Some new young generation Lao American ,Lao Australia and Lao European are not even interested to learn to speak , read and write Lao that is sad . Thai Esan will be the only people who speak Lao besides Lao people in Laos in the next couple hundred years.
-- Edited by Dark Angel on Friday 4th of February 2011 08:43:06 AM
Is the use of "ka-noi" as an honorable ender correct in Lao? I swear I've heard people say it before, but they used "ka-pha jao" instead.
It is correct. It's just an old way of speaking when one wants to be polite. This use was common in Luang Prabang in 1950's.
Here are some basic rules of using khanoi ຂ້ານ້ອຍ
1. If you already call yourself "khanoi," you cannot end the sentence with "khanoi" again.
ex. "khanoi mii syy vaa Kham khanoi" (my name is Kham) --this is incorrect
instead use:
ex. "khanoi mii syy vaa Kham" (my name is Kham) Or:
ex. "mii syy vaa Kham khanoi" --though this is ambiguous because you don't know who the subject really is.
2. "khanoi" can be used in phrases or words that don't have a subject such as "sabaaidii", "khopjai".
ex. "sabaaidii khanoi" or "khopjai khanoi"
3. "khanoi" can be used in interrogative sentences(asking questions) such as "how are you?" and imperative sentences(telling someone to do something).
ex. "jao syy nyang khanoi"(what is your name?)
ex. "jao sabaaidii khanoi bo"(how are you?) --"khanoi" must procede "bo"!
ex. "kho nam khanoidae"(may I have some water please)--"khanoi" must procede "dae"!
4. "khanoi" can be used to say "yes"
ex. "doy khanoi" or
ex."khanoi"
5. etc.
PS. Some people just simply use "khanoi" like how Thai people use khrap/kha which is like how Lanna people use "jao," and how Shan people use "kha" at the end of every sentence for politeness.
I hope this helps.
references
Spoken Lao [by] G. Edward Roffe and Thelma W. Roffe(1956-1958)
