They are spoken in Lawa villages in the provinces of Mae Hong Son and Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand.
Linguistically, Lawa belongs to the Palaungic branch of the Mon-Khmer family of languages, which is part of the Austro-Asiatic super-family.
The main dialect is from Bo Luang, (known locally as juang ra), which is by far the largest Eastern Lawa village, with a population of approximately 3,000 people.
Eastern Lawa has a high level of language vitality and is spoken in the home by all ages.
Government education, village notices and official business are usually undertaken in Central Thai.