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Lao people
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Lao people
The Lao people are a Tai ethnic group native to Southeast Asia, primarily inhabiting Laos and northeastern Thailand. They speak the Lao language, part of the Kra–Dai language family, and are the dominant ethnic group in Laos. Significant Lao communities also reside in Thailand’s Isan region, where they form a regional majority, as well as in smaller numbers in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
Culturally and linguistically, the Lao share close ties with other Tai peoples, particularly the Thai. The Isan people of Thailand, for instance, are ethnically Lao but nationally Thai. Theravada Buddhism is central to Lao identity, shaping cultural practices and social norms, though animist traditions persist, especially in rural communities. This syncretism reflects a blend of indigenous beliefs and Buddhist influences.
Historically, the terms "Lao" and "Laotian" were used ambiguously in Western contexts. Before Laos gained independence from France in 1953, both terms often referred broadly to all inhabitants of the region. Post-independence, "Lao" typically denotes the ethnic group, while "Laotian" refers to any citizen of Laos, regardless of ethnicity. However, inconsistent usage persists internationally, with some sources conflating the terms. The Lao people trace their historical roots to the Lan Xang Kingdom (14th–18th century), a major Southeast Asian power that solidified their cultural and political identity.
The etymology of the term "Lao" remains uncertain, although it is potentially connected to ethnic groups identified as the "Ai Lao" (Lao: ອ້າຍລາວ, Thai: อ้ายลาว, Chinese: 哀牢; pinyin: Āiláo, Vietnamese: Ai Lao) mentioned in Han dynasty historical records residing in what is now Yunnan Province. Tribes descended from the Ai Lao included the Tai tribes that migrated to Southeast Asia.
According to the French linguist Michel Ferlus (2009), the ethnonym and autonym of the Lao people (ລາວ); nationality of the inhabitants of Laos is formed by the monosyllabization of the Austroasiatic etymon for 'human being' *k.raw. The peoples named Lao (lǎo 獠), supposed to be the ancestors of the Lao and some other Tai-Kadai populations, settled in the upper Tonkin and in parts of Yúnnán and Guìzhōu during the reign of the Táng:
lǎo 獠 < MC lawX < OC *C-rawʔ [C.rawˀ]
This reconstruction of the pronunciation for the phonogram 獠 confirms that 'Lao' originates in the etymon *k.raːw.
The English word Laotian, used interchangeably with Lao in most contexts, comes from French laotien/laotienne. The dominant ethnicity of Northeastern Thailand who descend from the Lao are differentiated from the Lao of Laos and by the Thais by the term Isan people or Thai Isan (Lao: ໄທ ອີສານ, Isan: ไทยอีสาน, Thai pronunciation: [iː sǎ:n]), a Sanskrit-derived term meaning northeast, but 'Lao' is still used.
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Lao people
The Lao people are a Tai ethnic group native to Southeast Asia, primarily inhabiting Laos and northeastern Thailand. They speak the Lao language, part of the Kra–Dai language family, and are the dominant ethnic group in Laos. Significant Lao communities also reside in Thailand’s Isan region, where they form a regional majority, as well as in smaller numbers in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
Culturally and linguistically, the Lao share close ties with other Tai peoples, particularly the Thai. The Isan people of Thailand, for instance, are ethnically Lao but nationally Thai. Theravada Buddhism is central to Lao identity, shaping cultural practices and social norms, though animist traditions persist, especially in rural communities. This syncretism reflects a blend of indigenous beliefs and Buddhist influences.
Historically, the terms "Lao" and "Laotian" were used ambiguously in Western contexts. Before Laos gained independence from France in 1953, both terms often referred broadly to all inhabitants of the region. Post-independence, "Lao" typically denotes the ethnic group, while "Laotian" refers to any citizen of Laos, regardless of ethnicity. However, inconsistent usage persists internationally, with some sources conflating the terms. The Lao people trace their historical roots to the Lan Xang Kingdom (14th–18th century), a major Southeast Asian power that solidified their cultural and political identity.
The etymology of the term "Lao" remains uncertain, although it is potentially connected to ethnic groups identified as the "Ai Lao" (Lao: ອ້າຍລາວ, Thai: อ้ายลาว, Chinese: 哀牢; pinyin: Āiláo, Vietnamese: Ai Lao) mentioned in Han dynasty historical records residing in what is now Yunnan Province. Tribes descended from the Ai Lao included the Tai tribes that migrated to Southeast Asia.
According to the French linguist Michel Ferlus (2009), the ethnonym and autonym of the Lao people (ລາວ); nationality of the inhabitants of Laos is formed by the monosyllabization of the Austroasiatic etymon for 'human being' *k.raw. The peoples named Lao (lǎo 獠), supposed to be the ancestors of the Lao and some other Tai-Kadai populations, settled in the upper Tonkin and in parts of Yúnnán and Guìzhōu during the reign of the Táng:
lǎo 獠 < MC lawX < OC *C-rawʔ [C.rawˀ]
This reconstruction of the pronunciation for the phonogram 獠 confirms that 'Lao' originates in the etymon *k.raːw.
The English word Laotian, used interchangeably with Lao in most contexts, comes from French laotien/laotienne. The dominant ethnicity of Northeastern Thailand who descend from the Lao are differentiated from the Lao of Laos and by the Thais by the term Isan people or Thai Isan (Lao: ໄທ ອີສານ, Isan: ไทยอีสาน, Thai pronunciation: [iː sǎ:n]), a Sanskrit-derived term meaning northeast, but 'Lao' is still used.
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