Posts by robbo the yobbo

Myanmar to open telecoms to foreigners

Re: Burma

We are interested in what the people call it, not what is 'official' or approved by the BBC.

Re: Burma

Burma in British English; the trailing 'h' is now optional. This is the only such name that the BBC doesn't use, since it was invented by e régime of which it disapproves. Governments may invent a preferred name in English for their country, but we do not have to use it. Too much kowtowing in this respect gives us such absurdities as 'Czech Republic' and 'Belarus'; while we are not supposed to use the English names for the unhappy countries Ivory Coast, and Saint Thomas and Prince. I don't recall a democratically-elected Chines government asking us to call Peking 'Beijing'. Speakers of non-English languages are spared these indignities.

This is out of hand now: Apple attempts to trademark the LEAF

Royal Mail claims 'the colour red' as a registered trade mark!

New Zealand rated least corrupt country

'Myanmar'

is 'Burma' in English!