[1][2] lǎo 獠 < MC lawX < OC *C-rawʔ [C.rawˀ] The etymon *k(ə)ra:w would have also yielded the ethnonym Keo/Kæw /kɛːwA1/, a name given to the Vietnamese by Tai speaking peoples, currently slightly derogatory.
[3] In fact, Keo/Kæw /kɛːwA1/ was an exonym used to refer to Tai speaking peoples, as in the epic poem of Thao Cheuang, and was only later applied to the Vietnamese.
In Southern China, people speaking Kam–Tai (Zhuang–Dong) languages are mainly found in Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan, Guangdong and Hainan.
A smaller Saek community makes its home in the Isan region of Northeast Thailand, near the border with Laos.
[8] Lakkia people are an ethnic group residing in Guangxi, China, and neighboring portions of Vietnam.