Lao Basic Course (Hippocrene Language Studies) [Paperback]

Warren G. Yates (Author)

Book Description

Series: Hippocrene Language Studies | Publication Date: October 1995

Short lessons introduce students to basic grammar and vocabulary while exercises reinforce newly-introduced concepts.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Warren G Yates and Souksomboun Sayasithsena

Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781804108
• ISBN-13: 978-0781804103
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,868,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a very good book, but missing a couple of essentials, September 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Lao Basic Course (Hippocrene Language Studies) (Paperback)

I like this book very much. Too many language books published nowadays are full of fluff about the culture of the country, and other extraneous material that you could get elsewhere, and that frequently comes at the expense of space that could be used to elucidate difficult or obscure parts of the language (in the case of a couple of books I have, it comes at the expense of glossing some of the words in the text material). This is a very good, businesslike job that sticks to the basics, gives the learner a lot of useful, everyday vocabulary, and it is arranged in a format that is extremely easy to use. There are many good exercises, WITH answers. This book was originally used in State Department courses and it is one of the most practical and approachable texts I have for any language.

Two things missing, though, would make it better (and that is why I am only giving it three stars). First, tapes: Many sounds of Lao do not exist in English, and some are only approximately similar. Lao is, of course, a tonal language and so the need for good audio support should be obvious. Since Lao is similar to Thai (and I do have audio materials for Thai) I've been plugging Thai pronunciation into the Lao sounds. It's the best I've been able to do, but it's an unsound practice.

Also, the Lao writing is not covered. I have yet to meet a Laotian in my area (and there are some) who can recognize the romanization of Lao that this book uses, so it is hard to get help with pronunciation when I'm particularly unsure of it. Some of them would be able to help me if the all the sentences in the lessons were written in the alphabet that they knew. Also, why not just teach the writing as part of the course? I have excellent books on Cambodian and Thai that teach those alphabets (as an integrated part of the course) and yet they are not huge or difficult books.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars wonderfully helpful to learn the language, December 10, 2000

By 

Who me (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lao Basic Course (Hippocrene Language Studies) (Paperback)

This book has been VERY helpful to aid my learning of Lao. Wih my partner being from Laos I had a basic understanding of the language, but my pronunciation left ALOT to be desired. With this book I have been able to improve my understanding of the language to a great degree and found that my pronunciations have improved. I personally found the guide to alot of the Lao sounds most helpful as all Lao speakers I know have difficulty in trying to give an english sound that is similar. To me the best part of this book is how the authors have made it easy to understand. Dont get me wrong, its not perfect in its pronunciations, but with a little aid, and in conjunction with Lao for Beginners : An Introduction to the Spoken and Written Language of Laos by Tatsuo Hoshino, it will certainly allow you to pick up the language quite quickly.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As good as it gets in Lao, but you will need the tapes., January 25, 2001

By 

R. ARANT "Toun" (Lanesville, Indiana USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lao Basic Course (Hippocrene Language Studies) (Paperback)

Dr. Yates designed both the Thai and Lao courses of the Foreign Service Institute and was heavily involved in the wonderful Khmer course taught there as well. The other reviewers are certainly correct about how well-organized this Lao course is, and how essential the audio tapes are. As for the writing system, Dr. Yates developed a terrific programmed course on the Lao writing system that was taught in conjunction with this basic course. Students should seek out that 400-500 page book as well as the audio tapes. This material does stand the test of time, but one cannot help but regret how the end of the Southeast Asia conflict brought a great shortfall in funding for course development.