Names of Burma - Burmese Names

Burmese Names

In the Burmese language, Burma is known as either Myanma ( ) or Bama ( ). Myanma is the written, literary name of the country, while Bama is the spoken name of the country. Burmese, like Javanese and other languages of Southeast Asia, has different levels of register, with sharp differences between literary and spoken language.

The name Burma derives from the name Bama or Bamar, which is the name of the largest ethnic group in the country. As such, it is not considered inclusive, especially by some of the minority groups.

The colloquial name Bama is supposed to have originated from the name Myanma by shortening of the first syllable, from loss of nasal final "an" (/-àɴ/), reduced to non-nasal "a" (/-à/), and loss of "y" (/-j-/) glide), and then by transformation of "m" into "b". This sound change from "m" to "b" is frequent in colloquial Burmese, and occurs in many other words. Although Bama may be a later transformation of the name Myanma, both names have been in use alongside each other for centuries. King Mindon in the mid-19th century was the first to refer to himself as the king of the 'Myanma people', in an attempt to ethnicize his rule, at a time when his rule was largely confined to the Irrawaddy Valley and the Myanmar ethnic group.

The etymology of Mranma remains unclear. The "Bamas" who entered the central Irrawaddy river valley in the 9th century founded the Pagan Kingdom in 849, and called themselves Mranma. The earliest record discovered of the word was in a Mon inscription dated 1102, inside which the name was spelled Mirma. The first record of the name in a Burmese inscription is dated 1190, in which inscription the name was spelled Mranma.

Ma Thanegi records that the first use of the name 'Myanmar' for the country is to be found on a 3 foot (c. 91 cm) high stone inscription dated 597 ME (Traditional Burmese calendar) or 1235 CE. The stone is from the reign of Kya Swar, (1234-1250) son of King Htilo Minlo (Nadaung Myar), Bagan. It is written in early Burmese script. Although the middle of the front side of this stone is damaged, the first line of the better-protected reverse side clearly shows 'Myanmar Pyay' or 'Myanmar Country.' The inscription is known as the 'Yadana Kon Htan Inscription'. At present it is in Bagan recorded as stone number 43 in the Archaeological Department's collection.

Today in Burmese the name is still spelled Mranma, but over time the "r" sound disappeared in most dialects of the Burmese language and was replaced by a "y" glide, so although the name is spelled "Mranma", it is actually pronounced Myanma. In Chinese, the name appeared for the first time in 1273 and was recorded as 緬 (pronounced "Miǎn" in Mandarin). The present name in the Chinese is 緬甸 (pronounced Miǎndiàn). The Vietnamese (Miến Điện) is derived from the same term.

In the decades preceding independence, independence parties were in search of a name for the new country to be born, which would be made up not only of Burmese speaking people, but also of many minorities. In the 1920s, some favoured the name Myanma, which had been the name applied to the old Burmese kingdom destroyed by the British in the 19th century. In the 1930s, the left-wing independence parties favoured the name Bama, as they thought this name was more inclusive of minorities than Myanma.

The Burmese puppet state set up by the Japanese occupation forces during the Second World War was officially called Bama. Curiously, when the Japanese used their own syllabary, they transliterated the three consonants of the Dutch name "Birma" and ended up with the name Biruma. At the time of independence in 1948, the "Union of Burma" was the name that was chosen for the new country, being further amended as the "Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma" in 1974, following a 1962 military coup.

While both the names Bama and Myanma historically referred only to the Burmans and not other ethnic minorities, Burmese governments in the post-independence period have instituted a differentiation of meaning between Myanmar and Bamar in the official Burmese language usage. The name Myanma/Myanmar was expanded to include all citizens of the country while the name Bama/Bamar was kept to its original meaning. Both are widespread use in colloquial usage. Most still use Bamar/Myanmar interchangeably, to refer to the country, depending on the context. Ironically, because of the official renaming of the country, the dominant ethnic group is now known by its colloquial name, Bamar, rather than by its literary name, Myanmar in official Burmese usage.