0

Pinyin Info says of the given names listed

"I refer to these as “Taiwanese” names, I give the Mandarin forms (since Hanyu Pinyin is a system for writing Mandarin), not names in Hoklo/Hokkien (the language often referred to as Taiwanese)" and then lists the Hanzji, Pinyin and "Spelling likely used by this person"

e.g. 彥廷 Yàntíng Yan-ting

and then there is the issue of the interpolated "n": I also think I have seen this and similar names as name as Yàtíng/Ya-ting, i.e. without the "n". Am I mistaken? If not, what's the reason?

(Any other information to help an author use Taiwanese names appropriately also appreciated)

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
0

The 'n' here is not interpolated, but just a part of the transcription of these names.

雅婷 Yàtíng/Ya-ting is simply a different name to 彥廷 Yàntíng/Yan-ting/Yen-ting, much like Mike is a different name to Nike.

Note also the importance of tones; even though there are plenty of names which are pronounced the same but written differently (true homophones), there are also names which are tonally different and are thus perceived as two different names.

Compare the several names spelt 'Yi-ting' on that list: 宜庭 is actually homophonous with 怡婷 in Mandarin (although not in Taiwanese Min Nan), both transcribed Yítíng; but neither is homophonous with 依婷 Yītíng, because of the difference in tone on 'yi' (yí vs yī). This difference in tone is salient and fundamental to the name; a change to the tone would be tantamount to calling 'Mary' a 'Marie', or even a 'Maisie'.

A guide to Han Chinese names would give you a good foundation.

Improve this answer
5
  • Thank you. As an author, there is only so much research that can be done in each area, thus e.g. Ya-ting and Yan-ting being different names escaped me. Fortunately, the importance of tones was not lost on me. The headline question though was, when would the pinyin spelling vs the "plan" spelling without tone markers be used? Is either one a default in Taiwan (Taipei region)? Can you shed any light on that?
    – Julian Moore
    May 9 at 13:32
  • @JulianMoore When it comes to "default", this comes down to a default for what. If you are talking ROC passport names, then toneless unofficial Wade-Giles-based pinyin is the most common, even for those born in the 21st century.
    – Michaelyus
    May 9 at 15:43
  • I see; thank you. Perhaps I should have asked instead when a Taiwanese person (late 20C; 21C) would use pinyin. That said, I think it safe to convert all my pinyin names to Wade-Giles - and it's certainly easier on the occidental eye (and simplifies text searching). (NB I think that Wikipedia links says more about Wikipedia's romanization that anything else; other centuries look pretty much the same :) )
    – Julian Moore
    May 10 at 8:41
  • Note that there are three major spoken languages in Taiwan - Mandarin(國語), Taiwanese(台語閔/閩南語), and Hakka(客家話). Often, the pronunciations for the same word are completely different among them, and for the same thing, the words prescribed to it are often different too. So, you should clearly identify which one you have concerns with.
    – r13
    Jun 8 at 1:07
  • The issue with Wade-Giles is it messes you up with pinyin. A minor, but still rather bad issue is it doesn't transliterate tones. For example, 馬 sounds different in Cantonese and Mandarin, however they are both "Ma" in Wade-Giles.
    – fat penguin
    Oct 6 at 3:00

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.