Most speakers of dialects and minority languages speak Central Thai as well, since it is the language used in schools and universities all across the kingdom. In the 1960s, it became more common for Thai people to learn the English language, as the number of foreign visitors grew. Karen languages, languages spoken in lower Myanmar (Burma) and on the borders of Thailand. Thailand: At a Glance If Ethnologue says 67% of Thai speakers speak it as a second language, what language are those people speaking as their first language? And then there are the other 72 languages. Nearly every person in the country is able to speak and write Standard Thai, having learned the language from government schools and through its use in print and broadcast media. While many have now picked up English at least to a ⦠It took me about 2 months to understand my professorâs heavy Thai accent. Thai is the only official and national language of Thailand as well as being the first language of the Thai people. Languages spoken by ethnic minorities represent six language families: Sino-Tibetan, Austro-Asiatic, TaiâKadai, Indo-European, Austronesian and HmongâMien, as well as an incipient national standard for Burmese sign language. Approximately 7,000 people speak this language with an interesting characteristic whereby speaker pronounce all the words that have vowels at their beginnings with a glottal stop. Its closest relatives are Lao, Shan, and Southern Thai. Thai is spoken as a first language by 20.2 million people and by 40 million speakers as a second language in Thailand. Khmer and Vietnamese ), smaller languages of that family are spoken by indigenous communities of northern and eastern Bangladesh. The language is used in government administration, imparting education at all levels, media, etc. The younger generation in Laos is particularly eager to adopt English. In Asia alone, there are 2,294 languages spoken, in Africa 2,144, Americas 1,061, the Pacific 1,313, and Europe with 287 languages. * Thai Dam, spoken by about 20,000 (1991) in Isan and Saraburi province. changes in how many languages are spoken in australia recently Throughout the past 15 years, there have been some significant changes in what languages are spoken in Australian homes. Read more about Thailand's linguistic diversity here. See language lists, maps, statistics, and more. There are also small populations of speakers in Thailand and Malaysia. The Shan language belongs to the TaiâKadai language family. It is also spoken in some parts of Burmaâs Kachin state as well. The language of the central Thai population is the language taught in schools and used in government. The Tai languages are divided into three linguistic groupsâthe Southwestern, the Central, and the Northern. A profile of the languages in Thailand. Cambodia has a single official language which is Khmer. In the 19 th century, the lingua franca was Spanish due to Philippines being under the colonial influence of Spain. Most Thai people, especially the less well-educated, do not speak any English, although they may understand (but will not speak due to shyness) a few common words. That number is constantly in flux, because we're learning more about the world's languages every day. In particular, there was an influx from the American Military, which was based in Vietnam and used neighboring Thailand as their R&R base. The spoken language is believed to have originated in the area which is now the border between Vietnam and China, an idea which provides clues to the origin of the Thai people, an area of continued academic debate. It may belong to the wider category of Sino-Tibetan languages, but this is a contested claim. And what does this mean for Thailandâs divided politics? Thai houseThe written Thai Language was introduced by the third Sukothai period king, Ramkamhaeng, in 1283. Thailand is home to 71 living languages, with the majority of people speaking languages of the Southwestern Tai family, and the national language being Thai. Theyâre living and dynamic, spoken by communities whose lives are shaped by our rapidly changing world. And of course Thai has lots of Chinese influence. Southeast Asia - Southeast Asia - Linguistic composition: Language patterns in Southeast Asia are highly complex and are rooted in four major language families: Sino-Tibetan, Tai, Austro-Asiatic, and Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian). 7,117 languages are spoken today. Conversely, there are around 46 languages that only have a single speaker! (Source: Ethnologue) The exact number of languages spoken ⦠After the Vietnamese language, Khmer is also the second most widely spoken Austroasiatic language. As visitors to Thailand also include many Europeans and other Asians, Thai people's language skills often also include these other languages to varying degrees. There are 10 dialects of Malay used throughout Malaysia. Thai (also known as Central Tai, Siamese, Standard Thai, Thaiklang) is a member of the Southwestern branch of the Tai-Kadai language family.The word thai means âfreeâ in the Thai language. In 2001, 80 percent of the populace said that the principle language they spoke at home was Australian English. Malay became predominant after the 13 May Incident. Burmese, spoken by two thirds of the population, is the official language.. A variant of the Malay language that is spoken in Brunei is also commonly spoken in East Malaysia. The official national language, spoken by almost 100 per cent of the population, is Thai, classified by linguists as belonging to a Chinese -Thai branch of the Sino -Tibetan family. Thai (ภาษาà¹à¸à¸¢) Thai is a Tai-Kadai language spoken by about 65 million people mainly in Thailand (à¸à¸£à¸°à¹à¸à¸¨à¹à¸à¸¢), and also in the Midway Islands, Singapore, the UAE and the USA Thai is closely related to Lao, and northern dialects of Thai are more or less mutually intelligible with Lao, particularly the Lao spoken in northern Thailand. Mostly spoken in Yap State, the Yapese language is an Austronesian language. Lao is spoken along the borders with the Laos PDR, Karen languages are spoken along the border with Myanmar, Khmer is spoken near Cambodia and Malay is spoken in the south near Malaysia. The Vientiane variety of ⦠Major Spoken Languages: Thai, English, Chinese, Malay, Lao, Mon-Khmer Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, domiciles people belonging to different parts of the globe and thus, acts as a common cultural platform for many communities. Minority Languages Spoken In Laos. There are approximately a hundred languages spoken in Myanmar (also known as Burma). Many of these languages are spoken by larger numbers outside of Thailand. Statistics are from Ethnologue 2003-10-4. Thai language, the standard spoken and literary language of Thailand, belonging to the Tai language family of Southeast Asia. More than 80 languages are used by the different ethnicities of Laos. Cham is related to the Malayo-Polynesian languages of ⦠When I first moved to Thailand, my professor made the joke that by the end of my Masterâs program, I would speak 3 languages: English, Thai, and Thai-English. What language is spoken in Thailand? Languages derived from the Sino-Tibetan group are found largely in Myanmar, while forms of the Tai group are spoken in Thailand and Laos. Although both are âdeadâ languages, similar to Latin, you can still hear Pali spoken daily as it is the language of the Buddhist scriptures and chants. Approximately 3.2 million people speak the Shan language. Most of these languages are spoken in mountainous areas. In addition, there are 3 main dialects which widely spoken in some regions: Northeastern Thai (Isan), Northern Thai, and ⦠Perhaps reading and writing are easier, but speaking the language is not as simple. Thai is the official language of Thailand and the native language of Thai people.The standard Thai is spoken in the central region and around the country. Austroasiatic languages [ edit ] While the more widely spoken and better-known Austroasiatic languages are spoken in Southeast Asia (e.g. With over 20 million native speakers globally, it is also the predominant language spoken in Bangkok. And beyond that, the languages themselves are in flux. GUEST EDITORIAL by Karl Victor The organization Ethnologue has a peculiar statistic in its 2015 report on Thailand. English features in the system of many schools in Laos, and it is increasingly being regarded as the language of global commerce. But the languages with the most impact on Thai, especially the roots of Thai words, are the Indian languages of Pali and Sanskrit. Laotian is spoken in Laos. Institutional: 199, Developing: 363, Vigorous: 672, In Trouble: 871, Dying: 201 Thai and Lao, the official languages of Thailand and Laos, respectively, are the best known of the languages. Ahom, an extinct language once spoken in Assam (India), has a considerable amount of literature. The languages share a common grammar and tone structure. The Shan language is a native language of Myanmar that is spoken by the Shan people. It is based largely on the dialect of Bangkok and its environs in the central region of the country but retains certain consonant distinctions (such as l versus r, kl v Other Chamic languages are spoken in parts of Vietnam (Raglai, Rhade, Jarai, Chru, and Hâroi) and on the Chinese island of Hainan (Tsat). It is spoken by nearly 90% of the countryâs population. The official language of Malaysia is the Malaysian standardised form of the Malay language (Malay: Bahasa Malaysia). Several other small Thai-speaking groups include the Shan, Lue, and Phutai. In total, there are around 120 to 175 languages in the Philippines, depending on how they are classified. It belongs to the same language family that also includes Thai, Shan and other languages spoken across Laos, Thailand, Burma, Southern China and Northern Vietnam. China is the largest country in Asia, comprising a total area of 9,596,961 square kilometers or 3,705,407 square miles, and is distinguished for having many distinct features, including the variety of languages spoken in China. The Hmong language is a part of the Hmong-Mien family of languages, spoken in southern China, Laos and Thailand in addition to parts of Northern Vietnam. Well, there's Thai. The Thai language comes in [â¦] But stop to think just how many languages are spoken in Philippinesâmore than 170! He was right. 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