Editing Isan language (section)

====Negative perceptions====
Acknowledgment of the unique history of the Isan language and the fact it is derived from a closely related albeit separate language is lacking, with the official and public position being that the language is a dialect of Thai. As a result of the great difference from Thai, based on tone, nasal vowels of a different quality and a special set of Lao vocabulary unfamiliar to Thai speakers, it is considered an 'inferior form of Thai' as opposed to its own separate language. The traditional avoidance of the language in the formal sphere re-enforces the superiority of Thai, which the Isan people have [[internalized oppression|internalized]] to the point many do not have high opinions of their first language. Combined with vocabulary retentions, many of which sound oddly archaic or have become pejorative in Standard Thai, perpetuate the myth and negative perception of Isan as an uncouth language of rural poverty and hard agricultural life. Due to associations with [[Laos]], the language was also viewed as a potential fifth column for Lao [[irredentism]] and the spread of [[communism]] into Thailand.<ref name="Signs">Draper, J. (2013). Introducing Multilingual Thai - Isan - English Signage in a Thai University. Journal of Lao Studies, 4(1), 11–42.</ref> It was in the recent past quite common for Isan people to be corrected or ridiculed when they spoke because of their incomplete mastery of Standard Thai.<ref name="Alex"/>

In polling of language favorability amongst the general population of Thailand, the Isan language ranks last after Standard Thai and the primary Thai dialect of the other regions.<ref name="Hugo">Lee, Hugo, Y.-H. (2014). '[http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.639.8792&rep=rep1&type=pdf Speaking like a love entrepreneur: Language choices and ideologies of social mobility among daughters of peasants in Thailand's tourist sites]'. ''Language, Discourse and Society'', 3(1), pp. 110-143. Madrid, Spain: International Sociological Association.</ref> As a result of the need for Standard Thai proficiency in order to have better educational and employment prospects and avoid discrimination, anecdotal evidence suggests that more and more Isan children are being raised in the Thai language and are discouraged from using the local language at home.<ref name="Alex">Alexander, S. T. and McCargo, D. (2014), Diglossia and identity in Northeast Thailand: Linguistic, social, and political hierarchy. J Sociolinguistics, 18: 60–86.</ref> The Thai language has already begun to displace the predominance of Isan in the major market towns, in part because they are often also administrative centers, and in some major cities, universities have attracted students from other regions.<ref name="Signs"/>