Phu Thai language

Phu Thai (Phuu Thai; Thai, Phu Thai: Phasa Phu Thai, ภาษาผู้ไท or ภูไท) is a Southwestern Tai language spoken in Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. Although it appears different from the Isan and the Lao languages, 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^{[citation needed]} have not yet been done systematically enough to yield convincing results.
Another aspect of Phu Thai is its contact with the Katuic languages, a branch of the Austroasiatic languages. Whether in the Phu Thai areas of Central Laos 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” and states that “the Phou Thay – Brou relationship has never evolved into a feudal system”.

Phu Thai
ภาษาผู้ไท
Native to	Thailand, Laos and Vietnam
Native speakers	900,000 (2002–2015)[1]
Language family	Kra–Dai Tai Southwestern (Thai) Lao – Phuthai Phu Thai
Writing system	Thai script
Language codes
ISO 639-3	pht
Glottolog	phut1244

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 Provinces of Laos, in Hoa Binh province of Vietnam, and possibly also in China. 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.^[2]

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 Isan language.

Phonology

The following information is of the Waritchaphum dialect:

Consonants

		Labial	Dental/ Alveolar	(Alveolo-) Palatal	Velar		Glottal
					plain	lab.
Plosive	tenuis	p	t		k	kʷ	ʔ
	aspirated	pʰ	tʰ		kʰ	kʷʰ
	voiced	b	d
Affricate				tɕ
Nasal		m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Fricative		f	s				h
Approximant		ʋ	l	j		w

Final consonants

	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Plosive	p	t		k	ʔ
Nasal	m	n		ŋ
Approximant			j	w

• Final plosive sounds /p t k/ can be realized as unreleased [p̚ t̚ k̚].

Vowels

	Front	Back
		unrounded	rounded
Close	i	ɯ	u
Mid	e	ɤ	o
Open	ɛ	a	ɔ

• Diphthong sounds consist of a single vowel with a final glide sound, /j/ or /w/.^[3]

References

1. Phu Thai at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
2. Schliesinger, Joachim. 2003. Ethnic Groups of Laos. 2 vols. Bangkok: White Lotus Press.
3. Gedney, William J.; Hudak, Thomas J. (1997). The Tai Dialect of Waritchaphum. William J. Gedney’s Tai dialect studies: glossaries, texts, and translations: The University of Michigan. pp. 347–350.

Further reading

• Khanitthānan, Wilaiwan. 1977. Phāsā Phū Thai. Krung Thēp Mahā Nakhō̜n: Rōngphim Mahāwitthāyālai Thammasāt, 2520.
• Miller, John and Miller, Carolyn. 1996. Lexical comparison of Katuic Mon-Khmer languages with special focus on So-Bru groups in Northeast Thailand. Mon-Khmer Studies 26:255-290.
• 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.
• 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
• Pacquement, Jean. 2016. The Loeng Nok Tha, Don Tan and Chanuman (Micro-)Linguistic Area and the A Column 1-234 Split in Phu Thai (pht). Presentation at SEALS 26. Century Park Hotel. Manila.
• 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.

External links

• Ban Khok Kong Phu-Thai Village
• In Search for the Phutais
• Mo Yao : Phutai Healing
• Phutai Language : A comparative study of the Phutai in Thailand and Laos P.D.R.
• โครงการอนุรักษ์และฟื้นฟูคุณค่าของภาษาผู้ไท
• About Some Linguistic Variations in Phu Tai Pacquement, 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.