Isan language

Isan or Northeastern Thai (autonym: ภาษาลาว/ພາສາລາວ, IPA: [pʰâː.sǎː lâːw]; Thai: ภาษาอีสาน, RTGS: Phasa Isan) refers to the local development of the Lao language in Thailand, after the political split of the Lao-speaking world at the Mekong River at the conclusion of the Franco-Siamese crisis of 1893. The language is still referred to as Lao by native speakers. As a variety of the Lao language, Isan belongs to the Southwestern branch of Tai languages in the Kra-Dai language family. It is most closely related to (other than Lao) "tribal" Tai languages such as Phu Thai and Tai Yo. Isan is officially classified as a dialect of the Thai language by the Thai government. Although (Central) Thai is a closely related Southwestern Tai language, it falls within a different subbranch. Central Thai and Isan are mutually intelligible only with difficulty; even though they share over 80% cognate vocabulary, they have very different tonal patterns and vowel qualities, and many commonly used words in Isan differ from Thai, thus hampering comprehension. The Lao language has had a long presence in Isan, arriving with migrants who followed the river valleys into Southeast Asia from southern China some time in the 8th to 10th centuries. The region of what is now Isan was nominally under the Lao kingdom of Lan Xang from 1354 to 1707. After the fall of Lan Xang, the Lao splinter kingdoms became tributary states of Siam. During the late 18th and much of the 19th century, Siamese soldiers carried out forced migrations of Lao people from the western bank of the Mekong River to the eastern bank, now Isan. As a result of these massive movements, Isan speakers comprise almost one-third of the population of Thailand and represent more than 80% of the population of Lao speakers overall. Isan is natively...