Isan Language - Phonology

Phonology

Isan shares most of its phonology with Thai and Lao. It lacks the /r/ and /tɕʰ/ of Thai, but includes /v/ and /ɲ/ found in Lao. However, due to language contact with Thai, Thai pronunciation does creep into Isan speech.

Simplification of consonant clusters
Isan is written in Thai, but consonant clusters are usually not pronounced.

• เพลง song (phleng, pʰleːŋ) and ครอบครัว family (khrop khrua, kʰrɔ̂ːp kʰrua) are pronounced as เพง (Lao: ເພງ) and คอบคัว (Lao: ຄອບຄົວ) (khop khua, kʰɔ̂ːp kʰúaː).

Replacement of /r/ with /l/ or /h/
Isan pronounces and sometimes spells words etymologically containing ร /r/ as either ล (Lao ຣ or ລ) /l/ or ฮ (Lao: ຮ) /h/.

• รถ car (rot, rót) and รำ dance (ram, ram) are pronounced as ลด (Lao: ລົດ) and ลำ (Lao: ລຳ(lam, lám).
• รัก love (rak, rák) and ร้อน (ron, rɔ´ːn) "hot" pronounced and written as ฮัก (Lao: ຮັກ) (hak, hāk) and ฮ้อน (Lao: ຮ້ອນ) (hon, hɔ̂ːn) respectively.
• In Thai, the letter ร is often colloquially pronounced as /l/.
• In Lao, the letter ຣ is generally pronounced as /l/, except in loan words.

Replacement of /tɕʰ/ with /s/
Isan pronounces and spells words etymologically containing ช /tɕʰ/ as ซ /s/ and pronounces words with and ฌ /tɕʰ/ as ซ /s/ and ฉ /tɕʰ/ as if it were spelt with ส /s/.

• ช้าง elephant (chang, tɕʰáːŋ) and ฌาน meditative absorption (chan, tɕʰaːn) are pronounced and written as ซ้าง (Lao: ຊ້າງ)(sang, sâːŋ) and pronounced as ซาน (Lao: ຊານ) (san, sáːn).
• ฉบับ copy (chabap, tɕʰàʔ bàp) and ฉิ่ง cymbal (ching, tɕʰìŋ) are pronounced as สบับ (Lao: ສະບັບ) (sabap, sáʔ báp) and สิ่ง (Lao: ສິ່ງ) (sing, sīŋ).
• Educated and urban speakers may pronounce the /tɕʰ/ phoneme, but /s/ is still more common.

Replacement of /j/ with /ɲ/
Words spelt with ญ and consonantal ย are pronounced as /ɲ/ if etymologically related to Lao ຍ. If words with ย are related etymologically to Lao letter ຢ, they retain the /j/ pronunciation.

• ผู้หญิง girl (phuying, pʰûː jǐŋ) and ยาย maternal grandmother (yai, jaːj) are pronounced as ผู้หญิง (Lao: ຜູ້ຍິງ) (phunying, pʰȕː ɲíŋ) and ยาย (Lao: ຍາຍ) (nyai, ɲáːj).
• ยา medicine (ya/jaː) and อยู่ (yu, jùː) to be somewhere are pronounced as ยา (Lao: ຢາ) (ya/jaː) and อยู่ (Lao: ຢູ່) (yu, jūː) not (nya, ɲaː) and (nyu, ɲūː)

Replacement of /w/ with /ʋ/
It is very common for Isan speakers to pronounce ว as /v/.

• เวร to turn (wen, weːn) and วาสนา luck (watsana, wâːt sàʔ nǎː) is pronounced as เวร (Lao: ເວນ) (ʋen, ʋéːn) and วาสนา (Lao: ວາສນາ) (vatsana, wâːt sáʔ nǎː).

Shortening of Diphthongs
Diphthongs that contain vocalic ว are often shortened.

• กว่า noun modifier (kwa/kwàː) and ควาย water buffalo (khwai/kʰwaːj) are pronounced as กั่ว (Lao: ກວ່າ) (kua, kūaː) and ควย (Lao: ຄວາຍ) (khuay, kʰúɛj).
• ควย in Thai slang means penis, and this feature of Isan is often deprecated.

Retention of certain historical Lao pronunciations

• แม่โขง Mekong River (maekhong, mɛˆː kʰǒːŋ) pronounced as แม่ของ (Lao: Lao ແມ່ຂອງ.) (mae khong, mɛ̄ː kʰɔə̌ːŋ).