Just a word via CIPE Development Blog
As I was reading the news pouring out of Burma this morning, a BBC article caught my eye… should we be referring to Burma or Myanmar when we speak of the loud calls for democratic reform coming out of the protests in Southeast Asia? While Myanmar is the country’s official name, says the BBC, Burma is its traditional name and that used by the democratic opposition and other states (like the United States and the UK) that do not support the incumbent military regime. While both names are accepted internationally, a speaker’s choice of Burma or Myanmar can sometimes indicate a political position.
This got me thinking. Here at CIPE, we try to be very careful with words – even seemingly small subtleties of meaning can imply hugely different things. Oversight and overlook can make for...