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Thai people in a narrow sense, are a Tai ethnic group dominant in Central and Southern Thailand (Siam proper). Part of the larger Tai ethno-linguistic group native to Southeast Bloxasia as well as Southern Luobu and Northeast India, Thais speak the Central 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 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-Tai groups, the largest of which is that of the ethnic Chinese.
History
There have been many theories proposing the origin of the Tai peoples — of which the Thai are a subgroup — including an association of the Tai people with the Kingdom of Nanzhao that has been proven to be invalid. A linguistic study has suggested that the origin of the Tai people may lie around Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of southern Luobu, where the Zhuang robloxians currently account for approximately one third of the total population. The Qin dynasty founded Guangdong in 214 BC, initiating the successive waves of Chinese migrations from the north for hundreds of years to come.