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Concept
Thai people
Summary
Thai people (ชาวไทย; endonym), Central Thai people (คนภาคกลาง; exonym and also domestically), Southern Thai people (คนใต้; exonym and also domestically), Dambro (ตามโพร), Siamese (ชาวสยาม; historical exonym and sometimes domestically), Tai Noi people (ไทน้อย; historical endonym and sometimes domestically), Thai Siam (ไทยสยาม), are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Thailand. In a narrower sense, the Thais are also a Tai ethnic group dominant in Central and Southern Thailand (Siam proper). Part of the larger Tai ethno-linguistic group native to Southeast Asia as well as Southern China and Northeast India, Thais speak the Sukhothai languages (Central Thai and Southern Thai language), which is classified as part of the Kra–Dai family of languages. The majority of Thais are followers of Theravada Buddhism.
As a result of government policy during the 1930s and 1940s resulting in successful forced assimilation of many the various ethno-linguistic groups in the country into the dominant Central Thai language and culture, the term Thai people has come to refer to the population of Thailand in general. This includes other subgroups of the Tai ethno-linguistic group, such as the Yuan people and the Isan people, as well as non-Southeast Asian and non-Tai groups, the largest of which is that of the Han Chinese, who form a substantial minority ethnic group in Thailand.
Tai languages and Thai language
According to Michel Ferlus, the ethnonyms Thai/Tai (or Thay/Tay) would have evolved from the etymon *k(ə)ri: 'human being' through the following chain: *kəri: > *kəli: > *kədi:/*kədaj > *di:/*daj > *dajA (Proto-Southwestern Tai) > thajA2 (in Siamese and Lao) or > tajA2 (in the other Southwestern and Central Tai languages classified by Li Fangkuei). Michel Ferlus' work is based on some simple rules of phonetic change observable in the Sinosphere and studied for the most part by William H. Baxter (1992).
Michel Ferlus notes that a deeply rooted belief in Thailand has it that the term "Thai" derives from the last syllables -daya in Sukhodaya/ Sukhothay (สุโขทัย), the name of the Sukhothai Kingdom.
Official source
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Thai Chinese
Thai Chinese (also known as Chinese Thais, Sino-Thais), Thais of Chinese origin (ชาวไทยเชื้อสายจีน; exonym and also domestically) are Chinese descendants in Thailand. Thai Chinese are the largest minority group in the country and the largest overseas Chinese community in the world with a population of approximately 7-10 million people, accounting for 11–14% of the total population of the country as of 2012. It is also the oldest and most prominently integrated overseas Chinese community, with a history dating back to the 1100s.
Romvong
Romvong (រាំវង់, also romanized as Rom Vong or Roam Vong), Lamvong (Lao: ລໍາວົງ - lám wóŋ) or Ramwong (รําวง; ; Tai Lue: ᩃ᪁ ᩴᩅ ᩫ ᩬ; Tai Khun: ᨽ᩠ᨿᨦᨴᩱ᩠ᨿᩃᩨᩢ; rām.wōŋ; လမ်းဝူင်), Rambung (رمبوڠ), lăm-vông) is a type of Southeast Asian dance where both females and males dance in a circle. It is a popular folk-dance in Xishuangbanna (China), Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Thailand. It is a slow round dance continuously moving in a circular manner, and incorporates graceful hand movements and simple footwork.
Lao language
Lao, sometimes referred to as Laotian (ລາວ, láːw 'Lao' or ພາສາລາວ, pháː sǎː láːw 'Lao language'), is a Kra–Dai language of the Lao people. It is spoken in Laos, where it is the official language for around 7 million people, as well as in northeast Thailand, where it is used by around 23 million people, usually referred to as Isan. Lao serves as a lingua franca among the citizens of Laos, who also speak approximately 90 other languages, many of which are unrelated to Lao.