What is Isan language?
[[File:Thailand Isan.png|thumb|150 px|A map showing the Isan Region in red. The region is a stronghold of the language. Thailland is shown in yellow.]] [[File:Manuscripts_in_the_Yunnan_Nationalities_Museum_-_DSC03958.JPG|thumb|160 px|[[Palm-leaf manuscript]]s, such as these from the [[Dai people]] of [[Yunnan]], were used throughout South and South-East Asia to record literature. Many examples in Isan can be found in Buddhist libraries in the region.]] '''Isan''' is the name for a number of closely related [[dialect]]s which are spoken in the Northeast of [[Thailand]] and neighbouring countries. Isan is mostly used for informal communication. Isan consists of a number of dialects, there is no [[official language]]. People who speak one dialect usually understand the others. When Isan is written down, the [[Thai alphabet]] is used most of the time. Very rarely, the [[Lao alphabet]], which is also used to write the [[Laotian language]] is used. About 20 million people speak the Isan language as their [[first language]]. About a third of the population of Thailand, and 80% of the speakers of Laotian understand it. [[Category:Languages of Asia]] [[Category:Kradai languages]]