You say Myanmar, I say...
I've been thinking about saying something about the pronunciation of Burma/Myanmar, since the name has been mentioned in several media reports following Cyclone Nargis. Maybe I should just point.
According to Wikipedia, in Burmese the country's name is
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8mBIBOP3FxIcAW7Z1NabroxZGwnts3aUQEqpWy0ABN4Bu1Euozd5cEURjA-zSl6MfOQjwo-dbf-Lr5JaVWwCVo4lX8AjMYx_f1vLWUiD-8RTizXSa7RWYeY17YnT-M7FJ8MU3zA/s320/mjema.png)
Phonetician John Wells discussed the British and American pronunciations, and their relationship to Burmese politics, back on 11 October 2007.
In Burmese, this name Myanmar is essentially just a variant of the name Burma. It is transliterated as Myan-ma or Mran-ma, and in the local language pronounced something like [ma(n) ma], as against [ba ma] for the traditional name.
Language Log has an updated discussion today, which quotes a BBC News Magazine piece from last fall.
Bottom line: The government seems to prefer the spelling <Myanmar>, while the opposition prefers <Burma>, but in terms of pronunciation, neither word has an American R sound. It is [mjən ma] or [bə ma], not [mi æn mar] or [bɝ mə].
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