June 2011
1 post
This site is moving!
As part of my overall strategy to centralize and consolidate all blogging operations, this site is being discontinued.
Additionally, the new blog will widen the focus from pan-Asian onomatology to other related topics such as linguistics, influence of the Chinese characters on Asian history and cultures, and more.
Find the new home for the Sinosphere blog at http://sinosphereblog.blogspot.com...
January 2011
1 post
On Chinese words invented in Japan [和製漢語:中国... →
December 2010
2 posts
Corruption of Chinese: learning from Japan's...
Recently the General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP) 新闻出版总署 of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has issued a circular banning use of foreign words in Chinese-language publications.
While this sounds like a sign of some nationalistic surge to promote ethnic and cultural purity, as well as cultural exclusivism, the reality is that this will not only protect the Chinese...
Hanmun gyoyuk: Revival of Chinese character in...
Whereas the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the north officially abandoned hanja in 1949 (Chinese characters) as “foreign influences” (never mind China has always been the closest ally of the DPRK), the South kept the use of Chinese characters to this day.
Train stations in South Korea have signs in Korean alphabet (Hangul), Chinese letters (note: This is not to be...
November 2010
1 post
DPR Korea on China lovefest
This year marks the 65th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Volunteers’ involvement with the “Fatherland Liberation War” (aka Korean War). The Chinese army intervened when the U.S.-led coalition advanced northward very close to the Yalu/Amrok River 鸭绿江/암록강, putting the Communist China in a precarious position (this was when much of the world community did not see...
October 2010
2 posts
DPR Korea changes the Chinese characters for the...
In a recently posted news release on the General Association of Koreans in Japan 조선총련 (aka Chongryon or Chosen Soren), a quasi-official representative of the DPRK government in Japan, the names of the newly elevated generals of the Korean People’s Army are now written with Chinese characters that are different from what has been conventionally used by the Chinese-language media.
Kim Jong...
September 2010
2 posts
DPR Korea's Workers' Party makes military...
As reported widely, a rare general assembly of the Workers’ Party of Korea 朝鲜劳动党 조선로동당 met in Pyongyang and officially commissioned a number of key figures for leadership in the Korean People’s Army 朝鲜人民军 조선인민군. This includes, among others, is Kim Jong Eun 金正银 김정은, the son of the present leader Kim Jong Il 金正日 김정일.
It appears that the Chinese media have settled on the name of the...
Obama administration and Chinese characters
Perhaps as the first and so far the only U.S. president in history who has roots in Hawai’i and Asia, Barack Obama is more sensitive to how the Chinese-language media and government officials in Chinese-speaking areas write his name in Chinese.
According to the Xinhua 新华社 news report dated Nov. 19, 2009, the Obama administration objected how “Obama” was written in Chinese...
Japan's decline continues
With the recent news that the economy of Japan has been eclipsed by the fast-growing China, there remains very little hope for Japan except through some kind of union with China, either politically or economically through free trade and free movement of people, capital and talents.
a mock proposed design of an emblem and a flag of Japan, China, by IrisCat Designs.
SVG version available here...
August 2010
6 posts
What Taiwan and North Korea have in common
It has just occurred to me.
In some parts of Asia the years are still referred to by ways different from the Common Era. For instance in Japan the year 2010 is Heisei 22 (平成22年).
In Taiwan it is Minguo 99 (民国99年).
In North Korea it is Juche 99 (주체99년／主体99年).
Next year it will be year 100 in both Taiwan and North Korea. It is a coincidence though, as the former reckons years from the...
Japanese addresses
Even for natives the way Japan’s addressing system works is a mystery. The advantage of Japan’s approach is that it is much easier to give anyone a general idea of where you are, as each 10- to 20-block neighbourhood has a name and clearly defined boundaries. In a way, it is easier in Japan (and Korea as well) to say what part of town you are in. It is much simpler to be able...
Peeving over the corruption of Japanese
Linguists have long contemplated over the weirdness of the Japanese language. Not so long time ago the consensus was that Japanese belonged squarely in the Ural-Altaic family of languages alongside Korean, Mongolian and Turkish. Now linguists are not quite sure. They have given up putting Japanese into a box and called it “language isolate” — then more recently they have come...
The ever-present and useful letter, "er"
It is the letter 尔 er. It is everywhere. What does this letter mean, anyhow?
I was looking through the Sunday paper today. The Fred Meyer stores are now selling appliances made by Haier. While to English speakers the brand looks like a misspelled version of “higher”, it is a Chinese company, Haier Group, Ltd. 海尔集团.
In classical Chinese, the letter “er” (or...
It's the 8-1 day; Sinifier is getting back on...
Okay, I have not posted a lot lately… that I readily admit. The news is that I have started in a graduate school this past spring and thus really overwhelmed with a lot of stuff. But it is also true that now it is August (today, August 1, is the founding day of the People’s Liberation Army 中国人民解放军; on August 1 was the Nanchang 南昌 Uprising, which is now considered the official...
April 2010
2 posts
Rediscovering Chu Nom
Only a few years ago, less than a few hundred people could read Chu Nom, the older writing system of the Vietnamese language. Now, thanks to the Internet and efforts of Chu Nom enthusiasts, people can learn this script that connects Vietnam with its Chinese lexical heritage, and allow learners to gain a deeper appreciation of etymology and its connection to the greater East Asian cultures.
...
January 2010
3 posts
Banzai! The meaning and its origin. (Plus: How...
When one hears the word banzai, most Westerners automatically think of the Japanese suicide fighters of the Kamikaze Tokubetsu Kogekitai on their Model Zero fighter aircrafts. But the word banzai is of Chinese origin, originally reserved solely to praise their emperor until the Qing dynasty was overthrown by the Republic of China.
As with many words of Chinese origin, it is universally found...
The ultimate table of 100 common Chinese surnames... →
This table shows 100 most common Chinese surnames and their pronunciations/romanizations in Hanyu Pinyin (Mandarin), Cantonese, Minnan, Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese.
Two easy Chinese food cart recipes (link) →
Congyoubing
葱油饼
.
Youtiao
油条
recipes
December 2009
5 posts
Okinawan names
Most American readers think of Mr. Miyagi in the movie Karate Kid when they talk of Okinawans, if not the U.S. military presence there since the 1940s.
Located between China and Japan, Ruchu Kuku, the Kingdom of Liuqiu (Ryukyu) 琉球國 — as Uchinaa, or Okinawa, 沖縄 was known — was vassal to both China’s Qing dynasty and Japan’s Satsuma domain. As such Uchinanchu — or...
Chairman or president?
In todays English-language media, the head of the People’s Republic of China is called President. Yet, in Chinese the title is still “Zhuxi” 主席 or more formally “Guojia Zhuxi” 国家主席, same as Mao Zedong who was called a Chairman (of the State).
The official change of translation from chairman to president took place in 1982. This means that in history of the PRC there...
Ten years of Macau Special Administrative Region
On Dec. 20 ten years ago, amid the worldwide anticipation of the new millennium and the impending (and did not materialize) Y2K Crisis, the Republic of Portugal returned its overseas province of Macau to the People’s Republic of China after centuries of Portuguese administration (since 1557).
Often eclipsed by the nearby Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macau is a lot smaller than...
Xinhua Zidian online →
What one can learn from Uncyclopedia
Uncyclopedia is a parody of Wikipedia. It bills itself as the “content-free encyclopedia” and everything is a spoof of Wikipedia.
Like Wikipedia, Uncyclopedia comes in many languages, including three versions of Chinese (Putonghwa, Taiwan Putonghwa and Hong Kong/Macau Cantonese). The Chinese name for Uncyclopedia, by the way, is Weiji Baike. As those who can read the Chinese character...
November 2009
34 posts
Names of Hong Kong leaders past and present...
Current Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: Sir Donald TSANG Yam-Kuen 曾荫权 Ceng Yinquan Acting Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: Henry TANG Ying-Yen 唐英年 Tang Yingnian 1st Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: TUNG Chee-Hwa 董建华 Dong Jianhua 28th Governor of Hong Kong: Christopher Francis PATTEN 彭定康 Peng Dingkang 27th...
2 tags
Baby naming fad in China
According to the Ministry of Public Security, there have been over 4000 babies named Aoyun 奥运(Olympics) between 1992 and the end of 2007.
It was 1992 when Beijing began its bid for hosting the 2000 Olympiad (lost to Sydney). In 2002, however the city won the 2008 games.
Needless to say, this will be one of those time-stamped names that will reveal one’s age when they are older.
Happy Thanksgiving for all who are tired of...
Three Great Rules and Eight Points of Attention
Mao Zedong 毛泽东 promulgated the Three Great Rules and Eight Points of Attention 三大纪律八项注意 (Sanda Jilu Baxiang Juyi) for what was still then called the Chinese Proletarian Red Army 中国工农红军 (Zhongguo Gongnong Hongjun) (later to become today’s People’s Liberation Army 人民解放军) in 1928.
The communist army was largely welcomed among the ordinary Chinese people mostly because of how...
3 tags
Names of computer manufacturers in Chinese
Acer (Taiwan): 宏碁 (Hongqi) = wide + chess
ALi (Taiwan): 扬智 (Yangzhi) = elevating wisdom
ASUSTeK Computers (Taiwan): 华硕 (Huashuo) = China + eminent
Creative Technologies (Singapore): 创新 (Chuangxin) = create + new
D-Link (Taiwan): 友讯 (Youxun) = friendship + inquiry
Hasee (Shenzhen, China): 神舟 (Shenzhou) = God + boat
HEDY (Guangzhou, China): 七喜 (Qixi) = seven + happiness [“HEDY” is...
Vietnamese Quoc Ngu (Western alphabet) to Chu Nom... →
Hanja Sajeon →
Use this to look up Chinese character from Korean alphabet or vice versa. Site in Korean.
5 tags
Lucky number and unlucky number
In Chinese, the number 8 is a very auspicious number. When written in Chinese character, ba 八 is shaped as though it begins small at the top and ends wide at the bottom. Its visual appearance signifies growth and prosperity.
This is why the Beijing Olympics 北京奥运会 (Beijing Aoyunhui) began on August 8, 2008, the day of “triple eight” (2008-08-08).
In the mainland China, the number...
Julia Roberts
In Taiwanese media, American actress Julia Roberts is referred to by her Chinese nickname, especially in headlines.
Her nickname?
Dakou Zhu 大口茱
Da is big, kou is mouth. You get it? “Big Mouth Zhu”!
(Zhu 茱 is from a phonetic transliteration of Julia, 茱利啊 Zhulia.)
Naming your cat
The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter, It isn’t just one of your holiday games;
— T.S. Eliot
Are there any naming conventions in Chinese for your cats?
I have done some cursory researches on the Chinese Internet (thank goodness for [government-censored] Baidu and [ditto] Soso), and I find that in general naming of cats is not much different from how your local zoo’s...
Windows users with Internet Explorer
Although this page is encoded Unicode UTF-8, some users of Internet Explorer cannot see the CJKV (Chinese Japanese Korean Vietnamese) characters on this website. I suggest that you switch to Firefox.
While no similar problems are reported on Linux and MacOS platforms, there may be some problem with mobile devices such as iPhone/iPod Touch and Droid.
Report any problem found on our discussions...
Translating your last name: what to do and what...
With most Chinese family name monosyllabic, it poses a certain degree of difficulty in converting a multisyllabic Western family name.
Often one would take the first syllable of her Western last name and choose something similar from a list of common Chinese surnames. Otherwise, using one of the most common surnames such as Zhang 张, Wang 王 and Li 李 would avoid problems down the road, they being...
2 tags
What happens if the ground you are standing on has...
There are a group of uninhabited rocks in the south of China. Depending on whom you ask, you will get a different address — for exactly the same piece of rock!
An official from the Chinese Embassy: “中华人民共和国海南省三沙市.” Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo, Hainan Sheng, Sansha Shi = City of Sansha, Province of Hainan, People’s Republic of China.
An official from the Taipei Economic and...
7 tags
How many surnames are in China?
One of the most well-known resources in the Chinese language about family names is Zhonghua Baijiaxing 中华百家姓, literally, One Hundred Family Names of China. While the great majority of people with Han Chinese ancestry fall under one of the 100 surnames, China being both ancient and multiethnic, there are 8,155 known historic and current family names among all recognized ethnic groups of China.
...
A sign of the things to come →
In this multicultural century it is more than ever important to ensure that your name makes sense in as many languages as possible, and does not imply something offensive or derisive in other cultures. Perhaps a service like this will become more in demand in the near future.
Zhonghua baijiaxing: the list of known Chinese... →
4 tags
Wirtland, the 21st century experiment in...
While (contrary to its claim of being the “first”) it is not the new attempt at establishing a sovereign state on the Internet — there was another project like this over 12 years ago, by the name of the Republic of Lomar (洛麻共和国, Luoma Gongheguo) — Wirtland (维德兰, Weidelan) truly takes the advantage of Web 2.0 and social media as a foundation of an organic human community. It...
Kim-ssi Joseon, or Korea of the Kim Family
Most Korean names, like Vietnamese, are Chinese-influenced and consist of three letters with the first letter representing family.
The three top family names are 金 Kim (Gim) 김, 李 Ri (I) 리 and 朴 Pak (Bak) 박, which may be transliterated in diverse manners, such as Kim, Lee, Park, or Kim, Rhee, Bahk.
The Kim 김 family name represents a number of clans in Korea, including the largest Kimhae Kim Clan....
Sing Chinese →
5 tags
Demystifying Vietnamese names
If you live in a major U.S. city with a high concentration of Vietnamese immigrants, you might have been dumbfounded by the sights of signs in Vietnamese. On one hand, they are written in “our” alphabet — a gift from Vietnam’s former colonial master France — yet on the other hand, the letters are surrounded by incomprehensible squigglies.
The current system of...
Singapore's top five family names
Though the official language of the Republic of Singapore is British English (and attempts to discourage Singlish), the great majority of its people are ethnic Han Chinese. Since their family names are often transliterated from Hakka, Cantonese, and other dialects, they appear distinctly different from the names in China proper.
As in Hong Kong, many people have a bilingual name, in which the...
Star-Spangled Banner
During the 2006 movement for immigration reform, a Spanish version of the U.S. anthem (which, in turn, is a modification of the older, official translation approved by the U.S. Department of Education) gained a bit of popularity via Spanish radio and TV. Here is a Chinese one:
哦，你可看见，透过一线曙光， 我们对着什么，发出欢呼的声浪？ 谁的阔条明星，冒着一夜炮火， 依然锓风招展，在我军碉堡上？ 火炮闪闪发光，炸弹轰轰作响， 它们都是见证，国旗安然无恙。 你看星条旗不是还高高飘扬， ...
Chinese and Korean input tool for Adobe AIR... →
My lifelong fascination
As someone who has been raised in the midst of many languages, imported merchandise and diverse foods, semantic and comparative linguistics have been my lifelong fascination. Chinese characters have always captured my imagination and trained my brain to think outside the box.
A few reasons for getting a Chinese name, good and...
1. You are going to China to live there for a while, for business purposes. When Hong Kong was still a Crown Colony of Her Britannic Majesty, each governor upon his arrival in Hong Kong received his official Chinese name and seal. For example, Christopher Patten (now Baron Patten of Barnes) was called 彭定康 Peng Dingkang. More so in Asia than in elsewhere, leaders require dignified names that can...