First v.s. last name is just confusing. Prefer given- v.s. surname so much more. I've also been write my name as "Chiang, Yen-Chen" instead of "Yen-Chen Chiang" or "Chiang Yen-Chen". I found it the way that avoid the most misunderstanding (I don't have evidence though).
Yea, though sur-name technically means last name (vs. forename). I prefer using "family name" a bit more. However, there's also mononym where a person's name is only one word. Their first names on the U.S. official documents are usually FNU ("first name unknown").
hi Cheng-Wei - I really enjoyed this essay, thank you for sharing it. One element I loved was the tone you struck. It is assertive but not reprimanding, it is informative while being entertaining and humorous. some sentences genuinely made me laugh “You can still call me Cheng if that’s your true calling,” “kilometers as miles",” 😂. Your examples of Noah / No and Maria / Ma illuminate the issue perfectly. I also enjoyed learning the Taiwan vs PRC angle to the hyphens. and the section on other cool naming rules really rounds out the piece and helps place the central topic in a broader context. thankfully somewhere in the past I learned to always pronounce the full name of someone, or at least ask for clarification first, but for those who haven’t yet learned, this is an excellent way to learn it
I'm currently learning second language, which often causes me to reflect on how silly English can be at times — I, too, wish the past tense of "go" were "goed" 😂 I think you may have just sent me down an Onomastics rabbit hole, I love this kind of stuff. Love your playful writing style.
3. And distinguishing Chinese from Taiwanese using their names (I have briefly managed a Chinese telecom account as a business guy, so had some exposure to Chinese names but your essay helped me to learn a little more about Taiwan and its naming culture)
First v.s. last name is just confusing. Prefer given- v.s. surname so much more. I've also been write my name as "Chiang, Yen-Chen" instead of "Yen-Chen Chiang" or "Chiang Yen-Chen". I found it the way that avoid the most misunderstanding (I don't have evidence though).
Yea, though sur-name technically means last name (vs. forename). I prefer using "family name" a bit more. However, there's also mononym where a person's name is only one word. Their first names on the U.S. official documents are usually FNU ("first name unknown").
hi Cheng-Wei - I really enjoyed this essay, thank you for sharing it. One element I loved was the tone you struck. It is assertive but not reprimanding, it is informative while being entertaining and humorous. some sentences genuinely made me laugh “You can still call me Cheng if that’s your true calling,” “kilometers as miles",” 😂. Your examples of Noah / No and Maria / Ma illuminate the issue perfectly. I also enjoyed learning the Taiwan vs PRC angle to the hyphens. and the section on other cool naming rules really rounds out the piece and helps place the central topic in a broader context. thankfully somewhere in the past I learned to always pronounce the full name of someone, or at least ask for clarification first, but for those who haven’t yet learned, this is an excellent way to learn it
I'm currently learning second language, which often causes me to reflect on how silly English can be at times — I, too, wish the past tense of "go" were "goed" 😂 I think you may have just sent me down an Onomastics rabbit hole, I love this kind of stuff. Love your playful writing style.
100% echo your feedback Emily..felt the same in many instances when reading.
Thanks for writing this essay @Cheng-Wei.
3 takeaways for me
1. How to call Taiwanese the appropriate way
2. Learning about the field of study - Onomastics
3. And distinguishing Chinese from Taiwanese using their names (I have briefly managed a Chinese telecom account as a business guy, so had some exposure to Chinese names but your essay helped me to learn a little more about Taiwan and its naming culture)