Myanmar's name

[keith101]

Burma was renamed Myanmar in1989 (27 years ago ) so why do people insist on calling it by its old outdated name , is it just that they are to old to change with the times or not willing to let go of the British colonial name they gave the country . Calling Thailand Siam is pretty much along the same lines and i wish people would just call the countries by the names they now have and live in the now and not the past .

[PoorSucker]

Many political and ethnic opposition groups and countries continue to use "Burma" because they do not recognize the legitimacy of the military governments authority to rename the country.

[KhunBENQ]

The British gave it a name?

First of all it's just the name of the majority people (the "bamar") speaking the Burmese language.

About 75%.

Will you spread this rant to the Thai people?

Have you ever heard a Thai saying Myanmar?

For them it is still พม่า (pá-mâa).

Even "official" sources like the WiKi still call it like this.

Hundreds of years of hostile neighborhood with "pa-ma" were not wiped by a military juntas decision to rename the country,

The military dictators decision to rename Siam to Thailand was successful though

[dddave]

"The military dictators decision to rename Siam to Thailand was successful though"

Twice, actually. Siam changed to Thailand in 1939 after the king was deposed and a republic declared in 1932, then changed back to Siam during WW2 to help stimulate nationalism then back to Thailand in 1946 or 47...hard to find the definitive date.

[bermondburi]

Always be Burma for me. Remember travelling through there about 15 years ago in the days of the F.E.C.s on arrival.

One time in conversation with some guys I called it Myanmar, thinking this was the thing to do. They all chastised me for doing so, mentioning that this name came from the junta they despised.

Drunken nights wandering as a young man in Rangoon. Happy days indeed.

[daveAustin]

It will always be Burma to me. I am not old and am not mist-eyed about its colonial past. Look at why it was changed and why the daft new capital was put where it was and, most importantly, what the people want it known as. Would you be happy if the military of your country took control and started calling it Shytland? Anyway, why the big deal? Do you have lots of time on your hands or summat?

[Aussie69]

"The military dictators decision to rename Siam to Thailand was successful though"

Twice, actually. Siam changed to Thailand in 1939 after the king was deposed and a republic declared in 1932, then changed back to Siam during WW2 to help stimulate nationalism then back to Thailand in 1946 or 47...hard to find the definitive date.

I did not know about the temporary WW2 switch back to Siam

[Tomtomtom69]

I travel to Myanmar regularly, and this is generally the name I use when describing the country, both within and outside of Myanmar.

The vast majority of locals inside the country will now refer to their country as Myanmar. While some old timers might still use Burma, nobody these days will insist on the old usage because they "loathe" the government. The current government is different from the old one, and yet they have no intention of reverting to the old name, even if Aung San Suu Kyi herself often still uses it especially when in the presence of foreigners. In the same way that the current government, while recognizing some of the damage done by decades of poor decisions made by the junta in power for 49 years is unlikely to change driving back to the left hand side of the road even if it were preferable.

Most of my Burmese colleagues and acquaintances have no problem with the word "Burma" and some of them will occasionally use it themselves and this sometimes includes interchangeably using old British colonial names for places such as Maymyo (in place of Pyin Oo Lwin) and Moulmein (for Mawlamyine or Mawlamyaing) even when speaking in their local tongue.

Conversely, I have noticed some of my colleagues insisting I refer to the language as "Myanma" but this sort of usage will be unfamiliar to most. I refer to the people and language as "Burmese" and the country as "Myanmar". "Myanmarese" or "Myanma" is a bit strange and inaccurate, as the national language is actually Burmese or "Bamar". "Myanmar" therefore can only refer to the country (and maybe it's citizens if you want) but never the language.

In my opinion, most foreigners who know little to nothing about the country and have never been there will refer to the country as Burma, while people who travel there regularly such as myself will know it as Myanmar.

This may (or may not) explain things:

[Tomtomtom69]

The British gave it a name?

First of all it's just the name of the majority people (the "bamar") speaking the Burmese language.

About 75%.

Will you spread this rant to the Thai people?

Have you ever heard a Thai saying Myanmar?

For them it is still พม่า (pá-mâa).

Even "official" sources like the WiKi still call it like this.

Hundreds of years of hostile neighborhood with "pa-ma" were not wiped by a military juntas decision to rename the country,

The military dictators decision to rename Siam to Thailand was successful though

The usage of the term "Myanmar" in Thai or เมียนมาร์ (mian ma) is restricted to formal situations such as in news broadcasts, where it's use is becoming increasingly common. You are right that ordinary Thais will never use it in spoken form.

Although I prefer using the term "Myanmar" in English, I am loathe to the idea of using "Myanmar" when speaking Thai. The reason for this is to me it sounds a bit pretensious; as if the Thai media prefer to use an English term to show how "cool" and "international" they are rather than a perfectly good Thai approximation of a Burmese word (พม่า which comes from Ba-mar). In the same way for me a u-turn in Thai is กลับรถ (glab rot) and not "U-turn" and an airport is สนามบิน not "airport or "ae-poht". In other words, I'd rather speak each language properly - English should be spoken as intended, Thai as well. Not something in between.

WiKi is not a reliable source of information on Myanmar. Much of it is outdated or at the very least inaccurate. If you want to learn more about the country especially travels in Myanmar, try Lonely Planet, southernmyanmar.com, go-Myanmar.com. For news, business and general updates, try one of the Burmese online newspapers such as MMtimes.com, Irrawaddy.com or Mizzima.com.

[phuketrichard]

Aung San stated this year she doesn't care which name people use.

Myanmar people are and will always be to me and most I think, Burmese

[bermondburi]

I travel to Myanmar regularly, and this is generally the name I use when describing the country, both within and outside of Myanmar.

The vast majority of locals inside the country will now refer to their country as Myanmar. While some old timers might still use Burma, nobody these days will insist on the old usage because they "loathe" the government. The current government is different from the old one, and yet they have no intention of reverting to the old name, even if Aung San Suu Kyi herself often still uses it especially when in the presence of foreigners. In the same way that the current government, while recognizing some of the damage done by decades of poor decisions made by the junta in power for 49 years is unlikely to change driving back to the left hand side of the road even if it were preferable.

Most of my Burmese colleagues and acquaintances have no problem with the word "Burma" and some of them will occasionally use it themselves and this sometimes includes interchangeably using old British colonial names for places such as Maymyo (in place of Pyin Oo Lwin) and Moulmein (for Mawlamyine or Mawlamyaing) even when speaking in their local tongue.

Conversely, I have noticed some of my colleagues insisting I refer to the language as "Myanma" but this sort of usage will be unfamiliar to most. I refer to the people and language as "Burmese" and the country as "Myanmar". "Myanmarese" or "Myanma" is a bit strange and inaccurate, as the national language is actually Burmese or "Bamar". "Myanmar" therefore can only refer to the country (and maybe it's citizens if you want) but never the language.

In my opinion, most foreigners who know little to nothing about the country and have never been there will refer to the country as Burma, while people who travel there regularly such as myself will know it as Myanmar.

This may (or may not) explain things:

You've obviously given this matter a lot of thought....

[Ireland32]

Burma was renamed Myanmar in1989 (27 years ago ) so why do people insist on calling it by its old outdated name , is it just that they are to old to change with the times or not willing to let go of the British colonial name they gave the country . Calling Thailand Siam is pretty much along the same lines and i wish people would just call the countries by the names they now have and live in the now and not the past .

Even Indians still call Bombay not Mumbai

[gusincebu]

And tea still comes from Ceylon ...

Sent from my ASUS_T00J using Tapatalk

[taiwanatoa]

Why do people insist on calling it by its real name?  

Incredibly stupid question.  Because  it IS Burma!

And Bombay  is Bombay  and  Calcutta is Calcutta. 

 

Also  Thailand is a bullshit name for Sayam.

[siam2007]

11 hours ago, taiwanatoa said:

Why do people insist on calling it by its real name?  

Incredibly stupid question.  Because  it IS Burma!

And Bombay  is Bombay  and  Calcutta is Calcutta. 

 

Also  Thailand is a bullshit name for Sayam.

 

Burma is simply the English version of what was always Myanmar, and it is okay to use both names, as even Suu Kyi says.

Same as virtually nobody except their own citizens would call a certain European country "SUOMI", it is known worldwide only as ____________ (solve the riddle, I am sure most people need to google for that to find out)

[simon43]

I've been living/working in the country since 2012.  I have never heard any local people call it 'Burma' - they all call it 'Myanmar' (that includes ethnic groups, such as Chin, Shan etc).

 

On a related point, I have only heard locals refer to the main language as 'Myanmar' or 'Myanmar-sa', never ever 'Burmese'

 

YMMV

 

I don't refer to the country as 'Burma' and I don't refer to the language as 'Burmese'  (when in Rome etc etc)