My Peace Corps Welcome Book informed me that Burkina Faso used to be called Upper Volta which rings a bell from some African Studies class I took back at Madison. I'm not sure what I learned about the country other than these two names but I'm trying to gather more info now. The Welcome Book states that the name was changed in 1984 following a coup the year before. Their translation of Burkina Faso is "Country of the Upright." I was confused by this but alas there is a clarification--upright in terms of meaning honorable people.
The Travel Book by Lonely Planet also discusses the name. They say the literal translation is "Homeland of the Incorruptible" or "Country of Honest Men." The name comes from words from two different commonly spoken languages; the More word for 'pure' and the Dioula word for 'homeland.'
A book I just read written by a Togo RPCV translates the country name as "Land of the Brave." Sounds kind of American huh?
Since we're discussing names, just a quick note on the capital, Ouagadougou. This is pronounced "Wa-ga-du-gu."
I feel like Burkina Faso has a lot to live up to with such a name!
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