Phu Thai language
Encyclopedia
Phu Thai also known as Phuu Thai, is the language of the Phutai people. It is a closely related language to the Tai Dam
Tai Dam
The Tai Dam or Tai Dum are an ethnic group of Laos, Vietnam, China, and Thailand.Tai Dam speakers in China are classified as part of the Dai nationality along with almost all the other Tai peoples...

, and Tai Don, it is less well related to the Isan
Isan language
Isan language is the collective name for the dialects of the Lao language as they are spoken in Thailand. It is spoken by approximately 20 million people, which is nearly one-third of the entire population of Thailand, predominantly in the Isan region of northeastern Thailand. There are also large...

 and the Lao language
Lao language
Lao or Laotian is a tonal language of the Tai–Kadai language family. It is the official language of Laos, and also spoken in the northeast of Thailand, where it is usually referred to as the Isan language. Being the primary language of the Lao people, Lao is also an important second language for...

s.

Speakers

Speakers of the Phu Thai language in Thailand numbered about 156,000 in 1993. They can be found mainly in the areas around Khamcha-i
Amphoe Khamcha-i
Khamcha-i is a district of Mukdahan Province, northeastern Thailand.-Geography:Neighboring districts are Dong Luang, Mueang Mukdahan and Nong Sung of Mukdahan Province, Kuchinarai and Khao Wong of Kalasin Province....

, Nakhon Phanom
Nakhon Phanom
Nakhon Phanom is a town in northeastern Thailand, capital of the Nakhon Phanom Province. The town covers the whole tambon Nai Mueang and Nong Saeng and parts of tambon At Samat and Nong Yat, all of Mueang Nakhon Phanom district...

, Ubon Ratchathani
Ubon Ratchathani
Ubon Ratchathani is a city on the Mun River in the south-east of the Isan region of Thailand. It is known as Ubon for short. The name means "Royal Lotus City." The provincial seal features a pond with a lotus flower and leaves in a circular frame. Ubon is the administrative centre of Ubon...

, Kalasin
Kalasin
Kalasin is a town in the north-east of Thailand, the capital of Kalasin Province. As of 2006, it has a population of 37,653. It covers the whole tambon Kalasin of the Mueang Kalasin district, an area of 16.96 km²....

 and Sakhon Nakhon. Phu Thai speakers live as well in the Khammouan, Savannakhet
Savannakhet
Savannakhet or Kaysone Phomvihane is a city in western Laos and the capital of the Savannakhet Province, previously known as Khanthabouli . This is the second-largest city in Laos, after Vientiane. The city is birthtown of Kaysone Phomvihane, former president of Laos, and was named after him in...

, Saravan
Saravan
Saravan may refer to:* Salavan, places in Laos* Saravan, Armenia* Saravan, Iran* Saravan County, Iran...

, and Champassak provinces of Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...

 (with 154,400 speakers in 2001), northern areas of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 (209,000 speakers in 2002) and possibly also in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

.

There is little dialect differentiation in this language.

Status

Despite its rich heritage, and regional fame, in Thailand this language group is increasingly becoming integrated into the mainstream Issan language. This is due in large part to a campaign by the Thai government to modernize all Thai people
Thai people
The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...

, as well as due to outside influences of television, Internet and local radio broadcasts. Most younger members of northeastern tribal groups in Thailand prefer to be called Thais rather than by their traditional tribal group name. Due to its beautiful sound, it is likely that the Phu Thai language will become a traditional language used as a showpiece of rich Northeast Thai culture within fifty years.

External links

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