Tai peoples refers to the population of descendants of speakers of a common Proto-Tai language, including sub-populations which no longer speak a Tai language. Some 8-10 million people in Northeastern India (not limited to Assam) claim descent from Ahomese, but may have intermarried with others and now speak Assamese. Additional tens of thousands in India speak Tai languages (mostly in Arunachal Pradesh). Aside from India, where language has eroded, Tai peoples can generally be identified through their language.
Read more about Tai Peoples: Names, Origins, Tai Groups and Names in China, Other Tai Peoples and Languages
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“Uniform ideas originating among entire peoples unknown to each other must have a common ground of truth.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)