Seventy languages are spoken in Thailand today, and 93 % of them belong to the Tai-Kadai language family (1). Here's an overview of the kingdom's main languages.

- Standard Thai

The national language is Thai, formerly called Siamese. Originating from the central region of the country, it is now the mother tongue of about 25 million Thais who call it Passa Klang (ภาษากลาง). This standard Thai is taught in all schools across the country. It enables all citizens to communicate with each other and is used for official documentation.

- Isan Thai

Used in the Northeast region, Isan Thai (Passa Isan in Thai – ภาษาอีสาน) or Lao-Thai is spoken by about 20 million people, many of whom come from nearby Laos. As its name suggests, this language is very close to the one spoken by the Laotians.

- Northern Thai

Spoken in northern Thailand by 6 to 7 million people, Northern Thai (Passa Nua – ภาษาเหนือ or Passa Kam Mueang – ภาษาคำเมือง) is mainly used in the provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Tak, and Lampang. Its roots come from the language used in the ancient Lan Na kingdom. This old language, which has several regional variants, is based on Thai with additions of Mon, Shan, and Sanskrit words and expressions. Its script, which few people master today, has been revived recently and can often be seen on road signs in Chiang Mai.

- Southern Thai

Used by populations living in the northern Malay Peninsula (starting from the city of Chumphon), Southern Thai (Pak Thai – ภาคใต้) has about 5 million speakers. It is a sophisticated mix of Thai words and Malay-origin expressions.

- Yawi

Spoken by Thais living in the extreme south provinces of Thailand (Patani, Yala, and Narathiwat), this language, very close to Malay, belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian branch of Austronesian languages and has little in common with Thai. Yawi, also called Patani Malay, is spoken by just under 3 million people (the Jawi). Over the 20th century, its written form was progressively replaced by Thai in the schools of the region.

- Tibeto-Burman Languages

In Thailand, Tibeto-Burman languages are spoken by about 300,000 people belonging to ethnic minorities mainly inhabiting the northern mountains (Akha, Lahu, Lisu, etc.). These populations, which arrived in the kingdom throughout the 20th century (from Burma and China), generally do not have a writing system or have lost it.

- Miao-Yao Languages

Spoken by about 150,000 Hmong and 50,000 Yao who have lived in the northern mountains of Thailand for a little over half a century, the languages of the Miao-Yao group (or Hmong-Mien) also belong, like Tai-Kadai, to the large Austro-Thai language family.

Other Languages and Dialects

Thailand also has many other minority languages (and dialects), some of which are now used by only a few hundred speakers (such as the Mlabri or "People of the Dead Leaves," who today number only about 300 individuals in the kingdom). According to the country’s leading linguists, about fifteen of these languages could disappear within the next fifty years. The promotion of standard Thai, which aims to strengthen national unity across all regions of the country (2), is obviously the main reason for this trend.

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(1) The Tai-Kadai (or Kadai) languages form a family of about one hundred idioms mainly used in the Indochina Peninsula (Thailand, Laos, Burma), with the main languages being Thai, Lao, Shan, Ahom, and Zhuang. They are believed to have originated from Austronesian languages primarily modified by languages spoken in southern China.

(2) For the Thai authorities, the integration of minority ethnic groups is mainly through learning the Thai language. Over the past fifty years, thousands of schools have been established in all regions of the kingdom, including the most remote and mountainous, to educate newly arrived populations in this way.

Text: Emmanuel Pervé