The book presents an overview of the aspectual system of Burmese, and it focuses on the analysis and description of the meaning and function of some aspectual markers which are among the most commonly used in the language. The analysis highlights a few important facts. Firstly, these markers, which typically follow the main verb within the verbal complex, derive from lexical verbs which are still in use in Burmese. This is an important descriptive factor, since the function of these markers can only be fully understood by looking at the interplay between the semantics of their lexical sources and the semantics of the verbs they modify. Secondly, it is the semantics of the aspectual markers that determines both their order vis-à-vis the main verb and their order vis-à-vis the other markers within the verbal complex. The interplay between the semantics and the syntax of these markers is analysed by adopting Role and Reference Grammar.

This selection of lectures by Professor Hla Pe, who has published widely in the fields of Burmese language and literature, and cultural studies, provides an insight into Burmese literature, culture, beliefs and way of life through the author’s own personal life and career. The lectures are divided into six parts: On Literature, On Historiography, On Scholarship, On Language, On Life, and On Buddhism.

This dictionary is a comprehensive list and account of grammatical forms, providing a much needed supplement to the standard Burmese-English dictionaries, where the grammatical forms receive scant attention.

Burmese: A Comprehensive Grammar is a complete reference guide to modern Burmese grammar. It presents a fresh and thorough description of the language, concentrating on the real patterns of use in modern Burmese. The volume is organized to promote a thorough understanding of Burmese grammar. It offers a stimulating analysis of the complexities of the language, with clear explanations. Throughout, the emphasis is on Burmese as used by present-day native speakers. Features include: detailed treatment of the common grammatical structures and parts of speech particular attention to areas of confusion and difficulty all examples given in Burmese script, IPA phonetic transcription, and English glossary of linguistic terminology The Grammar is the ideal reference source for intermediate to advanced learners and users of Burmese and will remain the standard reference work for years to come.

The Thiri Rama – or the Great Rama – was written for court performance and is the only known illustrated version of the Ramayana story in Myanmar. Based on palm-leaf manuscripts and scenes carved on over 300 sandstone plaques at a mid-nineteenth-century Buddhist pagoda west of Mandalay in Myanmar, this book presents an original translation of the Thiri Rama rendered in prose. The volume also includes essays on the history and tradition of the Ramayana in Myanmar as well as the cultural context in which the play was performed. It contains many helpful resources, incorporating a glossary and a list of characters and their corresponding personae in Valmiki’s Ramayana. With over 250 fascinating visuals and core text contributions by distinguished Burmese scholars, U Thaw Kaung, Tin Maung Kyi, and U Aung Thwin, this book will greatly interest scholars and researchers of South and Southeast Asian culture, literary forms, epics, art and art history, theatre and performance studies, religion, especially those concerned with Hinduism, as well as folklorists.

Hidden at the margins of Burmese Buddhism and culture, the cults of the weikza shape Burmese culture by bringing together practices of supernatural power and a mission to protect Buddhism. This exciting new research on an often hidden aspect of Burmese religion places weikza in relation to the Vipassana insight meditation movement and conventional Buddhist practices, as well as the contemporary rise of Buddhist fundamentalism. Featuring research based on fieldwork only possible in recent years, paired with reflective essays by senior Buddhist studies scholars, this book situates the weikza cult in relation to broader Buddhist and Southeast Asian contexts, offering interpretations and investigations as rich and diverse as the Burmese expressions of the weikza cults themselves. Champions of Buddhism opens the field to new questions, new problems, and new connections with the study of religion and Southeast Asia in general.

Burmese: A Comprehensive Grammar is a complete reference guide to modern Burmese grammar. It presents a fresh and thorough description of the language, concentrating on the real patterns of use in modern Burmese. The volume is organized to promote a thorough understanding of Burmese grammar. It offers a stimulating analysis of the complexities of the language, with clear explanations. Throughout, the emphasis is on Burmese as used by present-day native speakers. Features include: detailed treatment of the common grammatical structures and parts of speech particular attention to areas of confusion and difficulty all examples given in Burmese script, IPA phonetic transcription, and English glossary of linguistic terminology The Grammar is the ideal reference source for intermediate to advanced learners and users of Burmese and will remain the standard reference work for years to come.

The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma) is the ultimate travel guide to this exciting, largely undiscovered country with clear maps and detailed coverage of all the best Burmese attractions. Discover Myanmar's highlights with stunning photography and information on everything from exploring the iconic temples of Bagan, boating across beautiful Inle Lake or trekking through remote Shan highland villages. Find detailed practical advice on what to see and do in Myanmar, relying on up-to-date descriptions of the best hotels, bars, shops and restaurants for all budgets. Explore every corner of this exciting country with easy-to-use maps to help make sure you don't miss the unmissable. Now available in PDF format. Make the most of your holiday with The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma).

Studies in Burmese Linguistics' is a unique collection of articles dedicated to the linguistics of Burmese, a major language of South East Asia with perhaps forty million speakers, more than any other language in the diverse Tibeto-Burman language family. The articles cover various sub-disciplines within linguistics which will be of general interest to a broad constituency of linguists, including the phonology and the phonetics of constituent focus, a synchronic and diachronic treatment of reflexives, a discussion of optionality in morphosyntax, an analysis of the grammaticalisation of the verb 'give' as a causativiser, three complementary articles on the verbal tense-mode-aspect system and two on Old Burmese, the language of 11-13th Century inscriptions. There is also a report of a major German-Burmese lexicography project. The contributors have been invited to write on research topics of their own choosing, making the volume a representative of current research on Burmese rather than a systematic linguistic survey of the language. While not all the articles are theory-neutral, the book has been edited to ensure accessibility to a broad readership, as well as consistent transcription, transliteration and linguistic glossing across all the articles.