Isan (language)

Isan
Spoken in	Thailand
speaker	15 million
Linguistic ; classification	Tai Kadai languages Kam Tai languages Tai languages Southwestern Thai languages; ; ; Isan ;
Official status
Official language in	-
Language codes
ISO 639 -1	-
ISO 639 -2	tai
ISO 639-3	tts

Isan ( Thai ภาษา อีสาน , RTGS Phasa Isan , pronunciation: [pʰaːsǎː ʔiːsǎːn] ) is an umbrella term for a number of dialects that belong to the southwestern Tai languages and are spoken in the northeast region ( Isan ) of Thailand. They form a dialect continuum with Thai and Lao , but are closer to Lao spoken in Laos than to Central Thai. There is no standard variety of the "Isan language", but rather a multitude of local, mutually understandable dialects. Isan is mainly used for informal, oral communication. When it is written, it is usually with the Thai alphabet and very rarely with the Tai-Noi script, a pre-form of the Lao script .

use

Isan is the first language of the Lao majority population in most of the provinces of the northeast region (the exceptions are Nakhon Ratchasima , whose local dialect Khorat Thai is closer to central Thai, and Surin and the southern parts of Buri Ram and Si Sa Ket , where the majority population Khmer speaks).

However, it has no official status and is considered a dialect of Thai by the Thai government. Communication with authorities takes place exclusively in standard Thai, which is also the only language of instruction in state schools and universities. There are hardly any mass media that appear or broadcast on Isan. As a result, many central Thais, but also some Isan speakers themselves, associate Isan with low social prestige. Those who only speak Isan and not also standard Thai are often regarded as uneducated and backward. In particular, younger, better educated, northeast Thai people living in big cities or outside their own region avoid speaking their native language in public or in the presence of Thais from other regions.

Almost all Isan speakers practice a diglossia : standard Thai in official contexts (as a “high” variety), native dialect in private and informal situations (“lower” variety). Also, code-switching , that is, the back and forth between two languages, sometimes even within a sentence, is widespread.

On the other hand, minority groups in northeast Thailand - such as Phu Thai and northern Khmer - use Isan as a second language and lingua franca to communicate with members of the majority population or with minorities other than their own.

classification

Many linguists regard Isan as a language in their own right, even if it is generally accepted that (Central) Thai, Isan and Lao form a dialect continuum, i.e. that they merge without sharp borders. On the other hand, it is also argued that Isan is only a dialect or a dialect group, either Lao or Thai. According to Nick Enfield, a linguist specializing in the languages of Southeast Asia, the delimitation of “Lao”, “Thai” and “Isan” is more subjective, political, historical and social than based on linguistic characteristics. Therefore it is impossible to refute or refute the theses that Isan is a separate language, that Isan and Lao are different languages or the same language, or that Thai, Lao and Isan are dialects of a single language, using only linguistic methods.

Comparison with Thai and Lao

Identical words (apart from the partly different tone)
German	Isan	Laotian	Thai	German	Isan	Laotian	Thai
language	ภาษา , pʰáː sǎː	ພາ ສາ , pʰáː sǎː	ภาษา , pʰaː sǎː	city	เมือง , mɯ´ːaŋ	ເມືອງ , mɯ´ːaŋ	เมือง , mɯːaŋ
religion	ศาสนา , sȁːt sáʔ nǎː	ສາ ສ ນາ , sȁːt sáʔ nǎː	ศาสนา sàːt sàʔ nǎː	government	รัฐบาล , lāt tʰáʔ bàːn	ຣ ັ ຖ ບາ ລ , rāt tʰáʔ bàːn	รัฐบาล , rát tʰàʔ baːn
sky	สวรรค์ , sáʔ vǎn	ສ ວ ັ ຣ ຄ ໌ , sáʔ vǎn	สวรรค์ , sàʔ wǎn	go well	สบาย , sáʔ bàːj	ສະ ບາ ຽ , sáʔ bàːj	สบาย , sàʔ baːj
child	เด็ก , dék	ເດັກ , dék	เด็ก , dèk	be happy	ดีใจ dìː t͡ɕàːj	ດີ ໃຈ , dìː t͡ɕàːj	ดีใจ , di: tɕaːj
Street	ถนน , tʰáʔ nǒn	ຖ ນົນ , tʰáʔ nǒn	ถนน , tʰàʔ nǒn	Sun	อาทิตย์ , ʔaː tʰīt	ອາ ທິ ຕ ຍ ໌ , ʔaː tʰīt	อาทิตย์ , ʔa: tʰít

Identical words in Lao and Isan, different in Thai
German	Isan	Laotian	Thai	German	Isan	Laotian	Thai
No	บ่ , bɔː	ບໍ່ , bɔː	ไม่ , mâj	speak	เว้า , vâw	ເວົ້າ , vâw	พูด , pʰûːt
how much	ท่อ ใด , tʰɔ̄ː dàj	ທໍ່ ໃດ , tʰɔ̄ː dàj	เท่า ไหร่ , tʰâw ràj	to do	เฮ็ด , hēt *	ເຮັດ , hēt	ทำ , tʰam
learn	เฮีย น , hían	ຮຽນ , hían	เรียน , rian	Glass	จอก , t͡ʃɔ̏ːk	ຈອກ , t͡ʃɔ̏ːk	แก้ว , kɛ̂ːw
over there	พู้น , pʰûn	ພຸ້ນ , pʰûn	โน่น , nôːn	fruit	หมาก ไม้ , mȁːk mâj	ໝາກ ໄມ້ , mȁːk mâj	ผล ไม้ , pʰǒn láʔ máːj
too much	โพด , pʰôːt	ໂພດ , pʰôːt	เกินไป , kɤn paj	call	เอิ้น , ʔɤˆːn	ເອີ້ນ , ʔɤˆːn	เรียก , rîːak
a little bit	หน่อย นึง , nɔ̄ːy nɯ¯ŋ	ໜ ່ ອຽນ ຶ່ງ , nɔ̄ːj nɯ¯ŋ	นิดหน่อย , nít nɔ`ːj	House, home	เฮือน , hɯ´ːan	ເຮືອນ , hɯ´ːan	บ้าน , bâːn
lower	หลุด , lút	ຫຼຸດ ( ຫລຸດ ), lút	ลด , lót	sausage	ไส้อั่ว , sȁj ʔua	ໄສ້ ອ ່ ົ ວ , sȁj ʔūa	ไส้กรอก , sâj krɔ̀ːk
to run	ย่าง , ɲāːŋ	ຍ່າງ , ɲāːŋ	เดิน , thin	older child	ลูก กก , lûːk kók	ລູກ ກົກ , lûːk kók	ลูก คน โต , lûːk kʰon toː
Frangipani	ดอก จำปา , dɔ̏ːk t͡ʃam paː	ດອກ ຈຳ ປາ , dɔ̏ːk t͡ʃam paː	ดอก ลั่นทม , dɔ`ːk lân tʰom	tomato	หมาก เล่น , mȁːk lēːn	ໝາກ ເລັ່ນ , mȁːk lēːn	มะเขือเทศ , mâʔ kʰɯ̌ːa tʰêːt
much	หลาย , lǎːj	ຫຼາຍ , lǎːj	มาก , mâːk	father in law	พ่อ เฒ่า , pʰɔ̄ː tʰȁw	ພໍ່ ເຖົ້າ , pʰɔ̄ː tʰȁw	พ่อตา , pʰɔ̑ː taː
stop, stop	ซา , sáw	ເຊົາ , sáw	พอ	to like	มัก , māk	ມັກ , māk	ชอบ , tɕʰɔ̂ːp
good luck	โซ ก ดี , sôːk diː	ໂຊ ຄ ດີ , sôːk diː	โชค ดี , tɕʰôːk diː	delicious	แซบ , sɛ̂ːp	ແຊບ , sɛ̂ːp	อร่อย , ʔàʔ rɔ`j
fun	ม่วน , mūan	ມ່ວນ , mūan	สนุก , sàʔ nùk	really	อิ หลี , ʔīː lǐː	ອີ່ ຫຼີ , ʔīː lǐː	จริง , tɕiŋ
elegant	โก้ , kôː	ໂກ້ , kôː	หรูหรา , rǔː rǎː	Cow, ox	งัว , ŋúaː	ງົວ , ŋúaː	วัว , wua

literature

James R. Chamberlain: Review of: Isan-Thai-English dictionary, by Preecha Phinthong, compiler. In: Mon-Khmer Studies. Vol. 21, 1992, ISSN 0147-5207 , pp. 247-249.
Richard Charles: Speak Isaan Thai. 2 volumes. 2nd edition. See Sip Publications, sl 2010, ISBN 978-974-618-645-2 (Vol. 1), ISBN 978-616-90284-0-6 (Volume 2).
John Draper: Isan. The planning context for language maintenance and revitalization. In: Second Language Learning & Teaching. Volume 4, wce.wwu.edu (PDF; 142 kB)
NJ (Nick) Enfield: How to define 'Lao', 'Thai', and 'Isan' language? A view from linguistic science . (PDF) In: Tai Culture , Volume 7, No. 1, pp. 62-67.

Web links

Individual evidence

^ Thai, Northeastern
↑ J. Draper: Isan: the planning context for language maintenance and revitalization ( Memento of the original from March 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 2004 (English), accessed December 4, 2011 @1@ 2

^ ^A ^b ^c Duncan McCargo , Krisadawan Hongladarom: Contesting Isan-ness. Discourses of Politics and Identity in Northeast Thailand . (PDF) In: Asian Ethnicity , Volume 5, No. 2, June 2004, pp. 224–225.

^ David Bradley: Languages of Mainland South-East Asia. In: The Vanishing Languages of the Pacific Rim. Oxford University Press, Oxford / New York 2007, pp. 301–336, at p. 312.

↑ Saowanee T. Alexander, Duncan McCargo: Diglossia and identity in Northeast Thailand: Linguistic, social, and political hierarchy. In: Journal of Sociolinguistics , Volume 18, No. 1, February 2014, pp. 60-86.

↑ S. Premsrirat: Thailand. Language situation. In: Encyclopedia of language & linguistics. 2nd Edition. Volume 1. Elsevier, Amsterdam a. a. 2006, p. 643.

^ William A. Smalley: Linguistic Diversity and National Unity. Language Ecology in Thailand. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1994, p. 200.

↑ Barbara Grimes: East Mon-Khmer Languages. In: William J. Frawley: International Encyclopedia of Linguistics. 2nd Edition. Volume 1. Oxford University Press, Oxford / New York 2003, p. 488.

↑ NJ (Nick) Enfield: How to define 'Lao', 'Thai', and 'Isan' language? A view from linguistic science . (PDF) In: Tai Culture , Volume 7, No. 1, pp. 62-67.

[1] Thai, Northeastern

[2] J. Draper: Isan: the planning context for language maintenance and revitalization ( Memento of the original from March 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 2004 (English), accessed December 4, 2011 @1@ 2

[McCargoKrisadawan-3] A ^b ^c Duncan McCargo , Krisadawan Hongladarom: Contesting Isan-ness. Discourses of Politics and Identity in Northeast Thailand . (PDF) In: Asian Ethnicity , Volume 5, No. 2, June 2004, pp. 224–225.

[4] David Bradley: Languages of Mainland South-East Asia. In: The Vanishing Languages of the Pacific Rim. Oxford University Press, Oxford / New York 2007, pp. 301–336, at p. 312.

[5] Saowanee T. Alexander, Duncan McCargo: Diglossia and identity in Northeast Thailand: Linguistic, social, and political hierarchy. In: Journal of Sociolinguistics , Volume 18, No. 1, February 2014, pp. 60-86.

[6] S. Premsrirat: Thailand. Language situation. In: Encyclopedia of language & linguistics. 2nd Edition. Volume 1. Elsevier, Amsterdam a. a. 2006, p. 643.

[7] William A. Smalley: Linguistic Diversity and National Unity. Language Ecology in Thailand. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1994, p. 200.

[8] Barbara Grimes: East Mon-Khmer Languages. In: William J. Frawley: International Encyclopedia of Linguistics. 2nd Edition. Volume 1. Oxford University Press, Oxford / New York 2003, p. 488.

[9] NJ (Nick) Enfield: How to define 'Lao', 'Thai', and 'Isan' language? A view from linguistic science . (PDF) In: Tai Culture , Volume 7, No. 1, pp. 62-67.