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There’s been a flurry of intense media attention towards the country dubbed the “crossroad of Asia’s great civilizations”. The attention is deserving.
But what’s with the name swapping? One minute Prezzie Bush is calling it Myanmar and the next it’s Burma. He isn’t exactly the most eloquent of speakers, but others have followed suit. What gives?
If you’re like me, I have a hard time focusing on the issue at hand when I’m confused over something as simple as the name of a nation. In this case it isn’t even a matter of pronunciation like with Iraq (eye-rack or ee-rock?). Instead, we’re dealing with two completely different names altogether.
What I’ve discovered is that both of the names are correct.
The natives use either Myanmar or Burma to identify their country, but the name Burma was assigned to the country as an English word during the British colonization at the turn of the 20th century. Myanmar is the native word for the country in the language of Burmese.
It’s comparable to how the Germans call their country Deutschland but Americans say Germany. Now it seems familiar, eh?
The most interesting thing, though, is that this wave of “Myanmar calling” is actually linked with U.N. sanctions. Because the country is currently being run by a military junta, the U.N. must recognize what the de facto government calls itself. Thus, Myanmar.
Glad I’ve cleared that up with myself. Now onto more important issues….
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