Language

Myanmar has a large number of indigenous languages, as opposed to dialects. Burmese is the official language, and it is spoken as a second language by the majority of the people in the hills. English became the official language during the colonial period, but Burmese remained the primary language in all other settings. English was required in schools during British rule. As a result, many of the country's senior citizens learned to speak it fluently. Although it is no longer required, many urban people (particularly those working in the Myanmar tourism industry) have always learned and practiced English. In the 1990s, the military regime closed universities for more than a decade, leaving a generation with little to no English language skills.

Myanmar's local languages are divided into three language families. The Tibeto-Burman subfamily of Sino-Tibetan languages includes Burmese and the majority of the other languages. The Tai language family includes the Shan language. The Mon of southern Myanmar, as well as the Wa and Palaung of the Shan Plateau, speak languages in the Mon-Khmer subfamily of Austroasiatic languages.

Burmese and Mon speakers have historically lived in the plains, while speakers of a distinct Burmese dialect have lived in the Rakhine and Tenasserim coastal plains. The hills were home to people who spoke Shan, Kachin, Chin, and a variety of other languages. The ancient division between northern and southern Myanmar in the plains was based not only on geographical differences, but also on linguistic ones.