Pheng Xat Lao

"Pheng Xat Lao" (Lao: ເພງຊາດລາວ; lit. English: Hymn of the Lao People) is the national anthem of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Dr. Thongdy Sounthonevichit composed the music and wrote the lyrics in 1941. This was adopted as the national anthem of the Kingdom of Laos in 1945. The original lyrics were revised after the Pathet Lao won the Laotian Civil War and the Lao People's Democratic Republic was established in 1975, with the new lyrics written by Sisana Sisane.

Official lyrics

History

In 1893, Laos became a protectorate of France within its colonial empire. The French claimed their takeover was intended to protect Laos from its hostile neighbours like Siam, which was forced to cede Laos to the colonial power. Consequently, nationalistic sentiment did not develop as quickly as it did in Vietnam. However, the outbreak of the Second World War saw the fall of France to Nazi Germany. The new right-wing government in Siam saw this as an opportunity to reconquer Laos. To counteract this, the French actively promoted nationalism among the Lao people.

Lao people

The Lao (Lao: ລາວ, Thai or Isan: ลาว, IPA: láːw) are an ethnic group native to Laos and northeastern Thailand (where they are known as Isan), they belong to the family of Tai peoples.

Names

The etymology of the word Lao is uncertain, although it may be related to tribes known as the Ai Lao (Lao: ອ້າຽລາວ, Isan: อ้ายลาว, Chinese: 哀牢; pinyin: Āiláo, Vietnamese: ai lao) who appear in Han Dynasty records in China and Vietnam as a people of what is now Yunnan Province. Tribes descended from the Ai Lao included the Tai tribes that migrated to Southeast Asia.

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.

Subdivisions of the Lao people

National anthem

A national anthem (also state anthem, national hymn, national song etc.) is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. The majority of national anthems are either marches or hymns in style. The countries of Latin America tend towards more operatic pieces, while a handful of countries use a simple fanfare.

Languages

Although national anthems are usually in the most common language of the country, whether de facto' or official, there are notable exceptions-

States with more than one national language may offer several versions of their anthem: for instance, Switzerland's anthem has different lyrics for each of the country's four official languages (French, German, Italian and Romansh). Canada's national anthem has different lyrics in each of the country's official languages (English and French), and on some occasions is sung with a mixture of stanzas taken from its French and English versions. The Irish national anthem was written in English; an Irish translation, although never formally adopted, is now almost always sung.

Laos

Coordinates: 18°N 105°E / 18°N 105°E / 18; 105

Laos ((ⁱ/ˈlaʊs/, /ˈlɑː.ɒs/, /ˈlɑː.oʊs/, or /ˈleɪ.ɒs/)Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, pronounced [sǎːtʰáːlanalat pásáːtʰipátàj pásáːsón láːw] Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR) (French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Myanmar (Burma) and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west. Since 1975, it has been ruled by a Marxist and communist government. Its population was estimated to be around 6.8 million in July 2014.

Laos traces its history to the kingdom of Lan Xang, which existed from the 14th to the 18th century when it split into three kingdoms. In 1893, it became a French protectorate, with the three kingdoms—Luang Phrabang, Vientiane and Champasak — uniting to form what is now known as Laos. It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation, but returned to French rule until it was granted autonomy in 1949. Laos became independent in 1953, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong. Shortly after independence, a long civil war ended the monarchy, when the Communist Pathet Lao movement came to power in 1975.

People's Republic

"People's Republic" is a title used by certain republican states. Initially associated with populism (people's movements: Völkisch movement, Narodnik, others), it eventually became associated with countries adhering to communism, after the creation of the Soviet Union, such as China. However, the term is not unique to communist states. Many countries adopted the title given its rather generic nature, like Bangladesh, which was founded as a liberal parliamentary republic after a popular war of independence.

Marxist–Leninist People's Republics

The motivation for using this term lies in the claim that Marxist–Leninists govern in accordance with the interests of the vast majority of the people, and, as such, a Marxist–Leninist republic is a people's republic. Many of these countries also called themselves socialist states in their constitutions; Albania, for instance, used both terms, "socialist" and "people's", in its official name from 1976 to 1991. In the West, countries governed by Marxist–Leninists are referred to as "Communist states", though they never actually used this name for themselves and used the term countries of people's democracy. In the 1990s, many of the self-styled "People's Republics" of Eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria) and Mongolia dropped the term and became known simply as "Republics" as they adopted liberal democratic systems of government — the term "People's Republic" being associated with the former Communist regimes.