Burmese is the official language of Myanmar or Burma, and it is spoken by approximately 65% of the Burmese population. Although Myanmar or Burma has approximately one hundred spoken languages, most of these languages are spoken by ethnic minorities.
In Myanmar, Burmese is the primary language of instruction, while English is the secondary language that is being taught in schools. Interestingly, using minority languages in education and government is discouraged and has been not approved; but minority languages can be of course be used at home.
The Burmese language is intriguing, and sometimes foreigners, including language students may confused about the rich heritage of the Burmese language. There have been controversies about the name of the country since the 1930’s. In the Burmese language, the country Burma/Myanmar is known as either ‘’Myanma’’ or ‘’Bama’’. Military regime thinks that Myanma is more inclusive of minorities than Bama, thus, they gave the Burmese country a new name – Myanmar. However, many of the minorities who do not speak Burmese believe that the name Myanmar is actually disrespectful, so many of the Burmese today are still accustomed to the name "Burma" as the most appropriate name of the country.
Burmese may not be the hardest language in the world; however, learning how to read and write this language may involve oddities and difficulties while learning. One of the interesting facts about the Burmese language is that almost every syllable has its meaning in Myanmar language, such as the names of towns and people.
Learning Burmese needs a lot of effort; it does require a combined effort between the teacher and the learner. Burmese culture is embedded in the language itself, and should be given special attention in the process of language learning. This is to ensure that language students will understand and respect the cultural differences between languages.
The Burmese language may not be a major language and has no tremendous linguistic status in the international arena; however, learning this language is an investment, a good asset to complete anybody’s academic career.
Although the dominance of the English language is widespread all around the world, it doesn’t entirely necessary mean that the vital significance of other languages like Burmese language should be neglected.
Language learning will help students to have a future and a career not only in the translation and interpreting industry, but also it generates major benefits in the working skills of language students in any industry.
Just like any other languages, the Burmese language is important as well. Thus, it should be noted that people should not ignore the importance and value of the Burmese language in communication and to their cultural identity.
