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>But why do China and Korea get to change English naming conventions? Americans are exposed to Chinese names in both orderings of "Familyname Firstname" and "F
by jasode 3y ago
>But why do China and Korea get to change English naming conventions?
Americans are exposed to Chinese names in both orderings of "Familyname Firstname" and "Firstname Familyname":
- "Familyname Firstname" ordering : actor Chow Yun-fat, and basketball player Yao Ming
- "Firstname Familyname" ordering: actor Simu Liu, pianist Yuja Wang, and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma.
- saltcured 3y agoNot only that, we might be exposed to them for years without really knowing which is the family name and which is the given name! In a vacuum, I might have guess "Chow Yun-fat" as starting with the family name because I know that the hyphenated, two-part names are usually given. But a name like "Yao Ming" I might not have had any idea, since I don't have the cultural exposure to know which single syllable words look more like family names versus given names. Imagine expecting a Chinese person to figure out "Larry David" with no other context.
- netsharc 3y agoLooking at Wikipedia, Jack isn't part of Ma's birth name, so I suppose his is a name like "Tom Cruise". Same with Jackie Chan.