My 1st Popup Burmese Language Class!
Mingalabar (Greetings in Myanmar!)
I'm now with my Burmese brother Ko Thant on a two days getaway in Saruhashi, a small village in Saitama Prefecture which is an hour away from Tokyo by train or bus.
Out of sheer curiosity, I was given a quick 30 minutes tutorial class on the Burmese language by Ko Thant this morning, and was completely blown away by the complexity of this Tibeto-Burman language. There are basically four different tones ( different from Mandarin!), 33 foundational letters/alphabets (all with varied vowels!) and a grammatical structure that is a little closer to the Japanese language. However, an interesting fact or secret that I found out was:
You can actually find out which day your Burmese friend is born in based on their name and the Burmese Alphabet chart!
And I'm going to show you how to do it below:
A general rule of thumb: People who are born on Mondays would usually have their names start from the first line of characters, Tuesday's the second line, Wednesday the sixth line (except tha), Thursday the fifth line, Friday the two alphabets bracketed in green, Saturday fourth line, and Sunday (only one alphabet choice): a.
Don't ask me the logic behind it, but I guess they happen for a good reason.
So let's start with Ko Thant. Ko Thant's actual name is Thant Zin Oo. Ko is what we used to address an older brother in Myanmar. Which day do you think he is born on?
Ta Da: Friday! (tha...)
QUIZ Time!
What about the names below:
- Arkar
- Ko Ko Oo
- Thin Mon
- Khin Htwe
- Nanda
- Yamin
Answers!
- Arkar is born on Sunday! (a...)
- Ko Ko Oo is born on Monday! (ka-ji...)
- Thin Mon is born on Friday (Tha...)
- Khin is born on Monday! (ka-ji...)
- Nanda is born on Saturday! (na-nge...)
- Yamin is born on Wednesday! (ya-pe...)
Isn't it fun to find out how language can sometimes determine the workings of a society? Which in this case demonstrated how it can influence the construction of names in Myanmar. Of course, I guess there are exceptions to the rules above. But wait a minute....Don't you wonder if Burmese/Myanmar people actually have family names or surnames? No, they don't!
Aung San Suu Kyi, for say, took up "Aung San" in the beginning of her name, merely to honor or commemorate her late father General Aung San. So if her personal name is Suu Kyi, which day is she born on?
Tuesday! (Sa...)
If you don't trust me, check out her birthday: 19 June 1945 :)
If you find this post interesting, or if you're a Burmese out there, please share your thoughts with me by commenting on the post! Do re-steem upvote and follow if you find this helpful =) chei-zu tin-bar-te ( thank you!)
Photo below was taken at our sensei's house in Saruhashi!
