Language name and locationː Northeastern Thai, Thailand  [Refer to Ethnologue]

语言名称和分布地区: 东北部泰语 (依善语语 Isaan), 泰国北部地区

1. nɯŋ²

21.  saːw⁶ ʔet⁴

2. sɔːŋ¹

22.  saːw⁶ sɔːŋ¹

3. saːm¹

23.  saːw⁶ saːm¹

4. siː²

24.  saːw⁶ siː²

5. haː³

25.  saːw⁶ haː³

6. hok¹

26.  saːw⁶ hok¹

7. t͡ɕet¹

27.  saːw⁶ t͡ɕet¹

8. pɛːt³

28.  saːw⁶ pɛːt³

9. kaw⁵

29.  saːw⁶ kaw⁵

10. sip¹

30.  saːm¹ sip¹

11. sip¹ ʔet¹

40.  siː² sip¹

12. sip¹ sɔːŋ¹

50.  haː³ sip¹

13. sip¹ saːm¹

60.  hok¹ sip¹ 

14. sip¹ siː²

70.  t͡ɕet¹ sip¹

15. sip¹ haː³

80.  pɛːt³ sip¹

16. sip¹ hok¹

90.  kaw⁵ sip¹

17. sip¹  t͡ɕet¹

100. nɯŋ² loːj⁵

18. sip¹ pɛːt³

200. sɔːŋ¹ loːj⁵

19. sip¹ kaw⁵

1000. nɯŋ² pʰan⁴

20. saːw⁶

2000. sɔːŋ¹ pʰan⁴

Linguist providing data and dateː Dr. Wyn Owen, Department of Linguistics, Payap University, Chiang Mai, Thailand, May 17, 2008.

提供资料的语言学家: Dr. Wyn Owen, 2008 年 5 月 17 日.

Other comments: With some differences in tones, the numerals of Northeastern Thai

are identical to those of Thai. There is variation in tonal characteristic between different dialects of Northeastern Thai but the numeral system does not vary. The phonetic realization of the tones is described using Chao (1934) system which used a 5-point scale with 1-low and 5-high. The tones as are follows: Ton 1: 324; Tone 2: 33, Tone 3: 22; Tone 4: 21: Tone 5: 31, Tone 6: 41.

Isan or Northeastern Thai refers to the local development of the Lao language in Thailand, after the political split of the Lao-speaking world at the Mekong River, with the left bank eventually becoming modern Laos and the right bank the Isan region of Thailand (formerly known as Siam prior to 1932), after the conclusion of the Franco-Siamese War of 1893. The language is still referred to as Lao by native speakers. As a descendant of the Lao language, Isan is also a Lao-Phuthai language of the Southwestern branch of Tai languages in the Kra-Dai language family, most closely related to its parent language Lao and 'tribal' Tai languages such as Phuthai and Tai Yo. Isan is officially classified as a dialect of the Thai language by the Thai government; although Thai is a closely related Southwestern Tai language, it actually falls within the Chiang Saen languages. Thai and Lao (including Isan) are mutually intelligible with difficulty, as even though they share over 80% cognate vocabulary, Lao and Isan have a very different tonal pattern, vowel quality, manner of speaking and many very commonly used words that differ from Thai thus hampering inter-comprehension without prior exposure.
The Lao language has a long present. It is natively spoken by roughly 13-16 million (2005) people of Isan, although the total population of Isan speakers, including Isan people in other regions of Thailand, and those that speak it as a second language, likely exceeds 22 million.