Editing Isan language (section)

===Legal status===
''Ethnologue'' describes the Isan language as '''de facto'' language of provincial identity' which 'is the language of identity for citizens of the province, but this is not mandated by law. Neither is it developed enough or known enough to function as the language of government business.' Although Thailand does recognise the regional Tai languages, including Isan, as important aspects of regional culture and communication, the Isan language and other minority languages are still inferior to the social and cultural prestige of Standard Thai and its government sanctioned promotion in official, educational and national usage. However, the Thaification laws that banned the old Lao alphabet and forced the Lao to refer to themselves and their language as 'Thai Isan' never banned the language in the home nor the fields and the Isan people steadfastly clung to their spoken language.<ref name="Identity"/>

The situation is in stark contrast to Laos where the Lao language is actively promoted as a language of national unity. Laotian Lao people are very conscious of their distinct, non-Thai language and although influenced by Thai-language media and culture, strive to maintain 'good Lao'. Although spelling has changed, the Lao speakers in Laos continue to use a modified form of the ''Tai Noi'' script, the modern [[Lao alphabet]].<ref name="LaoLaw">Session VI of the People's Supreme Assembly, II Legislature. [http://www.un.int/lao/constitution.htm The Constitution of the Lao People's Democratic Republic] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806080917/http://www.un.int/lao/constitution.htm |date=2011-08-06 }}. (15, Aug 1991).</ref>