Asian American Resources
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Common Practices Brunei
Cambodia
Indonesia
Laos
Malaysia
Myanmar/Burma
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Vietnam
Common practices, customs and traditions:
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Martial arts, such as Muay Thai and Pencak Silat is popular in some of the countries in this region.
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Puppetry is a traditional art form in Southeast Asia, and countries like Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam each have distinctive puppetry traditions, while waving is prominent in Laos.
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Traditional dance forms, such as Khmer classical dance, Thai classical dance, Balinese dance, and Filipino folk dances, are also widely performed and shared.
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Lunar New Year, Sinulog, and Nyepi are just some of the major festivals celebrated in countries throughout Southeast Asia.
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The region is renowned worldwide for its culinary diversity and flavors. Thailand is famous for its spicy and aromatic dishes like Tom Yum soup and Pad Thai. Vietnamese cuisine offers fresh and flavorful dishes like Pho and Banh Mi. Malaysian and Indonesian cuisine features a blend of Malay, Chinese, and Indian influences.
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Respect for elders and hierarchical relationships are important values.
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Brunei:
Official Title: Negara Brunei Darussalam (State of Brunei – Abode of Peace)
Official Language(s): Malay
Regional and Indigenous Languages:Belait, Bisaya, Dusun, Kedayan, Murut, Tutong
Foreign Languages Spoken: Arabic, Chinese (Hokkien, Hakka, Mandarin and Cantonese), English, American Sign Language
Religions and Belief Systems: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam
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Cambodia:
Official Title: The Kingdon of Cambodia
Official Language(s): Khmer
Regional and Indigenous Languages: Cham, Chong, Jarai, Kuy, Tumpoon
Foreign Languages Spoken: Chinese (Hokkien, Hakka, Mandarin, and Cantonese), English, French, Lao, Thai
Religions and Belief Systems: Animism, Atheism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam
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Indonesia:
Official Title: The Republic of Indonesia
Official Language(s): Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
Regional and Indigenous Languages: There are 300+ Languages spoken in the country. Such as Acehnese, Balinese, Banjarese, Betawi, Buginese, Javanese, Madurese, Minangkabau, Palembang, Sasak, Sundanese, etc
Regional and Indigenous Languages: Arabic, English, Chinese (Hokkien, Hakka, Mandarin and Cantonese), Dutch, Deutsch (German), Hindi, Portuguese, Tamil
Religions and Belief Systems: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism
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Laos:
Official Title: Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Official Language(s): Loa (also known as Isan in Thailand)
Regional and Indigenous Languages: Khmu, Hmong, Kniang dialect, Puoc dialect, O’du dialect
Foreign Languages Spoken: Chinese (Cantonese, Khmer, Mandarin), Teochew, English, French, Thai, Vietnames
Religions and Belief Systems: Christianity, Hinduism, Theravada Buddhism, Tai Folk Religion
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Malaysia:
Official Title: Malaysia (previously known as “The Federation of Malaya” from 1957 – 1963)
Official Language(s): Malay (Bahasa Malaysia)
Regional and Indigenous Languages: There are over 122 languages spoken in Malaysia. Common languages are Chinese (Hokkien, Hakka, Mandarin, and Cantonese), Arabic, Bengali, Gujarati, Iban, Isan, Karen, Kurdish, Kazadandusuns, Malayalam, Persian, Punjabi, Telugu, Thai, Tamil, Malaysian Sign Language, etc
Foreign Languages Spoken: English (popular second language), Filipino, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese
Religions and Belief Systems: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Secular, Sikhism
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Myanmar/Burma:
Official Title: The Republic of the Union of Myanmar (since 1989, formerly known as Burma)
Official Language(s): Burmese
Regional and Indigenous Languages: Arakanese, Bengali, Chin, Jingpho, Karen, Karenni, Kokang, Mon, Nepali, Rakhine, Shan, Burmese Sign Language
Foreign Languages Spoken: Chinese (Mandarin), English
Religions and Belief Systems: Buddhism, Burmese Folk Religion, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam
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Philippines:
Official Title: The Republic of the Philippines
Official Language(s): Filipino (Standardized Tagalog), English, Filipino Sign Language
Regional and Indigenous Languages: There are approximately 195 languages spoken in the Philippines, common languages are Aklanon, Arabic, Central Bikol, Cebuano, Chavacano, Chinese (Hokkien), Hiligaynon, Ibanag, Ilocano, Ivatan, Kapampangan, Kinaray-a, Maguindanao, Malay, Maranao, Pangasinan, Sambal, Spanish, Surigaonon, Tagalog, Tausūg, Waray, Yakan
Foreign Languages Spoken: Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin), Japanese, Korean
Religions and Belief Systems: Christianity, Islam
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Singapore:
Official Title: The Republic of Singapore
Official Language(s): Singaporean Mandarin, English, Malay, Tamil
Regional and Indigenous Languages: Chinese (Hokkien, Hakka, Hainanese, Teochew, Cantonese), Indonesian and Javanese, Japanese, Korean, Malayalam, Portuguese, Punjabi, Telugu
Foreign Languages Spoken: Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Dutch, Farsi, Filipino, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Spanish, Russian, Thai, Vietnamese, Yiddish
Religions and Belief Systems: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Secular, Taoism
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Thailand:
Official Title: The Kingdom of Thailand (since 1939, formerly known as Siam)
Official Language(s): Central Thai (Siamese)
Regional and Indigenous Languages: There are approximately 75 languages spoken in Thailand. Common languages are Chinese (Hokkien, Hakka, Hainanese, Teochew), Isan, Karen, Khmer, Lanna dialect, Tai Dam dialect, Pak Thai dialect, Khamti dialect, Ahom dialect, Thai Sign Language
Foreign Languages Spoken: Arabic, Burmese, Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Malay, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Tamil, Vietnamese
Religions and Belief Systems: Buddhism, Christianity, Hindi, Islam, Sikhism
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Timor-Leste:
Official Title:Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
Official Language(s): Portuguese, Tetun
Regional and Indigenous Languages: Bekais, Bunak, Galoli, Habun, Idalaka, Kawaimina, Kemak, Lovaia, Makalero, Makasae, Malay, Mambai, Tokodede, Wetarese, Tetum Sign Language, Indonesian Sign Language
Foreign Languages Spoken: English, Indonesian
Religions and Belief Systems: Christianity, Islam
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Vietnam:
Official Title: The Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Official Language(s): Vietnamese
Regional and Indigenous Languages:Cham, Chinese, Khmer, Hmong, Mường, Nùng
Written Language: Chữ Nôm
Foreign Languages Spoken: Czech, English, French, German, Polish, Russian
Religions and Belief Systems: Buddhism, Hoahaoism Buddhism, Christianity, Cao Dai, Folk Religion, Taoism
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