I say Myanmar, you say Burma

[Jonathan Lighter]

Yeah, but see, they don't usually change the name of the country when they grab power.  When the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975, Pol Pot changed the name to "Kampuchea," which is where we get "Cambodia" from in the first place. (Technically it was "Democratic Kampuchea," but with a third of the population rubbed out I think we can dispense with the "Democratic" part.)

  The State Department wouldn't say "Kampuchea" either.

  Until, IIRC, the Vietnamese invaded.  They wanted to overthrow the overthrowers. In 1980, the Vietnamese-sponsored government in Phnom Penh officially reverted to "Cambodia."

  Am not sure, but memory suggests that the U.S. didn't revert till the Vietnamese left.

  So...what was the question again?....

  Oh, yeah, Ukraine. Don't say "Kiev" any more. Say "Kyiv."  More Ukrainian.

  JL




"Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Joel S. Berson"
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

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



---------------------------------
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.  Try it now.

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org