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Isan language
*** Shopping-Tip: Isan language
{{language
|name=Isan
|nativename=ภาษาà¸à¸µà¸ªà¸²à¸™ ''{{unicode|phaË?saË? iË?saË?n}}''
|states=
Thailand
|region=
Isan
|speakers=23 million
|rank=64 (
1996)
|familycolor=Tai-Kadai
|fam2=
Kam-Tai languages Kam-Tai
|fam3=
Be-Tai languages Be-Tai
|fam4=
Tai-Sek languages Tai-Sek
|fam5=
Tai languages Tai
|fam6=
Southwestern Tai languages Southwestern
|fam7=
East Central Tai languages East Central
|fam8=
Lao-Phutai languages Lao-Phutai
|iso2=tai|iso3=tts}}
'''Isan''' (also ''Isaan'' or ''Esarn'') is the language of the
Isan region of
Thailand. It is a
tonal language of the
Tai languages Tai family, and is closely related to
Lao language Lao, but has also been much influenced by
Thai language Thai: the three are substantially mutually comprehensible.
Phonology and the rules for determining tones vary in each
dialect, but are generally similar to Lao. The
Khorat Thai Khorat dialect blends features of Isan and Thai. The
vocabulary is largely the same as in Lao, except for the use of Thai
loan words and
neologisms. It was previously written using the
Lao language Lao script, with
Tua Tham used for religious inscriptions. Since the introduction of Thai language schooling in the
1920s it has been written in the
Thai alphabet Thai script.
History
The word Isan literally means "North-East", and is a Thai adaptation of an (unrelated) Khmer toponym of
Sanskrit origin. Since the establishment of the Mekong River as the frontier between Laos and Thailand, the language of the Isan region been increasingly by Thai (especially through the medium of television) and has further diverged from Lao, but the three languages are still substantially mutually comprehensible.
Isan is generally not used as a language of written communication, but when it is written, the Thai script is used (rather than the Lao), creating another distinction between the two languages. Continued migration of Lao into Thailand (especially during the period of the
Indochina wars and following the establishment of a communist regime in Laos in 1975) has tended to preserve Lao features of the language against Thai assimilation. The popularity of a local music form,
morlam, has also re-inforced Lao-like features, as artists from both sides of the
Mekong, the main division between the Isan region and
Laos, are popular in both areas.
Phonology
Isan has no ''r'' sound; where this sound occurs in Thai, it is replaced in Isan by an ''l'' or a ''h''. When writing Isan in the Thai script, ร is normally used to represent an ''l'', while ฮ indicates an ''h''.
The other main differences from Thai are: the
pronunciation of ช as ''s'' rather than ''ch''; the common
palatalisation of ย; and the absence of
consonant clusters (where a
consonant cluster occurs in Thai, the equivalent word in Isan retains only the first consonant).
Tones
The following six tone pattern is typical:
{| class="wikitable"
! Isan Tones
! Long vowel, or vowel plus voiced consonant
! Long vowel plus unvoiced consonant
! Short vowel, or short vowel plus unvoiced consonant
! Mai ek (à¸à¹ˆ)
! Mai tho (à¸à¹‰)
|-
! High consonant
| rising
| low falling
| high
| mid
| low falling
|-
! Mid consonant
| low rising
| low falling
| high
| mid
| high falling
|-
! Low consonant
| high
| high falling
| mid
| mid
| high falling
|}
There are a further two, relatively rare tone marks: ''mai tri'' (à¸à¹Š) and ''mai chattawa'' (à¸à¹‹); these always indicate a high and a rising tone respectively.
The letters ห (high class) and ภ(mid class) are often used as silent letters to produce the correct tone. In polysyllabic words, an initial high class consonant with an implicit vowel renders the following syllable also high class.
Vocabulary
Isan contains many words not used (or more rarely used) in Thai. Some of the most common of these are:
* ข้à¸à¸¢ (''koi'') I/me
* เจ้า (''jao'') you
* บ่ (''baw'') not
* หยัง (''nyang'') what
* จั� (''jak'') how many
* ใผ (''pai'') who
* ใด (''dai'') which
* �ม่น (''maen'') be
* เฮ็ด (''het'') do
* เว้า (''waw'') speak
* เบิ่ง (''beung'') watch
* ซิ (''si'') will
* à¸à¸µà¸«à¸¥à¸µ (''ee-lee'') really
* ไวๆ (''wai wai'') fast
Some differences can cause misunderstandings: the Isan word for buffalo (''kuay'', i.e. short vowel rather than long) is pronounced like the vulgar Thai word for penis, while ''bak seew'', meaning 'young friend', is considered pejorative in Thai.
References
-
Basic Isaan phrases (Some basic Isaan phrases with sound files).
-
Ethnologue
*Mollerup, Asger. ''Thai- Isan- Lao Phrasebook''. White Lotus, Bangkok, 2001. ISBN 9747534886
Category:Isan
Category:Languages of Thailand
Category:Tai-Kadai languages
Category:Tonal languages
bg:ИÑ?анÑ?ки език
br:Isaneg
nl:Isaan (taal)
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