Phuan
ພວນ, พวน
Native to	Laos,Thailand
Ethnicity	Phuan people
Native speakers	300,000 (2003–2009)[1]
Language family	Kra–Dai Tai Southwestern (Thai) Chiang Saen Phuan
Writing system	Thai,Lao,Tham
Language codes
ISO 639-3	phu
Glottolog	phua1239

Phuan orNortheastern Lao is aTai language spoken inLaos,Thailand andCambodia.^[1][2]

ThePhuan (ພວນ,พวนPhuan,/pʰúan/) are a tribalTai people originally inhabitingXiangkhouang and parts ofHouaphan provinces ofLaos. As a result of slave raids and forced population transfers, there are small, scattered villages of Phuan inSakon andUdon Thani provinces and another area aroundBueng Kan,Nong Khai andLoei provinces inThailand. Despite the small numbers and isolation, the Siamese kept thePhuan apart from theLao, and in from other Thai people in Northern and CentralThailand were small communities of Phuan also exist, forcing them to live apart and dress in black clothing. The Phuan in turn practisedendogamous marriage habits and steadfastness to their language and culture. It is distinct enough thatThais andIsan people generally consider it distinct, although Phuan is considered a Laodialect inLaos. As aTai language of northernSoutheast Asia, it shares many similarities withTai Dam andTai Lan Na. In contrast to other minority languages of Isan, it is not losing ground to the Thai orIsan.^[1]

In Thailand, Phuan is spoken inChachoengsao,Chaiyaphum,Lopburi,Nakhon Nayok,Phetchabun,Phichit,Prachinburi,Suphan Buri, andSaraburi provinces; it is also spoken in an isolated area ofBueng Kan Province, and in one village south ofBangkok^[1]

There are approximately 5,000 Phuan inMongkol Borei District ofBanteay Meanchey Province inCambodia,^[3] as well inBattambang Province.

Similar to Northern Lao, Phuan has maintained the Proto-Southwestern Tai distinction of Proto-Tai */aɰ/ and */aj/, but the outcome is /ɤː/ and /aj/, respectively, similar to the Northern Lao dialects of Houaphan which has a significant Phuan presence. Similar to thePhuthai (ผู้ไท,ຜູ້ໄທPhou Tai,/pʰȕːtʰáj/), final /k/ has been replaced by theglottal stop /ʔ/. What mainly distinguishes Phuan from all other Lao dialects are the vowel transformations that distinguish cognates, such as Thai and Lao /ua/ appearing as Phuan /oː/ and Thai and Lao /ɯa/ appearing as Phuan /ia/. This and a very distinct vocabulary make Phuan mutually intelligible but with difficulty to other Isan or Lao speakers and even harder to understand for native speakers of Central Thai.^[4]

Phuan has the following consonant inventory:^[5]

Phuan features two consonant clusters,/kʰw/ and/kw/.^[5]

Phuan has the following vowel inventory:^[5]

Two diphthongs are found:/ia/ and/ua/.^[5]

Outside of Xiangkhouang and other native areas in Laos, the scattered Phuan settlements in Thailand have been greatly influenced by the tones of the local languages, however even though most maintain six, those in Louang Phrabang or Central Thailand only have five and when spoken as a second language by tribal peoples of various languages, they may use seven. However all Phuan dialects share distinct tonal split, with syllables beginning with low-clas consonants and marked with themai ek (may ék) tone mark pronounced differently than similar situations with other class consonants. This is also done in some varieties of Western Lao. Most other Lao dialects have the same tone when marked with themai ek tone mark.^[4]

• Burusphat, S., Sujaritlak Deepadung, S., Suraratdecha, N. A., Patpong, P., & Setapong, P. "Language Vitality and the Ethnic Tourism Development of the Lao Ethnic Groups in the Western Region of Thailand."

• Southwestern Tai languages
• Languages of Thailand
• Languages of Laos

• Language articles citing Ethnologue 25
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