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Rating: 
Summary: Finally a good phrasebook for Lao!!
Review: After struggling with inadequate phrasebooks when I was learning Lao a few years ago, I am really glad to finally see a decent one available! Mr. Higbie's phrasebook is great for beginners because it clearly marks the direction of the tones in a way which is easy for people who have no experience with tonal languages to understand. Placing words which have the same phonetic pronounciation but different tones together in the dictionary section really simplifies the language for travellers ('close' and 'far' for example sound the same, with different tones). While living and working in rural Lao for 3 years, I needed to learn to read and write in Lao script, but this is not necessary for travellers. The book is great for anyone wanting to communicate easily and quickly in Lao. Mr. Higbie presents the language as it is spoken in daily life. This book is my first choice and will be the one I recomend to anyone I know going to Lao.
Rating: 
Summary: Keep Looking
Review: I have had a great deal of difficulty with this book.1. It does not provide a clear or thorough breakdown of grammar. 2. It does nothing to explain the Lao alphabet to English speakers, nor does it even provide the Lao spelling of any words for reference. (Romanized only) 3. The phonetic method used is extremely awkward and inaccurate; my neighbors (who are from Laos, who speak and read English fluently) had great difficulty in decifering the system used. I am in the process of searching for a better tutorial, and I advise others to do so as well!
Rating: 
Summary: The Best Phrasebook for Lao
Review: I think this is the best phrasebook I've seen for the Lao language. I've used it on several trips to Laos and shared it with some Lao friends in America. They were very impressed that the sentences were written as they really say them, not like you see in a textbook. The book is from a New York publisher of language books that publishes books with high standards. Other good things I found about the book: 1. It has a clear, concise grammar section
2. the selection of words and topics is comprehensive
3. the book is arranged in a way that is very easy to use
4. the introductory description of Lao is interesting and informative I'd also like to say that the pronunciation system is the easiest I've seen. Tones are marked by lines that show the direction, which makes pronunciation a lot more clear than other books (this is also a problem with Thai). While there is no Lao script in the book the pronunciation can be figured out from the pronunciation chart in the front of the book. I think this book would be useful for people studying Lao, not only for travellers. Thank you Mr. Higbie for a creating a wonderful contribution to my library of S.E.Asian language books.
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