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Joined: Sep 2004
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journeyman
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OP
journeyman
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 91 |
For example, a Chinese name "", or "li shi min" as we phoneticize it here. Of this name, the first character is family name and the following pair is name.
What's the standard spelling in English for it?
LI Shimin, Li Shi Min, Li Shi-min, or Li Shimin?
I once(perhaps when watching the list of Athens Olympian names on TV) noted the first spelling way and began to use it since then. I think by using LI Shimin, the reader wouldn't be confused by the problem such as which is the surname while which is the first name for the surname is all capitalized. Is it right?
Im learning English. If u find anywhere I can improve my composition, Pls do let me know. Bow.
Do inform me if you see any corrections needed in my written English. 
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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I work for a company that has customers all around the world in general and in China and Taiwan particularly. I have seen all four of the systems you mention and also variations with the family name last. I can't say that I've seen any one more commonly than any other other than to say that I think your first version, LI Shimin, is least common and is normally used when particular attention is being drawn to the family name. Did you notice if other athletes were also listed with the family name in all caps?
I will say that I prefer versions in which the personal name is either concatenated or hyphenated just because the family name last version is common enough that if I were given Li Shi Min I couldn't tell if the family name were Li or Min. A note for those who do not know, Chinese family names are always one syllable, personal names are usually two syllable.
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Joined: Mar 2005
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addict
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addict
Joined: Mar 2005
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I agree with Faldage, capitalizing the surname is probably to help Westerners figure out which it is.
I believe we wrote Mao's full name as Mao Tse-Tung (although now I understand it is "Mao Zedong") so I would be inclined to go with your third or fourth option.
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Joined: Sep 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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> capitalizing the surname is probably to help Westerners
or at least the French, whose model this is (uniquely?)
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
capitalizing the surname is probably to help Westerners figure out which it is.
Well, except that's not what I meant. I was suggesting that, in certain contexts, the family name might be emphasized for any one.. Thus you might see a list of names of entries in the 1500 meter race, e.g.:
LI, Shi Min
DUPREE, Ren
SCHWARTZ, Siegfried
LUGOSI, Bela
IWASAKI, Junichi
SANZA, Pancho
Just a stylistic thing and not particularly aimed at Chinese names or even at names from nationalities that traditionally put the family name first
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Joined: Sep 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
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> or even at names from nationalities that traditionally put the family name first
Indeed - like the French:
M. Pierre DUPONT
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Joined: Sep 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
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Here is some Korean advice to Koreans on how to write their own names in English-speaking contexts: http://www.sogang.ac.kr/~ders/nametips/
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 91
journeyman
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OP
journeyman
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 91 |
Many a Chinese name has only two characters, e.g., Li Min(Li is family name and Min is given name), thus two syllables. In the mean time, some Chinese write their give name first in respect for English rule, so for the aforementioned name, it will be Min Li. On the other hand, some Chinese write their surname first in correspondence with Chinese sequence, so it will be Li Min.
If you only see Li Min or Min Li, you will be confused: is Li surname or Min the surname?
In this case, for there is only one syllable in the given name and you can't hyphenate it, we can't tell surname from given name if we conform to the latter rules.
If considering this, capitalise all the letters of surname would make things clear. In this regard, seems this habbit can avoid different interpretations and thus contribute to language's definitude. What do you dear fellows think?
Im learning English. If u find anywhere I can improve my composition, Pls do let me know. Bow.
Do inform me if you see any corrections needed in my written English.
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,788
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
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Attempts to enforce a single method of writing one's own name largely fail.
In a parallel context, there are many Latin American people who have a single first name and two family names -- one from their mother and one from their father. Life would be simpler if all such persons would agree to write their names with a hyphen between the family names, e.g. Esteban Mendoza-Gonzales. In this case, all such folks would appear in alphabetized lists (like telephone directories) under M. Where no hyphen is used, English speakers are prone to treat "Mendoza" as a middle name and alphabetize the person's name under G.
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addict
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addict
Joined: Mar 2005
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I attempted to use a double name without a hyphen when I was married the first time, becoming Elizabeth Creith Zlatin, with "Creith Zlatin" as the surname. Everyone treated "Creith" as a middle name. Eventually I gave up and returned to "Creith". If I had hyphenated, I mighta got away with it. A friend of mine added her husband's name to her own, removed the space and left the capital letter - JonesWarrick. Worked for her.
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