Saek (Sek; Thai: ภาษาแสก) is a Tai language spoken in at least ten villages in Khammouane Province, Laos, and at least four villages in Nakhon Phanom Province in northeastern Thailand, just across the Mekong River. It is spoken by the Saek people.

The Saek tones are:

Saek tonal splits are as follows (See Proto-Tai language#Tones for clarification.).

Saek is spoken in the following locations (Hudak & Gedney 2010:251-252).

Two Saek villages are "Ban Asamat" and "Ban Phai Lom," located just off the main river road a few kilometers north of Nakhon Phanom city. Another is Ban Ba Wa Saek, located further upriver, but inland a few kilometers. However, except for the older generation, the Saek language is all but disappearing as there is a strong tendency for younger generations to use the local trade language Lao/Isan, and/or the official Central Thai language as they are assimilated into mainstream Thai society.

William Gedney lists the following Saek villages in Nakhon Phanom Province, Thailand.

According to Gedney, abandoned Saek villages in Thailand include:

The Saek (Thai: แสก) or Tai Saek are an ethnic group of Laos and Thailand. The Saek are a part of the larger Tai ethnicity.

The center of the Saek population is the Mekong River in central Laos. A smaller Saek community makes its home in the Isan region of northeast Thailand, near the border with Laos.

The language of the Saek people is also called Saek, and it is part of the northern Tai branch of the Tai–Kadai language family. Many Saek have also adopted the Lao language.

Most Saek cultural practices were either absorbed from the surrounding Lao and Thai cultures, or were practices common to the greater Tai ethnicity. However, the Saek are known for their round dances.

Most of the Saek in Laos adhere to their traditional beliefs, which include ancestor worship, with a small number adhering to Theravada Buddhism. Offerings are often made to spirits to prevent illness. Spirits often represent the forces of nature, and each Saek village typically has a guardian spirit.

Ros Sereysothea (Khmer: រស់ សេរីសុទ្ធា) (1948 – 1977 ) was a famous singer during the final years of Cambodia's Sangkum Reastr Niyum and the Khmer Republic. She sang from a variety of genres but romantic ballads emerged as her most popular works. Despite a rather short career she is credited with producing hundreds of songs and even starring in a few movies. Details of her life are relatively scarce and her fate during Democratic Kampuchea remains a mystery.

Ros Sothea was born in 1948 to Ros Sabun and Nath Samean in Battambang Province. Growing up relatively poor, Ros Sothea was the second youngest of five children and displayed vocal talent as a toddler. She grew up listening to early Cambodian singers such as Mao Sareth and Chunn Malai which doubtlessly had a profound influence.

Sothea's talent would remain relatively hidden until friends persuaded her to join a regional singing contest in 1963. After winning the contest she gained the attention and praise of the province and was invited to join Lomhea Yothea (a musical troupe) which regularly performed at Stung Khiev Restaurant in Battambang. It is believed that Im Song Seurm, a singer from the National Radio heard of Sothea's talents and invited her to the capital, Phnom Penh in 1967.

The Thai people, or formerly Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Tai–Kadai family of languages, and the majority of Thai are followers of Theravada Buddhism. The term Thai people may also refer to the population of Thailand in general, and not only to ethnic Thais. Today, "Thai people" usually includes Central and Southern Thai (Siamese proper), Northern Thai (Lanna) and Isan people (strictly speaking Western Lao).^{[citation needed]}

There have been many theories proposing the origin of the Tai people, especially the association of the Tai people with the Kingdom of Nanzhao that has been proved to be invalid. Linguistic studies suggested that the origin of the Tai people lies around the Chinese Province of Guangxi, where the Zhuang people are still a majority. The ancient Tai people should be the part of Chinese Nanyue or "southern barbarians". The Qin dynasty founded Guangdong in 241 BC, initiating the successive waves of Chinese migrations from the north for hundred years to come.

Du Xian (杜暹) (died 740), formally Marquess Zhenxiao of Wei County (魏縣貞孝侯), was an official and general of the Chinese dynasty, serving as chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong.

It is not known when Du Xian was born. His family was from Pu Prefecture (濮州, roughly modern Heze, Shandong) and claimed its ancestry from the Qin Dynasty general Du He (杜赫), and traced itself to a line of officials during Northern Wei, Northern Qi, Sui Dynasty, and Tang Dynasty. It was said that the clan's members were on such good terms that it did not divide for five generations down to Du Xian. Both Du Xian's grandfather Du Yikuan (杜義寬) and father Du Chengzhi (杜承志) were low level officials.