Myanmar 的词源

这是缅甸的一个旧称，也是当地人对这个国家的称呼。1989年，缅甸的军政府正式选择了这个名称。改变名称的理由包括摆脱殖民遗留问题，或是淡化与缅族主要民族的联系。

It should be pointed out that this renaming has virtually no impact on Burmese citizens speaking in Burmese, who continue to refer to both Myanma as well as Bama (this not unlike formal reference in the English language to 'The Netherlands' while informally using 'Holland'). [Gustaaf Houtman, "Mental Culture in Burmese Crisis Politics," 1999]

值得指出的是，这个改名对讲缅语的缅甸公民几乎没有影响，他们仍然同时称呼 Myanma 和 Bama（这有点像英语中正式称呼“荷兰”，而非正式场合使用“荷兰”）。[Gustaaf Houtman, "Mental Culture in Burmese Crisis Politics," 1999]