decodeunicode.org . Unicode Blocks . Lao

EDIT Writing system
Lao is a syllabic alphabet of the abugida kind (with an inherent vowel that is only changed when indicated by diacritical marks). Similar to Thai, it has more letters than necessary to describe the original sounds of the language, its 33 consonants and 28 vowels represent 21 and 27 original sounds respectively. All consonants can be used at the beginning of syllables but only some can be used at the end.
The writing direction is left to right with no spaces between words. Spaces are used after sentences or phrases.

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EDIT History
The Lao script and Thai script (former unicode block) both evolved out of a script that was created by King Ramkhamhaeng in 1282/83 to write the Siamese language. That script was influenced by the old Indian (Brahmi) scripts and the Khmer script which itself is a descendant of the Indian scripts. The oldest document in that script is a stone pillar with a government declaration of King Ramkhamhaeng from 1292.

In the 16th century, the Thai and the Lao script evolved out of this earlier script. A spelling reform in the 1960s made writing a bit easier, but there are still many possible variations.

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EDIT Languages
The Lao script is used to write Lao, also known als Laotian, a thai-Kadai language spoken by about 15 million people living around the middle area of the Mekong in Thailand and Laos. Lao is very similar to Thai and speakers of Lao understand Thai quite well. Lao is a tonal language, so the pitch of a syllable is as important as the pronounciation. The tone of a syllable is determined by a combination of the class of consonant (tone), the type of syllable (open or closed), and the length of the vowel.
Written Lao is based on the dialect of the Lao capital, Vientiane, which has six tones: Low, Mid, High, Rising, High and Low Falling. There is no official transliteration system for Lao, different systems are used and vary widely in the spelling of words.

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