| Phu Thai | |
|---|---|
| Phu Thai | |
| Spoken in | Thailand, Laos and Vietnam |
| Native speakers | 830,000 (2001–2006) |
| Language family |
Tai–Kadai
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | pht |
Phu Thai (Thai: Phasa Phuthai, ภาษาผู้ไท or ภูไท), also known as Phuu Thai,[1] is the language of the Phutai people.[2] It is a closely related language to the Tai Dam, and Tai Don, it is less well related to the Isan and the Lao languages.
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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, Nakhon Phanom, Ubon Ratchathani, Kalasin and Sakhon Nakhon. Phu Thai speakers live as well in the Khammouan, Savannakhet, Saravan, and Champassak provinces of Laos (with 154,400 speakers in 2001), northern areas of Vietnam (209,000 speakers in 2002) and possibly also in China.[3]
There is little dialect differentiation in this language.
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, 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.