Hla Thamein (Burmese: လှသမိန်; 7 February 1923 – 12 January 2000) was a Burmese scholar and writer, specializing in Burmese culture, the Burmese language, and Burmese history.

Early life and education

Hla Thamein was born Hla Tin on 7 February 1923, in the town of Letpadan, British Burma, near Pegu (now Bago), and grew up in Okpho.^[1] He matriculated from high school in 1945.

Career

Hla Thamein began working at the Guide Daily Press in 1946 and other printing presses for 7 years.^[1] From there, he joined the Burma Translation Office, and became appointed as a senior culture officer at the Ministry of Culture, rising to become the chief editor at the Myanmar Language Commission until his retirement in 1980.^[1]

Throughout his career, he wrote almost 200 books, thousands of journal articles, and published a few research works.^[1] He also taught Burmese to foreign diplomatic corps.^[1]

Together with Madamme Benot he compiled French-Burmese and Burmese-French dictionaries. He also helped Arremiri Aschi to compile Burmese-German and German-Burmese dictionaries.

Death and legacy

Hla Thamein died on 12 January 2000 in Yangon.^[1] His son, Hla Phone Aung, is also a writer and editor.^[1]

Publications

Note: Hla Thamein's name is romanized as "Lha Saminʻ " in Western libraries.^[2]

• Dictionnaire birman-français
• Birmanisches Marionettentheater

References