lao

Lao, also called Laotian is spoken by about three million people, mainly in Laos, where it is written with its own Lao script. Dialects of Lao are also spoken in eastern Thailand where it is called Isan and written with the Thai script. Christianity arrived amongst the Lao in 1630. Swiss Brethren arrived in 1902 who translated parts of the Scriptures into Lao by Mr Contesse, the Gospels were published in 1906, and the New Testament was published in 1926 and the first Lao Bible in 1932. George Roffe translated the New Testament in the 1960s and the Roffe Bible was published in 1973 by the Bible Society. The Lao Common Language Bible was published in 2000. Most Lao speaking Christians are evangelical Protestant. Bible work is done by the Thailand Bible Society, who produced a Revised version in 1973 and a Contemporary Language version in 1991. The Revised New Testament was published in 2007 and full revised Lao Bible was produced in 2011. Bible work is done by the Lao Partnership and the Thailand Bible Society.