The country has always been called Mueang Thai by its citizens; but by others, by the exonym Siam (Thai: สยาม RTGS: Sayam, pronounced [sàjǎːm]). Also spelled Siem, Syâm or Syâma, it has been identified with the Sanskrit Śyāma (श्याम, meaning "dark" or "brown"). The names Shan and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word, and Śyâma is possibly not its origin but a learned and artificial distortion.[20]