Texas lawmaker: Asians should change their names to make them 'easier for Americans to deal with.'
On Tuesday, State Rep. Betty Brown (R) caused a firestorm during House testimony on voter identification legislation when she said that Asian-Americans should change their names because they're too hard to pronounce:
"Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it's a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?" Brown said.
Brown later told [Organization of Chinese Americans representative Ramey] Ko: "Can't you see that this is something that would make it a lot easier for you and the people who are poll workers if you could adopt a name just for identification purposes that's easier for Americans to deal with?"
Yesterday, Brown continued to resist calls to apologize. Her spokesman said that Democrats "want this to just be about race."
:lol:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/09/brown-asian-names/
Oh sweet jesus :frusty:
Quote from: Martinus on April 11, 2009, 05:51:44 PM
Yesterday, Brown continued to resist calls to apologize. Her spokesman said that Democrats “want this to just be about race.”
:lol:
No it is about you being an idiot. Which is not surprising considering you are in the Texas House of Representatives.
Anyway she already apologized:
QuoteState Rep. Betty Brown apologizes for comments on Asian voters' names
02:21 PM CDT on Saturday, April 11, 2009
Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas – The state lawmaker embroiled in a controversy over pending voter identification legislation has apologized for her remarks regarding Asian-descent voters' names.
Rep. Betty Brown, R-Terrell, said that she "apologizes for her remark in the Elections Committee on Tuesday, April 7," in a statement issued late Thursday.
She said she appreciates testimony that made legislators aware of problems faced by Asian-Americans when acquiring identification and that she understands the "diversity of Texas" and the "enrichment" that Asian-Americans have brought to the state.
The Texas Democratic party and others called on Brown to apologize after she said voters of Asian descent should adopt names that are "easier for Americans to deal with."
The comments were part of an exchange with Ramey Ko, a representative of the Organization of Chinese Americans, during a hearing Tuesday by the House Elections Committee.
Ko told the committee that people of Asian descent have problems voting because they may have legal transliterated names as well as common English names on their drivers licenses or other forms of identification. Brown asked whether Asian-Americans could "adopt" names that "we could deal with more readily here."
Brown, in the statement, said the controversial quote was one sentence from a conversation dealing with the difficulty in translating names. She pointed out that she was talking about the issue of transliteration and told Ko that she wasn't asking him to change his name.
John C. Liu, a New York City Councilman who had called on Brown to apologize, said Brown's statement is "a fair first step," but doesn't go far enough, in his statement. Liu noted that Brown's comments during the exchange with Ko went well beyond the concept of transliteration.
A bill that would require Texans to show a photo ID to vote passed the Senate after a highly-partisan, 23-hour session last month. Similar proposals are currently being considered by the House.
Republicans have championed the issue, saying it's necessary to combat voter fraud. Democrats have said there's no need for such a measure because fraud hasn't been a problem
Jordan Berry, a spokesman for Brown, told The Associated Press on Saturday, that Brown's comment is being used by opponents of voter identification to obscure the real issues involved.
"Ninety percent of Texans – Republicans and Democrats – want the voter ID legislation," he said. "Let's move forward."
Well if you don't want stupid comments to be used against you by your enemies maybe you should not say something so stupid that people in Poland know about it.
You just go by their number. Easy as pie. Oh right, America is a third world shithole. Nevermind then.
Actually, I read the story on the Feast of Fools forum, so it didn't actually make it to Poland to be fair. :P
Quote from: The Brain on April 11, 2009, 05:57:55 PM
You just go by their number. Easy as pie. Oh right, America is a third world shithole. Nevermind then.
They should tatoo the numbers on their forearms to make it less confusing.
Quote from: Martinus on April 11, 2009, 05:59:23 PM
Quote from: The Brain on April 11, 2009, 05:57:55 PM
You just go by their number. Easy as pie. Oh right, America is a third world shithole. Nevermind then.
They should tatoo the numbers on their forearms to make it less confusing.
:rolleyes: I can't see America putting Asian-Americans in concentration camps.
The stupidest part about all of this is that Asian last names are not even hard to say.
'How do you pronounce this...Chung? I think I will just call you Smith'.
Quote from: The Brain on April 11, 2009, 06:00:48 PM
:rolleyes: I can't see America putting Asian-Americans in concentration camps.
Indeed. We are all about teh freedom.
Quote from: Valmy on April 11, 2009, 06:02:50 PM
The stupidest part about all of this is that Asian last names are not even hard to say.
'How do you pronounce this...Chung? I think I will just call you Smith'.
Hehe yeah. I suppose that crazy bitch hasn't met many Poles. :lol:
That's just awfur.
Quote from: Valmy on April 11, 2009, 06:02:50 PM
The stupidest part about all of this is that Asian last names are not even hard to say.
'How do you pronounce this...Chung? I think I will just call you Smith'.
Thai, Lao, and Cambodian names are impossible.
Just call them zipperheads.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on April 11, 2009, 06:25:18 PMThai, Lao, and Cambodian names are impossible.
You just need to give them nicknames. For example, we used to work with an alumnus named Pornphisud Mongkhonvanit. We just nicknamed him Porno. See? :)
Flip names are easy. :)
Quote from: FunkMonk on April 11, 2009, 06:40:31 PM
Flip names are easy. :)
Aren't they just Spanish?
That State Rep. would be like "WHOT THE HELL YOUR NOT UH MEXIKUNN!?!?!?!"
Quote from: Caliga on April 11, 2009, 06:51:47 PM
Quote from: FunkMonk on April 11, 2009, 06:40:31 PM
Flip names are easy. :)
Aren't they just Spanish?
That State Rep. would be like "WHOT THE HELL YOUR NOT UH MEXIKUNN!?!?!?!"
Many are, yes. :D
Quote from: Admiral Yi on April 11, 2009, 06:25:18 PM
Quote from: Valmy on April 11, 2009, 06:02:50 PM
The stupidest part about all of this is that Asian last names are not even hard to say.
'How do you pronounce this...Chung? I think I will just call you Smith'.
Thai, Lao, and Cambodian names are impossible.
Most Thai, in my experience, shorten their name when they move to the UK.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on April 11, 2009, 06:25:18 PM
Thai, Lao, and Cambodian names are impossible.
Not sure about Cambodians, but Thai and Lao, which are basically the same, official names are long but not that hard to pronounce. Irrelevant in daily life though, since they mostly go by one syllable nicknames (often in English) instead of their real names, which most people they know will not even know.
Quote from: DisturbedPervert on April 11, 2009, 07:18:45 PM
Not sure about Cambodians, but Thai and Lao, which are basically the same, official names are long but not that hard to pronounce. Irrelevant in daily life though, since they mostly go by one syllable nicknames (often in English) instead of their real names, which most people they know will not even know.
Yeah, realized Camboge was off. Pol Pot. Heng Sim. Not hard.
Malaysian names are spastic, aren't they? Not like we have a bunch in the US.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on April 11, 2009, 07:21:17 PM
Malaysian names are spastic, aren't they? Not like we have a bunch in the US.
I thought they were standard Muslim-sounding names? :mellow:
Not sure about Malaysian names, I dated a Malaysian in college, but she was ethnic Chinese. They sound Muslim from my limited experience in Malaysia.
Quote from: Sheilbh on April 11, 2009, 07:26:10 PM
I thought they were standard Muslim-sounding names? :mellow:
We don't have a bunch in the US! :mad:
Quote from: Admiral Yi on April 11, 2009, 07:42:07 PM
We don't have a bunch in the US! :mad:
Ok. I'll rephrase. In my experience they're just standard Muslim-sounding names :p
Now finally, someone comes up with a good idea for immigrants! Lol.. Just keep quiet Congressman; what a dope.
But on a similar note, many of my Syrian relatives (from my step mother's side) had their names changed when they arrived, mainly because of the language difficulties and translations. A name like Awad became Howard, spelled phonetically I guess. Not any try to change the names, just the translation and/or how the new immigrant, or immigration authorities, spelled it or what ever. I guess now a days that'd be a hate crime, law suits and such.
Quote from: FunkMonk on April 11, 2009, 05:54:17 PM
Oh sweet jesus :frusty:
Well, once upon a time, Asians WANTED to become more assimilated, dropping their traditional names for English.
But now, with all the PC-pride-in-your-tribe bullshit, it's not as common anymore.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on April 11, 2009, 08:57:13 PM
Well, once upon a time, Asians WANTED to become more assimilated, dropping their traditional names for English.
But now, with all the PC-pride-in-your-tribe bullshit, it's not as common anymore.
Do they seriously not do that anymore? Pity I found it charming they would name themselves 'Sam' and 'Mary'. But they would still keep their old last names.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on April 11, 2009, 06:25:18 PM
Thai, Lao, and Cambodian names are impossible.
Maybe but she specifically said Chinese.
Quote from: Valmy on April 11, 2009, 09:04:52 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on April 11, 2009, 08:57:13 PM
Well, once upon a time, Asians WANTED to become more assimilated, dropping their traditional names for English.
But now, with all the PC-pride-in-your-tribe bullshit, it's not as common anymore.
Do they seriously not do that anymore? Pity I found it charming they would name themselves 'Sam' and 'Mary'. But they would still keep their old last names.
I could be very wrong here but I think it's a mainland China thing. In Bristol therre's loads of international students, predominately from the Far East. In my experience the ones from the mainland while moving choose a new 'English' name for themselves, one that they like. So I know a Dawn and a Patrick, for example, but that's not their real name. Students from Hong Kong on the other hand almost always keep their Cantonese name. But that's really anecdotal and could just be the people I know.
Quote from: Sheilbh on April 11, 2009, 09:09:39 PM
I could be very wrong here but I think it's a mainland China thing.
In the case of the people I knew it was a Taiwanese thing.
However, this does raise an interesting question. What's the deal with Asians who come to America changing their first names? It's not just parents changing their kids' names; I have a friend who's here on a work-visa from Korea, and he goes by the name Ryan.
Quote from: Valmy on April 11, 2009, 09:40:03 PM
Quote from: Sheilbh on April 11, 2009, 09:09:39 PM
I could be very wrong here but I think it's a mainland China thing.
In the case of the people I knew it was a Taiwanese thing.
Most of the Japanese I've known, at least the 2nd gen ones, usually had English names. The younger ones I come across, not so much anymore.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on April 11, 2009, 08:57:13 PM
Quote from: FunkMonk on April 11, 2009, 05:54:17 PM
Oh sweet jesus :frusty:
Well, once upon a time, Asians WANTED to become more assimilated, dropping their traditional names for English.
But now, with all the PC-pride-in-your-tribe bullshit, it's not as common anymore.
Interesting. I didn't know that.
Quote from: Valmy on April 11, 2009, 09:04:52 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on April 11, 2009, 08:57:13 PM
Well, once upon a time, Asians WANTED to become more assimilated, dropping their traditional names for English.
But now, with all the PC-pride-in-your-tribe bullshit, it's not as common anymore.
Do they seriously not do that anymore? Pity I found it charming they would name themselves 'Sam' and 'Mary'. But they would still keep their old last names.
They still do, almost all the Asian kids at the school I'm teaching at all have traditional English first names, it's the black students and some of the Hispanic students that have some bizzare first names.
Quote from: Faeelin on April 11, 2009, 09:46:11 PM
However, this does raise an interesting question. What's the deal with Asians who come to America changing their first names? It's not just parents changing their kids' names; I have a friend who's here on a work-visa from Korea, and he goes by the name Ryan.
Yeah it would be weird if I worked in Korea and told everybody to call me Yi. Is that some sort of Asian cultural thing? Do Chinese people take a Japanese name if they move to Japan?
Quote from: CountDeMoney on April 11, 2009, 09:46:44 PM
Most of the Japanese I've known, at least the 2nd gen ones, usually had English names. The younger ones I come across, not so much anymore.
I blame Anime. It made having a Japanese name cool.
Quote from: CountDeMoney on April 11, 2009, 09:46:44 PM
Most of the Japanese I've known, at least the 2nd gen ones, usually had English names. The younger ones I come across, not so much anymore.
Fair point. The nisei tended to be pretty sensitive with regard to the cultural gap.
As far as unpronounceable names, my biggest problems are with "urban" names, usually black inner-city types or the even larger group who like to pretend they're black inner-city types. People born and raised in the US, born of people born and raised in the US, with English as the primary (often only) language in the household for a few generations, and yet names like Shequanah and Shaniquah (my personal favorite is Shithéad, which always causes embarrassment for the poor kid- yet I've seen it 4 times already) make me wonder how you can politely ask for a pronunciation guide.
Quote from: Valmy on April 11, 2009, 09:57:54 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on April 11, 2009, 09:46:44 PM
Most of the Japanese I've known, at least the 2nd gen ones, usually had English names. The younger ones I come across, not so much anymore.
I blame Anime. It made having a Japanese name cool.
My anecdote is ignored. :(
White people are ridiculous, news at 11.
Quote from: DontSayBanana on April 11, 2009, 10:29:24 PM
Quote from: CountDeMoney on April 11, 2009, 09:46:44 PM
Most of the Japanese I've known, at least the 2nd gen ones, usually had English names. The younger ones I come across, not so much anymore.
Fair point. The nisei tended to be pretty sensitive with regard to the cultural gap.
As far as unpronounceable names, my biggest problems are with "urban" names, usually black inner-city types or the even larger group who like to pretend they're black inner-city types. People born and raised in the US, born of people born and raised in the US, with English as the primary (often only) language in the household for a few generations, and yet names like Shequanah and Shaniquah (my personal favorite is Shithéad, which always causes embarrassment for the poor kid- yet I've seen it 4 times already) make me wonder how you can politely ask for a pronunciation guide.
http://www.babynames.org.uk/african-american-baby-names.htm
Ja'Quaelah
Ta-Ja'e
Keyair
J'vonte'
Quote from: Syt on April 12, 2009, 12:03:37 AM
http://www.babynames.org.uk/african-american-baby-names.htm
Ja'Quaelah
Ta-Ja'e
Keyair
J'vonte'
Even living 40 minutes from Camden, and 90 minutes from Newark, I
still had to put some thought into how to pronounce those names.
BTW, you want to hear something really funny? Deaf
African-Americans mispronouncing those names, because they've never heard them verbalized. The thought of faux pas like that makes me really miss my job. :(
Quote from: jimmy olsen on April 11, 2009, 09:52:09 PM
They still do, almost all the Asian kids at the school I'm teaching at all have traditional English first names, it's the black students and some of the Hispanic students that have some bizzare first names.
Yeah, most Asian Americans I've met have old style American names, rather than misspellings of normal names or stuff like Dakota. Aside from a few from commie countries, whose parents picked the wrong side, and named them Boris.
Quote from: DontSayBanana on April 12, 2009, 12:06:53 AM
Even living 40 minutes from Camden, and 90 minutes from Newark, I still had to put some thought into how to pronounce those names.
To me they look like something from a third rate fantasy story.
Quote from: Syt on April 12, 2009, 12:19:45 AM
To me they look like something from a third rate fantasy story.
I was thinking sci fi (syfy?) alien races.
Quote from: Syt on April 12, 2009, 12:03:37 AM
http://www.babynames.org.uk/african-american-baby-names.htm
Ja'Quaelah
Ta-Ja'e
Keyair
J'vonte'
WTF? African-Americans are stealing names from the Narn?
Quote from: Faeelin on April 12, 2009, 01:01:47 AM
Quote from: Syt on April 12, 2009, 12:03:37 AM
http://www.babynames.org.uk/african-american-baby-names.htm
Ja'Quaelah
Ta-Ja'e
Keyair
J'vonte'
WTF? African-Americans are stealing names from the Narn?
:lol:
G'Kar X.
Quote from: Valmy on April 11, 2009, 09:56:33 PM
Quote from: Faeelin on April 11, 2009, 09:46:11 PM
However, this does raise an interesting question. What's the deal with Asians who come to America changing their first names? It's not just parents changing their kids' names; I have a friend who's here on a work-visa from Korea, and he goes by the name Ryan.
Yeah it would be weird if I worked in Korea and told everybody to call me Yi. Is that some sort of Asian cultural thing? Do Chinese people take a Japanese name if they move to Japan?
Oooh, I call dibs on Ichiro.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on April 11, 2009, 09:52:09 PMit's the black students and some of the Hispanic students that have some bizzare first names.
There's about 11 ways they spell "Antoine", and you don't even want to know the way they butcher "Jasmine".
Asian Americans can then take nice proper white surnames to clarify things. I suggest them looking for Polish, Lithuanian, former Yugoslav and Basque ones. Those should do it.
Quote from: The Larch on April 12, 2009, 11:49:39 AM
Asian Americans can then take nice proper white surnames to clarify things. I suggest them looking for Polish, Lithuanian, former Yugoslav and Basque ones. Those should do it.
nobody wants to be called Wiktor or Andrzej or BOGUSŁAW.
Quote from: The Larch on April 12, 2009, 11:49:39 AM
Asian Americans can then take nice proper white surnames to clarify things. I suggest them looking for Polish, Lithuanian, former Yugoslav and Basque ones. Those should do it.
:mad:
Quote from: CountDeMoney on April 12, 2009, 06:02:44 AM
There's about 11 ways they spell "Antoine", and you don't even want to know the way they butcher "Jasmine".
Jazmynne FTL.
Quote from: Faeelin on April 12, 2009, 01:01:47 AMWTF? African-Americans are stealing names from the Narn?
Generally speaking, ghetto mamas seem to want to give their kids either normal names or African ones. In the case, of the former, they can't spell for shit, which is where ANTWAAN comes from. In the case, of the latter, the majority of them cannot speak Igbo or Mandinka, so just make up fantasy names that sound different and declare them to be African. Also they think apostrophes help make them African. Hence Q'IONAH.
Quote from: katmai on April 12, 2009, 04:48:03 PM
Quote from: The Larch on April 12, 2009, 11:49:39 AM
Asian Americans can then take nice proper white surnames to clarify things. I suggest them looking for Polish, Lithuanian, former Yugoslav and Basque ones. Those should do it.
:mad:
Yours doesn't count, it doesn't even sound Basque at all. Try some Urrutikoetxea, Basagoiti, Zumalakarregi, Arruabarrena, Ormaetxega or Agirretxe, for a change. :P
We have a new headline to replace "Worthwile Canadian Initiative": "Texas Lawmaker Says Something Outrageously Stupid". :D
Where do you people find this stuff? :lol:
Quote from: Malthus on April 13, 2009, 10:56:46 AM
We have a new headline to replace "Worthwile Canadian Initiative": "Texas Lawmaker Says Something Outrageously Stupid". :D
The nice thing abou the Democrats being in power is other states get to be humiliated on the national stage for awhile.
Quote from: Faeelin on April 11, 2009, 09:46:11 PM
However, this does raise an interesting question. What's the deal with Asians who come to America changing their first names? It's not just parents changing their kids' names; I have a friend who's here on a work-visa from Korea, and he goes by the name Ryan.
It's usually not a change, it's an addition. So if Chow Sing-Chi moves to the US or gets involved in an industry where having an English name is useful he might become Stephen Chow Sing-Chi. He doesn't change Sing-Chi to Stephen, he simply adds another name. I think it's similar for Japanese and Koreans.
I think that's the general pattern, though of course individuals do all sorts of things for individual reasons.
As an aside, my wife's Chinese last name is much easier to pronounce for English speakers than my Danish one.
Quote from: Caliga on April 13, 2009, 07:32:19 AM
Generally speaking, ghetto mamas seem to want to give their kids either normal names or African ones. In the case, of the former, they can't spell for shit, which is where ANTWAAN comes from. In the case, of the latter, the majority of them cannot speak Igbo or Mandinka, so just make up fantasy names that sound different and declare them to be African. Also they think apostrophes help make them African. Hence Q'IONAH.
That doesn't explain La-a, pronounced "La-dash-ay".
:huh: Here I was thinking the dash was silent.
Quote from: MadImmortalMan on April 13, 2009, 11:08:08 AM
Where do you people find this stuff? :lol:
I think Marti gets it from the gay.
Quote from: Maximus on April 13, 2009, 02:46:10 PMThat doesn't explain La-a, pronounced "La-dash-ay".
:huh: Here I was thinking the dash was silent.
I've heard that story, but I thought it was a joke. :lol:
Quote from: Caliga on April 13, 2009, 02:47:38 PM
Quote from: Maximus on April 13, 2009, 02:46:10 PMThat doesn't explain La-a, pronounced "La-dash-ay".
:huh: Here I was thinking the dash was silent.
I've heard that story, but I thought it was a joke. :lol:
It happened to Meri, at the school she works at.
I believe I read about it here: http://www.snopes.com/racial/language/le-a.asp (http://www.snopes.com/racial/language/le-a.asp) :cool:
My brother also ran into a real-life Lemonjello and his brother Orangejello, down in Georgia.
Quote from: Maximus on April 13, 2009, 02:49:05 PM
It happened to Meri, at the school she works at.
I thought it was Le-a, which is why it was first thought that the child's name was a variation of Leah.
Also according to the net, this is now an internet phenomena with the child being cited as from Livingston Parish, LA.
Hmm, this is the actual quote:
QuoteBROWN: Any suggestion for us for something that would help the Chinese community, uh, that would be easier on them?
WITNESS: One suggestion off the top of my head would be some type of provision addressing the problem with names. That's actually one of the most frequently noted problems that happened in the 2008 election, which is the problem with a lot of voters having problems because their names didn't match.
BROWN: Well, rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it's a rather difficult language –
WITNESS: Right.
BROWN: Do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here, since you're talking about –
WITNESS: Well, –
BROWN: I mean I'm not talking about changing your name, I'm talking about the transliteration or whatever you refer to it, that you could use with us.
So what is supposed to be the outrageous part? Seems like another fake scandal cooked up by the left.
The problem is much bigger in arabic where there are usually dozens of different ways you can spell names in the latin alphabet.
Quote from: The Larch on April 13, 2009, 10:53:33 AM
Quote from: katmai on April 12, 2009, 04:48:03 PM
Quote from: The Larch on April 12, 2009, 11:49:39 AM
Asian Americans can then take nice proper white surnames to clarify things. I suggest them looking for Polish, Lithuanian, former Yugoslav and Basque ones. Those should do it.
:mad:
Yours doesn't count, it doesn't even sound Basque at all. Try some Urrutikoetxea, Basagoiti, Zumalakarregi, Arruabarrena, Ormaetxega or Agirretxe, for a change. :P
This is true, thankfully.
Quote from: Martinus on April 11, 2009, 05:51:44 PM
Texas lawmaker: Asians should change their names to make them 'easier for Americans to deal with.'
On Tuesday, State Rep. Betty Brown (R) caused a firestorm during House testimony on voter identification legislation when she said that Asian-Americans should change their names because they're too hard to pronounce:
"Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it's a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?" Brown said.
Brown later told [Organization of Chinese Americans representative Ramey] Ko: "Can't you see that this is something that would make it a lot easier for you and the people who are poll workers if you could adopt a name just for identification purposes that's easier for Americans to deal with?"
Yesterday, Brown continued to resist calls to apologize. Her spokesman said that Democrats "want this to just be about race."
:lol:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/09/brown-asian-names/
Actually, we already do that in Hong Kong. The Chinese name system is just too difficult for westerners to understand. So most of us add a Christian name to our Chinese names, and most westerners would just call us that. E.g. the name of a typical Hong Konger would be -
[Chinese last name][Chinese first name][Chinese first name][Western name]
I do not think it is the actual pronounciation that bothers westerners, because it is quite easy in most cases. I think very few people will have trouble pronouncing "wong", "chan", "cheung" etc. The real difficulty lies in the fundamental differences in the naming system. Westerners cannot comprehend that -
a) a Chinese first name often consists of more than one word
b) the notion of "middle name" does not exist in Chinese culture
c) last names always go first, and first names always go last
d) it is uncommon to address others "on a first name basis". It is also uncommon to refer to others by their last name only. The usual way is "last plus first name". The reason is simple. A study once found that 20% of Chinese (that's hundreds of millions of people) share 3 last names only. Hundreds of millions of people are called "wong". So if you just say "wong" it is meaningless. You have to refer to him by his full name, e.g. Wong Tin Wai.
How do close friends address each other in Chinese? Still the full name?
In retrospect, I guess this female lawmaker just had a hangup about people named Dong or Wang.
"Hi, Dong!" *snicker, blush*
Quote from: DisturbedPervert on April 14, 2009, 02:31:16 AM
How do close friends address each other in Chinese? Still the full name?
For close friends, we use the western names too :lol:
It just feels odd to refer to a close friend by his full Chinese name.
Mono, I don't find that even remotely difficult to understand. I have understood it since my friend Chung Gee Wai Andrew explained it to me in high school. :)