Peter T. Daniels wrote:

> Presumably your Lao is like vocalized Hebrew/Arabic/Syriac -- or better,
> Yiddish, where the "vocalizations" are not optional and are in fact
> separate letters?

Actually, no.

Modern ("reformed") Lao, especially, is basically an alphabet.
Unlike Thai, which has an "inherent vowel" when no "vocalization" is
overt (in an open-syllable, it's [O] "open-o"; in a closed-syllable it's
[o]), Modern Lao has vowels all overtly spelled out.
In older, traditional Lao, syllable breaks are sometimes ambiguous due
to Pali-Sanskrit tradition orthography. Presence or absence of a vowel
glyph is not optional, AFAICR.

cheers,
-Patrick