How to Pronounce Pol Pot

Meaning and Context

Pol Pot, born Saloth Sâr in 1925, was the revolutionary leader of the Khmer Rouge who seized control of Cambodia in 1975, establishing the brutal regime known as Democratic Kampuchea. As the architect of the Cambodian genocide, his radical vision for an agrarian, classless society led to the immediate evacuation of cities, the abolition of money and religion, and the systematic execution of perceived enemies. The ensuing period, infamously known as the Killing Fields, resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1.7 to 2 million people from 1975 to 1979 due to mass starvation, forced labor, torture, and purges. His regime's extreme interpretation of Marxist-Leninist and Maoist ideology, coupled with its virulent nationalism and isolationism, created one of the darkest chapters in 20th-century history and Southeast Asian history. Pol Pot's rule was ultimately ended by the Vietnamese invasion in 1979, though he remained a figurehead for the Khmer Rouge insurgency until his death in 1998, leaving a legacy inextricably linked to crimes against humanity and the complex geopolitics of the Cold War and Vietnam War era.

Common Mistakes and Alternative Spellings

The name "Pol Pot" is an anglicized version of the Khmer name ប៉ុល ពត. Common misspellings and variations arise from phonetic interpretations and typographical errors. Frequent misspellings include "Pol Pot" (incorrectly capitalizing the 't'), "Polpot" (as a single word), and "Pol Pot" (with a space error). Some may erroneously spell it as "Paul Pot" due to the similar sound of the first name. In historical documents, one might also encounter the French colonial-era romanization "Pŏl Pŏt." It is crucial to distinguish his revolutionary nom de guerre from his birth name, Saloth Sâr (sometimes spelled Saloth Sar without the circumflex). When searching or writing, using the correct spacing and capitalization ("Pol Pot") yields the most accurate historical and academic results.

Example Sentences

Historians agree that Pol Pot's radical policies aimed to create a "Year Zero" society, utterly dismantling Cambodia's existing social structures.

The atrocities committed under Pol Pot's leadership are meticulously documented at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of his crimes, Pol Pot was never tried in an international court, dying under house arrest in 1998.

Scholars of communist revolutions often contrast Pol Pot's extreme agrarian socialism with the models implemented in the Soviet Union or China.

The term "Khmer Rouge," the communist party led by Pol Pot, has become synonymous with autogenocide in the modern political lexicon.

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