In Thailand, one of the reasons for this linguistic deterioration is the government's unofficial policy of promoting standard Thai - the medium of instruction in all schools.
Today, Chong is taught three times a week in the tribe's primary schools. As a result, many schoolchildren can now speak a smattering of their mother tongue. "I was embarrassed to speak it, I felt just like a dot of ink among others," says Chen Phanpai, a former village head, when asked about the success of the language revitalization program. "But now I feel unique because nobody else speaks Chong.
Whilst the students valued Thai classical music and country popular music as national symbols, they