Why did the name change and what was the controversy? The British – who colonised and ruled Myanmar for more than 100 years, from 1824 to 1948 – called it British Burma and on independence, it became the Union of Burma.īut, in 1989, the military ruling junta decided to change the official name from Burma to Myanmar, after a review of colonial-era names used for the country, cities – Rangoon became Yangon – and province titles. ![]() Those early inscriptions were essentially spelt Myanmar. It might not be obvious to the ear of an English speaker, but Burmah – as it was previously spelt – is a corruption of the pronunciation of Myanmar, and in the Burmese language there is a sharp difference between spoken and written forms. The word Burma comes from the name of the country’s largest ethnic group and has been in use for hundreds of years, with inscriptions dating back to the 1100s.
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