang Mai, I would say it is used about 20% of the time to say thanks? except that you don't say "jai", it's rather in between "jai and "dzai".

[lenss]

Thanks for your post I got no time. Been speaking with my wife. Who is smiling and chuckling about it all...

[iGotNoTime]

She knows!!! 5555

Thai is fairly new to me in the past 5 years, Lao however I am much more fluent in. With 5 years of study time and so much more in educational materials one would think that I would have exceeded my Lao vocabulary by now. Nearly all of my friends are Lao so that seems to be why I am so limited in Thai, just don't use it near as much. Actually, I am really excited about this new Lao section. Hoping to feel more comfortable posting here.

[lenss]

Just wondering, is that your real photo.. I got no time?

[iGotNoTime]

No it is not, that woman is one of my favorite singers. Users can add photos to their user profiles. Would you like me to place an image of Thaksin on yours so you can see what I mean?

ok ok bad joke, sorry. No I am a 30 year old white guy in the USA. Some where on these forums there is a video of me babbling about something, I just don't remember the link. If you want to try it, it is very easy to do, just follow the steps in the image below to get the on-screen help guide.

[lenss]

Geese, I fell in love with your photo....But, all those prompts!!!It'll take me a while to figure it out.

[iGotNoTime]

Well if you ever scrounge up any photo you want to display just contact a moderator and they will gladly do it for you.

Sorry for the disappointment, if it makes you feel any better I am in love with the photo too. One of Thailand's finest.

[mat]

Kop Jai is a widely used term for thankyou in Thailand. http://www.tripleklek.com/how-to-add...e-in-thailand/

[iGotNoTime]

We were on the same page mat

Occasionally (I don't know why maybe immigration?) you do hear Lao words and terms used in Bkk, once in a while you will hear Kop Chai rather than Kop Khun.

I never said it was not spoken of in Thailand, I said it is not as often you hear in Bangkok. My comments on this page have been quite the opposite in fact, clarifying that a large majority of Thailand is in fact speaking with Lao dialect at the least and quite possibly full blown Lao. The blog you linked to even further stresses my point of Lao being used in Thailand. It is openly admitted a Lao term and the blogger is saying she is not comfortable using it often due to the lack of a polite particle. I think I must be misunderstanding you here mat. :(

So I don’t use “ kòp jai” (Thank You in Laos ) to uncle because he is older than me and that sounds not polite to me, even if I know that it is not in Laos, so I said “kòp koon (kha)” ( Thank You in Thai) instead.
I know somebody thinks I am wrong because I must say “Thank You ( kòp jai)” in Laos but if I feel that is not right because It might have another word to say “Thank You” to someone older than you so I don’t know another polite word in Laos to use.