Phu Thai (Phuu Thai; Thai, Phu Thai: ''Phasa Phu Thai'', ภาษาผู้ไท or ภูไท) is a Southwestern Tai language spoken in

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. Although it appears different from the

Isan Northeast Thailand or Isan (Isan language, Isan/, ; ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pāli ''isāna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 provinces in northeastern Thai ...

and the

Lao language Lao (Lao: , ), sometimes referred to as Laotian, is the official language of Laos and a significant language in the Isan region of northeastern Thailand, where it is usually referred to as the Isan language. Spoken by over 3 million people in ...

s, it is spoken in areas where these languages are predominant and has been influenced by them. Comparisons of Phu Thai with other Tai languages such as Tay Khang have not yet been done systematically enough to yield convincing results.
Another aspect of Phu Thai is its contact with the

Katuic languages The fifteen Katuic languages form a branch of the Austroasiatic languages spoken by about 1.5 million people in Southeast Asia. People who speak Katuic languages are called the Katuic peoples. Paul Sidwell is the leading specialist on the Katuic ...

, a branch of the

Austroasiatic languages The Austroasiatic languages ( ) are a large language family spoken throughout Mainland Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Asia. These languages are natively spoken by the majority of the population in Vietnam and Cambodia, and by minority popu ...

. Whether in the Phu Thai areas of Central

or in more recent locations of Northeastern Thailand, one can find, along with Phu Thai, a few Katuic dialects known locally as Bru, So or Katang. James R. Chamberlain (2012) focusing on anthropological issues describes “the Phou Thay – Brou relationship” as a “

symbiosis Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction, between two organisms of different species. The two organisms, termed symbionts, can fo ...

” and states that “the Phou Thay – Brou relationship has never evolved into a

feudal system Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring socie ...

”.

Speakers

Speakers of the Phu Thai language in Thailand numbered about 156,000 in 1993. They can be found mainly in the areas around Mukdahan, especially Khamcha-i District, Nakhon Phanom, Kalasin and Sakon Nakhon. Phu Thai speakers live as well in the Khammouane and Savannakhet Province of Laos. Some speakers have been reported in Salavan, and

Champasak Province Champasak (or Champassak, Champasack – Laotian language, Lao: ຈຳປາສັກ ) is a province in southwestern Laos, near the borders with Thailand and Cambodia. It is 1 of the 3 principalities that succeeded the Laos, Lao kingdom of Lan ...

s of

, in Hoa Binh province of

, and possibly also in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. There is little dialect differentiation between the varieties spoken in central Laos and in northeastern Thailand. Speakers identified as (or identifying themselves as) Phu Thai or Phu Tai in Vietnam speak other dialects with different tone systems. Tai Gapong or Tai Kapong found in the Nape District of Ban Nahuong, Bolikhamsai Province, Laos speak a slightly different dialect. In Vietnam the Phu Thai are included in the group of the Thái people, together with the Thái Đen ('Black Tai'), Thái Đỏ ('Red Tai'), Thái Trắng ('White Tai'), Tày Thanh and Thái Hàng Tổng. The group of the Thái people is the third largest of the fifty-four ethnic groups recognized by the Vietnamese government.

Status

Despite its rich heritage, and regional use, in Thailand this language group is increasingly becoming integrated into the mainstream

language.

Phonology

The following information is of the Waritchaphum dialect:

Consonants

* Final plosive sounds can be realized as unreleased .

Vowels

* Diphthong sounds consist of a single vowel with a final glide sound, or .

References

External links

Ban Khok Kong Phu-Thai Village
: Phutai Healing

: A comparative study of the Phutai in Thailand and Laos P.D.R.

* ttps://mekongjournal.kku.ac.th/Vol07/Issue01/02.pdf About Some Linguistic Variations in Phu TaiPacquement, Jean. 2011. About Some Linguistic Variations in Phu Tai. Journal of Mekong Societies : Vol.7 No.1 January–April 2011, pp. 17–38
Multilinguisme, plurilinguisme et compétence linguistique chez les Phu Thaï du centre du Laos et du nord-est de la Thaïlande : le cas des étudiants phu thaï de l'Université de Savannakhet
Pacquement, Jean and Phongphanith, Sipaseuth. 2012. Multilinguisme, plurilinguisme et compétence linguistique chez les Phu Thaï du centre du Laos et du nord-est de la Thaïlande : le cas des étudiants phu thaï de l'Université de Savannakhet. Synergies Pays Riverains du Mékong n°4 - 2012, pp. 129–139
Phou Thay and Brou Symbiosis
Chamberlain, James R. 2012. Phou Thay and Brou Symbiosis. International Workshop: Peoples and Cultures of the Central Annamite Cordillera: Ethnographic and Ethno‐Historical Contributions – Towards a Comparative and Inter-Disciplinary Dialogue. Institute of Anthropology and Religion (Laos) and University of Gothenburg (Sweden), Vientiane.
Languages in contact: the case for Phu Thai
Pacquement, Jean. 2015. Languages in contact: the case for Phu Thai. Presentation at SEALS 25. Payap University. Chiang Mai. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.36053.73441
Contribution à l'étude du système tonal de la langue phu thai : les tons du dialecte phu thai de Ban Phak Kha Nya
Phongphanith, Sipaseuth. 2017. Contribution à l'étude du système tonal de la langue phu thai : les tons du dialecte phu thai de Ban Phak Kha Nya (district de Atsaphone, province de Savannakhet, Laos. PowerPoint de soutenance: Pré-mémoire de Master 1 présenté par Sipaseuth Phongphanith. Sous la direction de Joseph Thach. Consultant du mémoire: Jean Pacquement. INALCO, Paris, France. MANUSASTRA Projet international de formation à la recherche, délocalisé à la Faculté d'Archéologie, Université royale des beaux-arts, Phnom Penh.
Phu Thai Data for Subgrouping Southwestern Tai
Pacquement, Jean and Thongmany, Vanh. 2019. Phu Thai Data for Subgrouping Southwestern Tai. Presentation at SEALS 29. 貸し会議室 KFC Hall & Rooms. Tokyo. {{Tai-Kadai languages Languages of Thailand Languages of Laos Languages of Vietnam Southwestern Tai languages