Abstract
Thailand represents a complex situation of language diversity. There are more than 70 languages belonging to five language families: Tai-Kadai, Austroasiatic, Sino-Tibetan, Hmong-Mien, and Austronesian. While Standard Thai is the only official and national language, the four regional languages, Northern, Northeastern, Central, and Southern Thai are spoken as local languages as well as the lingua franca of the ethnic minorities. The local or minority languages are classified as either displaced, town, marginal, or enclave. Most of the speakers are bilingual or multilingual. Because of globalization and the national language policy, the use of indigenous languages has been decreasing. At least 14 languages are now endangered. There is, however, a movement to fight for the preservation of these languages.
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