Editing Isan language (section)

====Thai-influenced language shift====
The Thai language may not be the primary language of Isan, but Isan people are in constant exposure to it. It is required to watch the ever-popular [[soap opera]]s, news, and sports broadcasts or sing popular songs, most of it produced in Bangkok or at least in its accent. Thai is also needed as a written language for instructions, to read labels on packages, road signs, newspapers and books. Isan children who may struggle to acquire the language, are forced to learn the language as part of [[compulsory education]] and often when they are older, for employment. Although attitudes towards regional cultures and languages began to relax in the late 1980s, the legal and social pressures of Thaification and the need for Thai to participate in daily life and wider society continue. The influence of Thai aside, anecdotal evidence suggests that many older Isan lament the corruption of the spoken language spoken by younger generations and that the younger generations are no longer familiar with the traditional Lao forms used by previous generations.<ref name="Tossa-2007"/><ref name="Planning">Draper, J. (2015). Towards a curriculum for the Thai Lao of Northeast Thailand. Current Issues in Language Planning, 16(3), 238-258.</ref>

In a 2016 study of language shift, villagers in an Isan-speaking village were divided by age and asked to respond to various questionnaires to determine lexical usage of Lao terms, with those born prior to 1955, those born between 1965 and 1990 and those born after 1990. The results show what would be expected of a language undergoing language shift. As Isan and Thai already have a similar grammatical structure and syntax, the main variance is in lexical shift, essentially the replacement of Isan vocabulary. The oldest generation, at the time in their 60s or older, uses very normative Lao features little different than those found in Laos. The middle generations, ranging from 35 to 50 years of age, had a greater prevalence of Thai vocabulary, but overall maintained a traditional Isan lexicon, with the Thai terms usually not the primary spoken forms. The youngest generation, although still arguably using very many Lao phrases and vocabulary, had a remarkable replacement of Isan vocabulary, with Thai forms becoming either the primary variant or replacing the Isan word altogether. Similarly, when Isan usage has two variants, generally a common one not understood in Thai and another that is usually a cognate, younger speakers tend to use the cognates with greater frequency, pushing their speech to Thai as older speakers will use them in variance.<ref name="Prom">Promkandorn, S. (2016). Language Vitality and Lexical Variation of the Isan Language in Rongsan Village, Phayao Province. [Unpublished Master's of Linguistics Thesis]. Phayap University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.</ref>

Thai loan words were generally localized in pronunciation, easing them into the flow of Isan conversation and unnoticeable to most but the oldest members of the community that preserve 'proper Isan' usage. Although the youngest generation was still speaking a distinct language, each generation brings the increased risk of the Isan language's extinction as it becomes relexified to the point of no longer being a separate language but a dialect of Thai with some Lao influence. The lack of official usage, official support for its maintenance and lack of language prestige hinder attempts to revitalize or strengthen the language against the advance of Thai.<ref name="Planning"/>

{| class="wikitable" 
|+ Thai relexification in the speech of Isan youth in Rongsan Village<ref name="Prom"/>
! colspan="2" | Central Thai
! colspan="2" | Isan
! colspan="2" | Lao
! colspan="2" |Isan youth
! Gloss
|-
| {{lang|th|โหระพา}}<br>''horapha''
| {{IPA|/hǒː.ráʔ.pʰāː/}}
| {{lang|tts|อีตู่}}<br>''i tu''
| {{IPA|/ʔìː túː/}}
| {{lang|lo|ອີ່ຕູ່}}<br>''i tou''
| {{IPA|/ʔīː tūː/}}
| {{lang|tts|โหระพา}}<br>''horapha''
| {{IPA|/hǒː.làʔ.pʰâː/}}
| 'Thai basil'
|-
| {{lang|th|พี่สาว}}<br>''phi sao''
| {{IPA|/pʰîː sǎːw/}}
| {{lang|tts|เอื้อย}}<br>''ueai''
| {{IPA|/ʔɯ̂aj/}}
| {{lang|lo|ເອື້ອຍ}}<br>''ueai''
| {{IPA|/ʔɯ̂aj/}}
| {{lang|tts|พี่สาว}}<br>''phi sao''
| {{IPA|/pʰīː sǎːw/}}
| 'older sister'
|-
| {{lang|th|คนใบ้}}<br>''khon bai''
| {{IPA|/kʰōn bâj/}}
| {{lang|tts|คนปากกืก}}<br>''khon pak kuek''
| {{IPA|/kʰôn pàːk kɯ̀ːk/}}
| {{lang|lo|ຄົນປາກກືກ}}<br>''khôn pak kuk''
| {{IPA|/kʰón pȁːk kɯ̏ːk/}}
| {{lang|tts|คนใบ้}}<br>''khon bai''
| {{IPA|/kʰôn bâj/}}
| 'mute' (person)
|-
| {{lang|th|กระรอก}}<br>''krarok''
| {{IPA|/kràʔ.rɔ̂ːk/}}
| {{lang|tts|กระฮอก}}<br>''krahok''
| {{IPA|/kǎʔ.hɔ̂ːk/}}
| {{lang|lo|ກະຮອກ}}<br>''kahok''
| {{IPA|/káʔ.hɔ̂ːk/}}
| {{lang|tts|กระรอก}}<br>''krarok''
| {{IPA|/kǎʔ.lɔ̑ːk/}}
| 'squirrel'
|-
| {{lang|th|กระซิบ}}<br>''krasip''
| {{IPA|/kràʔ.síp/}}
| {{lang|tts|ซิ่ม}}<br>''sim''
| {{IPA|/sīm/}}
| {{lang|lo|ຊັບຊິຶ່ມ}}<br>''sap suem''
| {{IPA|/sāp sɯ̄m/}}
| {{lang|tts|กระซิบ}}<br>''krasip''<br>
| {{IPA|/kǎʔ.sìp/}}
| 'to whisper'
|-
| {{lang|th|งีบ}}<br>''ngip''
| {{IPA|/ŋîːp/}}
| {{lang|tts|เซือบ}}<br>''suep''
| {{IPA|/sɯ̂ap/}}
| {{lang|lo|ເຊືອບ}}<br>''suep''
| {{IPA|/sɯ̂ap/}}
| {{lang|th|งีบ}}<br>''ngip''
| {{IPA|/ŋîːp/}}
| 'to nap'
|-
| {{lang|th|รวม}}<br>''ruam''
| {{IPA|/rūam/}}
| {{lang|tts|โฮม}}<br>''hom''
| {{IPA|/hôːm/}}
| {{lang|lo|ໂຮມ}}<br>''hôm''
| {{IPA|/hóːm/}}
| {{lang|tts|รวม}}<br>''ruam''
| {{IPA|/lûam/}}
| 'to gather together'<br>'to assemble'
|-
| {{lang|th|ลูก}}<br>''luk''
| /lûːk/
| {{lang|tts|หน่วย}}<br>''nuai''
| /nūaj/
| {{lang|lo|ຫນ່ວຍ}}/{{lang|lo|ໜ່ວຍ}}<br>''nouay''
| /nūaj/
| {{lang|tts|ลูก}}<br>''luk''
| /lȗːk/
| 'fruit'<br>(classifier)
|-
| {{lang|th|ไหล่}}<br>''lai''
| /làj/
| {{lang|tts|บ่า}}<br>''ba''
| /báː/
| {{lang|lo|ບ່າ}}<br>''ba''
| /bāː/
| {{lang|tts|ไหล่}}<br>''lai''
| /lāj/
| 'shoulder'<br />
|}