The following is the entry for this language as it appeared in the 14th edition (2000).
It was superseded by the corresponding entry in the 15th edition (2005). See also the corresponding entry in the current edition of Ethnologue.
SIL code: SOU
ISO 639-2: tai
| Population | 5,000,000 (1990 A. Diller ANU), including 1,500,000 Muslim Tai (1981 Wurm and Hattori). |
| Region | Chumphon, Nakorn Srithammerat; 14 provinces total. Muslim Tai in provinces of Chumporn, Nakorn Srithammerat, Phattalung, Songkhla, Ranong, Phanga, Phuket, Krabi, Trang, Satun. |
| Alternate names | PAK THAI, PAK TAI, PAKTAY, DAMBRO |
| Dialects | TAK BAI (TAI TAK BAI), THAI MALAY (TAI ISLAM). |
| Classification | Tai-Kadai, Kam-Tai, Be-Tai, Tai-Sek, Tai, Southwestern, Southern. |
| Comments | A group of dialects more distantly related to other Tai languages. The border dialects are quite distinct from others. 81% use Southern Tai in the home, 8.5% use Central Tai, 10.5% use both. Muslim Tai ('Thai Malay') speak only Southern Tai. Investigation needed: bilingual proficiency in Central Thai. Buddhist, Muslim, Christian. |
