Lao, sometimes called Laotian, is the official language of Laos and a member of the Tai-Kadai family, closely related to Thai. It is tonal and written in the Lao script, which like Thai writing descends from Indian scripts by way of Khmer. Laos has a population of around seven and a half million, though many citizens speak other languages at home and use Lao as a lingua franca. Very similar varieties, usually labelled Isan, are spoken by many millions more across north-eastern Thailand, and spoken Lao and Isan are largely mutually intelligible. Dialects within Laos include those of Vientiane, Luang Prabang and the south. Refugee resettlement after 1975 created Lao-speaking communities in the United States, France and Australia.
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