Page:Siam and Laos, as seen by our American missionaries (1884).pdf/544

 Laos. The difference bearing upon missionary work is that of language. Our Cheung Mai escort experienced nearly the same difficulty in understanding the "Eastern" Laos that a Siamese would have. The Eastern Laos dialect is more nearly allied to the Siamese than is the Northern. It does not occupy a middle position between the dialect of Cheung Mai and that of Siam, but probably bears a relation to the Siamese and Cochin Chinese languages, as the Northern Laos dialect does to the Siamese, Burmese, Karens, Liew (or Lew) and Chinese tongues. The Eastern Laos understand the spoken language of Siam better than they do that of the Northern Laos. The differences between the Siamese, Northern and Eastern Laos, Liews, Ngieus, Yongs, etc. is illustrated in the dialectic differences of our own language as spoken in the different parts of England.

The letters used in writing the language of this province are universally used throughout the Northern Laos provinces and by the Liews, Yongs and in many of the Burmese provinces. The written characters of the Eastern Laos are not much different from these. The books of either people can be read by the other, though not without a little difficulty. Siamese books cannot be read in any of the Laos provinces, except by a few persons. Thus, the Bible printed in the Cheung Mai Laos letters could easily be