Upper Myanmar
Upper Burma refers to a geographic region of Burma, traditionally encompassing Mandalay and its periphery, or more broadly speaking, Kachin and Shan States.
In the Burmese language, people originating from Upper Burma are typically called a-nya tha, whereas those from Lower Burma are called auk tha.
The term was first used by the British to refer to the central and northern area of what is now modern day Burma. After the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, Lower Burma was annexed by the British Empire, while Upper Burma remained independent under the Burmese Empire until the Third Anglo-Burmese War of 1885. Upper Burma was also known as Burma proper and the Kingdom of Ava. Historically, Upper Burma was predominantly Bamar, while the Frontier Areas, as designated by the colonial administration, included ethnic minority areas, such as the Shan States and modern Kachin State.
This distinction between Upper and Lower Burma is also found in some government departments, while some newspapers make a distinction between the two bodies. The Burmese language edition of The Myanmar Times is an example; the newspaper devotes a section to news from Upper Burma. In terms of linguistic differences, there are minute differences between the variants of Burmese spoken by Upper Burmese, especially in vocabulary choice. However, there is remarkable uniformity in the Burmese spoken throughout the Irrawaddy River valley, which also includes the delta-lying and coastal region of Lower Burma.
