Driving to Isaan?

[Up2U]

Signs for the times in Isaan
By John Draper and Peerasit
In the past months, dozens of multilingual signs have been installed across Khon Kaen province in Northeast Thailand. Part of an innovative cultural maintenance and revitalisation project, the signs bear messages in three languages – Thai, Isaan (Thai Lao) and English.... (read more).... http://isaanrecord.com/2016/09/21/signs-for-the-times-in-isaan/

[Old git]

Interesting..

Ever since WWII when Thailand took advantage of the weakness of the Vichy government to invade French Indo-China, they've been pretty hell-bent on teaching the Lao people they annexed that they are really Thai.

Acknowledging that Thailand is not one seamless and ethnically homogeneous entity, by the erection of multi-lingual signs would seem to go against one of the Kingdom's tenets.

Were the signs erected by local politicians? Does it evidence a separatist campaign? I wonder...

[arsenal]

Old Git: An interesting point. But are there any countries that can truly claim to be one homogeneous group of people?

[francois]

North Korea? Pitcairn Island.

[Up2U]

Old Git: An interesting point. But are there any countries that can truly claim to be one homogeneous group of people?
Japan?

[latintopxxx]

oh how i love all the conspiracy theorists.....next 9-11 didnt happen...just like Armstrong didnt hop around on the moon...

[Old git]

Hardly a conspiracy theory - we've all seen the red shirt/yellow shirt divide and several commentators have speculated about a possible division of the country, despite six decades of teaching 'Thai-ness' to every schoolchild..

[dinagam]

The Thai government is particularly concerned about the spread of communist ideologies from across the Mekong river.
Bear in mind that a lot of Isaan communities still have relatively poorer cousins in Laos. No one can separate blood ties. And the young demography is getting bigger in Laos, with a big percentage of their school & college graduates unable to get steady employment. Hence their presence in Thailand and neighboring countries. They are a charming lot. :-)

[latintopxxx]

old git, u r not making sense, if the current government is wary of separatism then why would they condone multilingual signs???