Burma or Myanmar


Burmese girl at Bagan market Mother and child at Bagan market

It's all in the name

The short answer is ‘either’, although there’s still much fuss over whether Myanmar or Burma is politically correct. One common myth, which it’s important to remedy, is that the Generals did not invent the name Myanmar; Burma was ‘Myanmar’ long before the British Colonials opted for ‘Burma’. Locals tend to say Myanmar. We use Burma, as it’s more familiar to the British public, but favour some local names for specific destinations, like Bagan & Yangon. In our eyes, there’s no political statement to be made - just whatever each person feels more comfortable with. Wikipedia gives more insight on the matter:

"Burma" is derived from the Burmese word "Bamar", which in turn is the colloquial form of Myanmar (or Mranma in old Burmese), both of which historically referred to the majority Burmans (or the Bamar). Depending on the register used the pronunciation would be "Bama" (pronounced [bəmà]), or "Myanmah" (pronounced [mjəmà]). The name "Burma" has been in use in English since the time of British colonial rule.

In 1989, the military government officially changed the English translations of many colonial-era names, including the name of the country to "Myanmar". This prompted one scholar to coin the term "Myanmarification" to refer to the top-down programme of political and cultural reform in the context of which the renaming was done. The renaming remains a contested issue.

While most of the name changes are closer to their actual Burmese pronunciations, many opposition groups and countries continue to oppose their use in English because they recognise neither the legitimacy of the ruling military government nor its authority to rename the country or towns in English. Various non-Burman ethnic groups choose not to recognise the name because the term Myanmar has historically been used as a label for the majority ethnic group, the Bamar, rather than for the country.