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
Northeast India (not limited to
Assam) descent from
Ahom people 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, Tai peoples can generally be identified through their language.