Phonsawan Souphanousinphone

Phonsawan^{[citation needed]} Souphanousinphone (Lao: ໂພນສະຫວັນ ສຸພານຸສິນພອນ) is the delinquent nephew of Kahn and Minh, the cousin of Connie and Tid Pao, the grandson of Laoma, and his father is Kahn's brother. He appears only once in the Season 11 episode "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow".

Appearance[]

Phonsawan appears to be a young man, dressed in a day-glo jump suit/track suit with highlighted red hair and hair slicked back. He wears very dark glasses and drives a tricked-out sports car with underbody lights, that Kahn refers to as a "hot rod." He primarily only speaks in Lao and has a limited English-speaking ability.

History[]

Season 11[]

When Kahn drives past Hank, Dale, and Boomhauer drinking beer in the Alley, he informs them that his delinquent nephew is coming to town and requests that they do not buy him beer, since he will ask, and he likes to party.

Around 8:48pm, Phonsawan arrives to Rainey Street in front of Dale's house driving a highly modified vehicle, which appears to be a Toyota Supra.

The combination of Dale's belief that aliens will arrive on the vernal equinox, Phonsawan's futuristic vehicle, only speaking Lao, and his mispronunciation of "Arlen" almost sounding like the word "Alien", leads Dale to believe that Phonsawan is in fact an alien. Dale also believes Phonsawan is a time traveler, after mistaking the vehicle's 24-hour clock (or military time) of 20:48 to be a target year. Dale, after going unconscious from hitting his head, finds himself in the middle of a desert at a location that Phonsawan dumped him.

The next day Kahn, with Minh present, informs Hank and Peggy that his 17-year-old nephew is missing and that if they see him in a tricked-out hot rod to call the police.

Phonsawan eventually comes across Bill after inviting him to a party, they head to the Get In Get Out Mini Mart where he buys Alamo Beer and a variety of items, and subsequently runs to his car with the items, leaving Bill to pay for everything. Phonsawan stiffs Bill with a $93.39 bill for the purchase of at least one canned drink, two 24-packs of Alamo Beer, three bags of beef jerky, and four bags of potato chips.

Trivia[]

Phonsawan's name is a reference to Phonsavan (Lao: ໂພນສະຫວັນ), the capital of Xiangkhoang Province in northeast Laos. Phonsavan is known for the nearby Plain of Jars, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site.
Phonsawan is the only other member of the Souphanusinphone's extended family we see other than Kahn's mother, Laoma, Minh's father, General Gum, and their niece and Connie's cousin, Tid Pao.
Phonsawan pronounces Arlen as "Ay-len", as "R" (Lao: ຣ) sounds in the Lao language are uncommon and pronounced as "L" (Lao: ລ). In 1975, the communist government of Laos officially dropped the "R" sound from the Lao alphabet, calling it a symbol of foreign influence. However, the use of "R" has increased due to internet access and globalization.
The Lao translation for "Am I in Arlen?" is "khoy yu aylen bo? (Lao: ຂ້ອຍ ຢູ່ ອາເລນ ບໍ?)", however, Phonsawan says "khoy yu nai aylen, maen bo?" (Lao: ຂ້ອຍ ຢູ່ ໃນ ອາເລນ, ແມ່ນ ບໍ?), meaning "Am I inside Arlen, right?"
The Lao translation for "Does Kahn live here?" is "Kahn asai yu ni bo? (Lao: ຄານ ອາໃສ ຢູ່ ນີ້ ບໍ?)", however Phonsawan says, "Kahn yu ni, maen bo?" (Lao: ຄານ ຢູ່ ນີ້, ແມ່ນ ບໍ?), meaning, "Khan is here, right?"
The Lao translation for "So, you’ll take me to Kahn?" is "dangnan, jao cha pha koy pai ha Kahn bo? (Lao: ດັ່ງນັ້ນ, ເຈົ້າ ຈະ ພາ ຂ້ອຍ ໄປ ຫາ ຄານ ບໍ?), however Phonsawan says, "So, jao cha pha koy pai ha Kahn, maen bo?" (Lao: So, ເຈົ້າ ຈະ ພາ ຂ້ອຍ ໄປ ຫາ ຄານ, ແມ່ນ ບໍ?) meaning, "So, you will take me to Khan, right?" ("So" is not a Lao word).
The Lao translation for "Let’s go dude. We can stop and buy some beer on the way" is "pai kan ai. nailavang thang thansamad yud lae su bia (Lao: ໄປ ກັນ ອ້າຍ. ໃນລະຫວ່າງ ທາງ, ທ່ານສາມາດ ຢຸດ ແລະ ຊື້ ເບຍ)", however Phonsawan says, "pai pai how yu su bia yu nam taeng kow" (Lao: ໄປ ໄປ ເຮົາ ຢູ່ ຊື້ ເບຍ ຢູ່ ນຳ ແຕ່ງ ເຂົາ) meaning, "Go, go, we are buying beer together with him."
The Lao translation for "Buckle up" is "sai khem khad ni la phai" (Lao: ໃສ່ ເຂັມຂັດນິລະໄພ), translating to "wear seat belt", however Phonsawan speaks gibberish and then may be saying "beer".
The Lao translation of the "Teriyaki Jerky! Party!" is "teriyaki seenhang! nganliang!" (Lao: ເທຣີຢາກິ ຊີ້ນແຫ້ງ! ງານລ້ຽງ!), however, Phonsawan says, "seen ngua teriyaki! (gibberish)!" (Lao: ຊີ້ນງົວ ເທຣີຢາກິ!) translating to "beef teriyaki".
Phonsawan grabs a 24-pack of Alamo Beer and shouts "Beer!", the Lao word for beer is bia (Lao: ເບຍ).