Yao Ming
What's in a name?
Yao Ming (Chinese: 姚明; Hanyu Pinyin: Yao Ming)
I heard a short clip about Yao Ming this morning on NPR, all of a sudden, I had a realization. Hey, they went according to Asian rule and said his last name first!
Have you ever noticed that we have to switch Chinese, Korean, Japanese, etc Asian names around for the western society? Names become mangled, and in actors or actresses I have to mentally do a "switch around" before I say it in English vs. talking to friends in Chinese. It's just so awkward! That's starting to change a bit, now we have "Zhang ZhiYi" and "Yao Ming".
Have you ever noticed that when you fill out forms, or when the computer does a search and the listing is always LastName, FirstName? well, I think the ordering of the names shows a fundamental difference in mentality between the East and the West.
Eastern world values family connection and thus one is identified more as being a part of a clan, thus the family name takes the uttermost importance. There are old sayings about "glory for the family clan", "come back to benefit the whole local community", etc.
Western world is all about individualism, self-importance, thus the first name takes precedence, with a few even forgoing their last name, thus severing connections with previous generations and other family heritage, whether it be good or bad.
~~Just my humble 2 cents on this naming thing, I think it totally reflects the difference of family vs. individual value system between the East and the West.
Yao Ming (Chinese: 姚明; Hanyu Pinyin: Yao Ming)
I heard a short clip about Yao Ming this morning on NPR, all of a sudden, I had a realization. Hey, they went according to Asian rule and said his last name first!
Have you ever noticed that we have to switch Chinese, Korean, Japanese, etc Asian names around for the western society? Names become mangled, and in actors or actresses I have to mentally do a "switch around" before I say it in English vs. talking to friends in Chinese. It's just so awkward! That's starting to change a bit, now we have "Zhang ZhiYi" and "Yao Ming".
Have you ever noticed that when you fill out forms, or when the computer does a search and the listing is always LastName, FirstName? well, I think the ordering of the names shows a fundamental difference in mentality between the East and the West.
Eastern world values family connection and thus one is identified more as being a part of a clan, thus the family name takes the uttermost importance. There are old sayings about "glory for the family clan", "come back to benefit the whole local community", etc.
Western world is all about individualism, self-importance, thus the first name takes precedence, with a few even forgoing their last name, thus severing connections with previous generations and other family heritage, whether it be good or bad.
~~Just my humble 2 cents on this naming thing, I think it totally reflects the difference of family vs. individual value system between the East and the West.
-- posted by Pooh Bear @
5/15/2007 11:08:00 AM
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