I say Myanmar, you say Burma

[Baker, John]

        Why should our name for a foreign country be determined by that
(non-English-speaking) country?  We don't say Espana, or Deutschland, or
Nippon.  What's different about Burma/Myanmar?


John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of Joel S. Berson
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 11:38 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: I say Myanmar, you say Burma

At 5/6/2008 10:49 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>Personally, I say "Mallomar," but perhaps that's just me.
>
>   Because the current government of, er, that place is a military
> junta that seized power unlawfully, the U.S. State Department does not

> recognize either it or the designation "Myanmar."  In U.S.
> official circles the nation has always been "Burma."

How many military juntas that seized power unlawfully has the U.S.
State Department quickly recognized (when they were on "our"
side)?  After 40 years, I think it's time for the U.S. government to use
Myanmar.

Joel

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