Editing Isan language (section)

===Tai Tham===
{{Further|Tai Tham alphabet}}
[[File:Sign of Wat Sri Ubon Rattanaram, Ubon Ratchathani.jpg|thumb|left|200px|An example of the [[Tai Tham alphabet]] formerly used in Laos and Isan for religious literature.]]
The ''[[Tai Tham script|Tai Tham]]'' script ({{langx|tts|อักษรไทธรรม}} {{IPA|/ʔǎk.sɔ̌ːn tʰâj tʰâm/}} RTGS ''akson Thai Tham'', cf. {{langx|lo|ອັກສອນໄທທັມ}}) were also historically known simply as ''tua tham'' ({{langx|tts|ตัวธรรม}} {{IPA|/tùa tʰâm/}}, cf. {{langx|lo|ຕົວທຳ/ຕົວທັມ}} BGN/PCGN ''toua tham'') or '[[dharma]] letters'. The script is the same as used to write [[Northern Thai language|Tai Lanna]] (Kham Mueang), [[Tai Lue language|Tai Lue]], [[Khün language|Tai Khoen]] and shares similarities with the [[Burmese alphabet]], all of which are ultimately derived from the [[Old Mon script]]. ''Tai Tham'' was introduced during the reign of [[Setthathirath]] who although a prince of Lan Xang, was first crowned king of Lan Na. The dynastic union allowed easy movement of monks from Lan Xang that came to copy the temple libraries to bring back home.<ref name="McDaniel">McDaniel, J. (2005). [http://www.laomanuscripts.net/downloads/literaryheritageoflaos29_mcdaniel_en.pdf Notes on the lao influence on northern thai buddhist literature]. ''The literary heritage of Laos: Preservation, dissemination, and research perspectives.'' Vientiane, Laos: Lao National Archives.</ref>

As the name suggests, its use in Lao was restricted to religious literature, either used to transcribe Pali, or religious treatises written in Lao intended solely for the clergy. Religious instructional materials and prayer books dedicated to the laity were written in ''Tai Noi'' instead. As a result, only a few people outside the temples were literate in the script. In Isan, evidence of the script includes two stone inscriptions, such as the one housed at ''Wat Tham [[Suwannakhuha District|Suwannakhuha]]'' in [[Nong Bua Lamphu Province|Nong Bua Lamphu]], dated to 1564, and another from ''Wat Mahaphon'' in [[Maha Sarakham Province|Maha Sarakham]] from the same period.<ref name="Dharma">ธวัช ปุณโณทก (Punnothek, T.) อักษรโบราณอีสาน: อักขรวิทยาอักษรตัวธรรมและไทยน้อย. กรุงเทพฯ: สยามเพรส แมเนจเม้นท์, ๒๕๔๐, ๕๔</ref> Most of the script is recorded on palm-leaf manuscripts, many of which were destroyed during the 'Thaification' purges of the 1930s; contemporaneously this period of Thai nationalization also ended its use as the primary written language in [[Northern Thailand]].<ref name="McDaniel"/>