Lao is natively spoken by about 21 million people, primarily in Laos, where it is the official language, and among Lao communities in Thailand and the United States. It is integral to Lao cultural identity, known for its Buddhist heritage, traditional music, and festivals such as Lao New Year. Written in the Lao script, Lao grammar features a subject-verb-object (SVO) word order and a system of particles and affixes to indicate grammatical relationships.