Editing Northern Thai people (section)

=== Exonyms ===
The exonym '''Tai Yuan''' is likely derived from [[Sanskrit]] ''[[yavana]]'' meaning "stranger," which itself comes from the name of the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] tribe of the [[Ionians]], or from Pali {{IAST|yonaka}}.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Pain |first=Frédéric |date=2008 |title=An Introduction to Thai Ethnonymy: Examples from Shan and Northern Thai |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25608449 |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=128 |issue=4 |pages=641–662 |jstor=25608449 |issn=0003-0279}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |author=Frederic Pain |title=An introduction to Thai ethnonymy: examples from Shan and Northern Thai |journal=The Journal of the American Oriental Society |year=2008 |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/An+introduction+to+Thai+ethnonymy%3A+examples+from+Shan+and+Northern...-a0214480325}}</ref> In everyday speech, "Tai" prefixed to some location is understood as meaning "[[Tai peoples|Tai person]]" of that place.<ref name="Raendchen">{{cite conference |last=Raendchen |first=Jana |date=October 10, 2005 |title=The socio-political and administrative organisation of müang in the light of Lao historical manuscripts |url=http://laomanuscripts.net/downloads/literaryheritageoflaos31_raendchen_en.pdf |conference=The Literary Heritage of Laos Conference, 2005 |location=Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin Preußischer Kulturbesitz |publisher=Digital Library of Lao Manuscripts |at=image 4, page 404 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104074758/http://laomanuscripts.net/downloads/literaryheritageoflaos31_raendchen_en.pdf |archive-date=2013-11-04 |access-date=September 12, 2013 |quote=Traditionally, these people called themselves according to the place of their settlement, combining the term "Tai" (man) with the place name, as for example Tai Müang Phuan, Tai Müang Swa (Luang Phabang). |conference-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104074845/http://laomanuscripts.net/en/resources/papers#1 |book-title=The Literary Heritage of Laos: Preservation, Dissemination and Research Perspectives, Vientiane: National Library of Laos}}</ref> Predecessors to the term "Yuan" were used by the [[Chams]], [[Vietnamese people|Vietnamese]], and [[Khmer people|Khmer]] as exonyms for other ethnic groups in the region.<ref name=":1" /> The Khmer form is still used today, as a pejorative exonym for the Vietnamese.<ref name=":1" /> The Burmese historically referred to the Northern Thai people as the '''Yun''' ({{Linktext|ယွန်း}}), which in turn is now the Burmese word for "[[lacquerware]]."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Prompanya |first=Nittayaporn |date=2019 |title=Phongsawadan Yonok: The Creation of a Modern Northern Thai Chronicle |journal=Journal of Liberal Arts |volume=19 |issue=2 |quote=The terms Yuan, Yon, Yonok, and Yun hold two main meanings: the first refers to the Mueang in the Chiang Rai basin that were united by Mengrai into the Yon domain or Yon State. The second meaning of Yon or Yuan refers to a group of Thai people. In the past, the Siamese Thai called the northern Thai people Yuan, while the Burmese called them Yon. In addition, Chiang Mai people were called Yon Chiang Mai}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hall |first=D. G. E. |url=https://mission.itu.ch/MISSIONS/Myanmar/Burma/bur_history.pdf |title=Burma |publisher=Hutchinson and Company |year=1960 |isbn=978-1-4474-8790-6 |edition=3rd |location=London |language=en |quote=The deportations brought crowds of skilled craftsmen into Burma, and it is thought that the finer sort of Burmese lacquerware, called yun, was introduced during this period by deported artisans belonging to the Yun or Laos Shan tribes of the Chiengmai region.}}</ref>

The British colonial rulers in neighbouring Burma (now [[Myanmar]]) referred to them as ''Siamese Shan'' to distinguish them from the [[Shan people|Shan]] proper, whom they called ''Burmese Shan''.<ref>{{Citation |author=Andrew Turton |title=Violent Capture of People for Exchange on Karen-Tai borders in the 1830s |work=Structure of Slavery in Indian Ocean Africa and Asia |page=73 |year=2004 |place=London |publisher=Frank Cass |author-link=Andrew Turton}}</ref> 

Until the 20th century, the Siamese considered Northern Thais to be "Lao", due to linguistic and cultural differences,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kirigaya |first=Ken |date=2015 |title=Lan Na under Burma: A "Dark Age" in Northern Thailand? |journal=Journal of the Siam Society |volume=103 |pages=290 |quote=In the early 20th century the Lan Na people still “felt little in common with the Siamese, who felt likewise about their northern neighbors”. The Central Thai were culturally and linguistically remote from the Tai Yuan, whom they called “Lao” in the past, finding little difference between the two Tai brethrens.}}</ref> or more specifically as ''Lao phung dam'', or black-bellied [[Lao people|Lao]] because of their tradition of tattooing their abdomens (''phung''), which contrasted with the Lao to their east, who did not have that custom.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Volker Grabowsky |title=Regions and National Integration in Thailand, 1892-1992 |date=1995 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=978-3-447-03608-5 |page=154}}</ref> According to [[Jit Bhumisak]], a prominent Thai historian, Northern Thais consider themselves Tai-Thai and do not refer to themselves as Lao. That is reflected in various inscriptions in which the term "Thai-Tai" is used to refer to themselves. The term "Lao" is seen as an insult by Northern Thais, as it is associated with a savage and uncivilized culture. Therefore, the use of the term ''Khon Muang'' is a way for Northern Thais to assert their distinct identity and cultural heritage and to distance themselves from the negative connotations of the term "Lao".

The Northern Thais also call Central Thais "Thai" and add the word "South" to refer to Southern Thais or "Southerners." However, they do not use the term Tai/Thai to refer to other ethnicities that interact more closely with La Nna society, such as [[Tai Yai]], Tai Khoen, [[Tai Lue people|Tai Lue]] people, which reflects the fact that they see themselves and those ethnic groups as distinct entities.<ref>{{cite web|lang=th|url=https://www.the101.world/lanna-history-7/|title=คนล้านนาเป็นไท/ไทย แต่กลายเป็นลาวเพราะการยัดเยียด|author=Parit Chiwarak|date=March 16, 2023|website=the101.world}}</ref>