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Isan (also Isaan or Esarn) is the language of the Isan region of Thailand. It is a tonal language of the Tai language family, and is closely related to Lao, but has also been much influenced by Thai; the three are substantially mutually comprehensible. Phonology and the rules for determining tones vary in each dialect, but are generally similar to Lao. The Khorat dialect blends features of Isan and Thai. The vocabulary is largely the same as in Lao, except for the use of Thai loan words and neologisms. It was previously written using the Lao script, with Tua Tham used for religious inscriptions. Since the introduction of Thai language schooling in the 1920s it has been written in the Thai script. In previous times, before the adoption of the neologism Isaan, the language and people were referred to as Lao, and, though decreasingly, the language and people are still known as Lao to many people, as a derisive comment from the Central Thai, noting the peculiar Lao features of the language, and by locals, especially older people.

The word Isan literally means "North-East", and is a Thai adaptation of a Khmer (an unrelated language) toponym of Sanskrit origin. Since the establishment of the Mekong River as the frontier between Laos and Thailand, the language of the Isan region been influenced increasingly by Thai (especially through the medium of television) and has further diverged from Lao, but the three languages are still substantially mutually comprehensible.

Isan is generally not used as a language of written communication, but when it is written, the Thai script is used (rather than the Lao), creating another distinction between the two languages. Continued migration of Lao into Thailand (especially during the period of the Indochina wars and following the establishment of a communist regime in Laos in 1975) has tended to preserve Lao features of the language against Thai assimilation. The popularity of a local music form, morlam, has also reinforced Lao-like features, as artists from both sides of the Mekong, the main division between the Isan region and Laos, are popular in both areas. Growing trade on the Mekong River frontier has also stabilised Lao-like features of the Isaan language. Despite growing similarities to Standard Thai, Isaan still is more Lao-like and less awkward to understand by Lao speakers than to people from Bangkok, due to similar pronunciations and vocabulary. However, both Isaan and Lao people generally understand standard Thai via television, radio, and education.

Isan has no r sound; where this sound occurs in Thai, it is replaced in Isan by an l or a h. When writing Isan in the Thai script, ร (raw rua - the Thai r ) is normally used to represent an l, while ฮ ( haw nok huuk - one of the two Thai h ) indicates an h.

The other main differences from Thai are: the pronunciation of ช ( chaw chang - one of the three Thai ch ) as s or especially now as sh rather than ch (if written, ซ often replaces ช for correct pronunciation); the common palatalisation of ย (yaw yak, one of the two y ) to something akin to ny of canyon); and the absence of consonant clusters (where a consonant cluster occurs in Thai, the equivalent word in Isan retains only the first consonant: ไกล glai or 'far' pronounced as ไก gai or เพลง plaeng or 'song' pronounced as เพง paeng).

The following six tone pattern is typical:

There are a further two, relatively rare tone marks: mai tri (อ๊) and mai chattawa (อ๋); these always indicate a high and a rising tone respectively.

Two letters serve an alternate purpose: ห ( haw hiip, one of two h, high class) and อ (aw ang, usually used as a silent vowel carrier for writing initial vowel sounds ^[1], because Thai vowel symbols are dependent on an initial written consonant; mid class). These are often used as silent consonants written before a low-class consonant to alter its tone rules. In such cases, ห (high class) emparts high class tone rules to the low class consonant, while อ (mid class) emparts mid class tone rules. In polysyllabic words, an initial high class consonant with an implicit vowel often emparts high class tone rules to the initial consonant of the following syllable.

Isan contains many words not used (or more rarely used) in Thai. Some of the most common of these are:

• ข้อย (koi) I/me
• เจ้า (jao) you
• บ่ (baw) not
• หยัง (nyang) what
• จัก (jak) how many
• ใผ (pai) who
• ใด (dai) which
• แม่น (maen) be
• เฮ็ด (het) do
• เว้า (waw) speak
• เบิ่ง (beung) watch
• ซิ (si) will
• อีหลี (ee-lee) really
• ไวๆ (wai wai) fast

Some differences can cause misunderstandings: the Isan word for buffalo (kuay, i.e. short vowel rather than long) is pronounced like the vulgar Thai word for penis, while บักเสี่ยว bak seew, meaning 'young friend', is considered pejorative in Thai.

• Basic Isaan phrases (Some basic Isaan phrases with sound files).
• Ethnologue
• Mollerup, Asger. Thai- Isan- Lao Phrasebook. White Lotus, Bangkok, 2001. ISBN 974-7534-88-6