A Declaration of Pronunciation
The Olympic games in Beijing are fast approaching, and y'all are getting a Chinese lesson, whether you want it or not.
I am fed up with having my last name mangled ever since my 1967 arrival in America. The Brits can pronounce it correctly. So can the Japanese and the French. I am betting the Lost Tribes of Israel and the Maoris can, too.
I'm not a linguist and don't know if any other language in the world possess that awful nasal a, as pronounced in nasty, which elicits the baring of the teeth and the wrinkling of the nose.
My last name, Yang, means poplar, willow, aspen or any tree of this family. It rhymes with young--an open sound. Say, Ahhhh, just like your doctor tells you. The ng is soft--barely pronounced-- and definitely NOT hard like the two g's in "garage." If you look in the mirror while saying, Yang, you see a nice tall O.
If you pronounce it wrong, you are baring your teeth aggressively, and millions upon millions of Yangs will cringe inwardly every time.
I was in Vancouver last weekend as one of three honorees of the American Immigration Law Foundation. The host was the Canadian CBC broadcaster, Ian Hanomansing (Indian parentage, born in Trinidad, former neighbor to V.S. Naipaul). Mr. Hanomansing had grown up having his name garbled all his life. He said he didn't want to mangle the name of Microsoft's chief immigration lawyer, Lydia Tamez. Hey, Mr. Hanomansing, what about Yang. You mangled Yang.
I now regret that when it came my turn to give my speel, I passed on the opportunity to teach over eight hundred immigration lawyers the right way to pronounce Chinese. (Btw, I have to toot my own horn. How else will y'all know, dammit. My discourse was so touching, I received a standing ovation from the eight hundred.)
Over a quarter of a century ago, I'd gotten into a brawl with my loutish boyfriend in a bar, because he said I was being pretentious when I pronounced the green Japanese liqueur, Midori, with a teensy trill of the r. It was the way I learned it as a child in Japan.
Recently, a Latino friend pronounced our neighboring city, Monterey, with a trill of the r. Monterrrrrry had never sounded more beautiful.
So here is the lesson:
Wang is pronounced open-mouthed like Wong.
If someone is named Fang, give her a break; pronounce it Fong.
Yin and yang is pronounced, yin and young.
I repeat: All words ending in ng is soft,--barely pronounced--and definitely NOT hard as the name for the structure where you park your motor vehicle.
So go forth Redroomers and spread the good word. No nasal a in Chinese. My delicate ears and sensibilities will be forever grateful. And so will 1.3 billion people on planet Earth.
Sincerely,
Belle, the forever young
Ahhh, so very cathartic to get this issue off my chest after forty-one years.
Youtube video of art from "Always Come Home to Me," CALA Best Picture Book of 2008
- Login Or register To Post Comments
- Send To A Friend
RSS- Bookmark With:
Ericka Lutz says:
Your illustrations made me laugh!
I'll be careful with your name, Ms. Yang.
I always know I'm back in the States, particularly the West Coast, when I hear those harrrrd Rrrrs and the nasel As. It jarrrrs the eeeeearrrs after being in another country for a while. Not such a pretty sounding dialect we speak.
Belle Yang says:
Three Strikes
and you're out, Lutz.
It didn't matter very much to me until recently. Don't know why. Don't worry, I don't care as much as the blog makes it sound.
I bet the "U" in Lutz is an "oou" like in Chaucer's Middle English.
Ericka Lutz says:
It would be if we were of
It would be if we were of German origin. Instead it rhymes, unfortunately, with Klutz, and Nuts, and Butts. And Sluts. Believe me, I've heard it all. :<
I somehow don't care about that, I'm too busy stressing on people MISSPELLING my FIRST NAME!!! (That's a C AND a K folks. Just like in the word "FUCK.")
Belle Yang says:
Hmm
That sure gets attention.
I am often called Bell-y.
Darlene Arden says:
Thank You for the Lesson!
I'll try, Belle, I promise. But please understand that each and every time I try to say something in French, people visibly cringe. I can't promise I'll do better in Chinese. Looking on the bright side, it can't be worse.
And a huge MAZEL TOV on your award! (the "v" is pronounced like an "f.")
Belle Yang says:
Darlene, I was seated next to two Israeli women
on my way home. It was interesting listening to the differences in their Modern Hebrew. One woman had strong, throaty "hhh" sounds, while the other a barely audible "hhh." Can you explain?
I love languages.
If you can say "dung," you can pronounce Yang.
Darlene Arden says:
You Say Potayto and I say Potahto!
Belle, was it Hebrew or Yiddish? Yiddish has many different ways to pronounce it depending upon the area from which the family came. Hebrew is a pure language and while there are some differences it's mainly in new words. For example, instead of saying Yarmulke for the head covering worn by men (although women are wearing them now, too, in Conservative Synagogues), the Hebrew word is now Kippah (my spelling may be wrong). There are no swear words in Hebrew but boy can you ever curse someone creatively in Yiddish! ROTFLOL
James Whyle says:
May you stay...
forever Yang.
Belle Yang says:
I wonder if Whyley
my Zimbabwe friend comes from the same origin as your Whyle.
Jessica Barksdale Inclan says:
Thank You
You know, I could use you around a roster.
How about Hsu? Do that for me, wouldja?
Now, try having a last name like Inclan. Ene-claan, is probably phonetically correct.
Mostly, I'm Inclain, Incline, In-clan.
Not that this is my "true" name any more, but as a writer, I will be Ene-claan for the rest of my writing days. Every reading, it's an adventure.
J
Jessica Barksdale Inclan www.jessicabarksdaleinclan.com
Belle Yang says:
Forget the Hsu
or the Mainland Chinese way of transliteration is Xu.
I say, forget the Hsus. They are a bad tribe. Tell them to shush.
It's pronounced Shuuuuu.
Jessica Barksdale Inclan says:
I love my Hsus
They are good folk! But I always worry. I've said Shuuuu, but I was just checking in.
But here's one: Cao Fei.
If you have time. Kow Fai.
That's my guess.
J
Jessica Barksdale Inclan www.jessicabarksdaleinclan.com
Belle Yang says:
Cao
It's pronounced Ts'ao.
Yah, the Pin-Yin system isn't better than the Wade-Giles of old.
"Ts" is with tongue cleaving to the roof of the mouth and making a sound like air leaking through clenched teeth.
Huntington Sharp says:
Pinyin vs. Wade-Giles
I looked these up on Wikipedia after reading your initial post. Would your last name be spelled differently in the older system?
Huntington Sharp, Red Room
Belle Yang says:
No
Just the same, Hunti
Jessica Barksdale Inclan says:
I like that sound
I am practicing right now.
Thank you!
J
Jessica Barksdale Inclan www.jessicabarksdaleinclan.com
Judith Tannenbaum says:
congrats
Congrats on the 800-person standing ovation!
I've gotten a good beginning education on pronounciation of Chinese names from my various doctors at Kaiser (especially the wonderful opthamologist, Dr. Huang). My sister's last name is Ingebretsen, and when she married there was brief consideration of hyphenating their last names, but Tannenbaum-Ingebretsen?!!
I agree with everyone: this is the most fantastically illustrated post.
Belle Yang says:
Thank You, O Fir Tree
From Yang the polar, willow or aspen.
I've always loved trees. I plant them every year and labor to water them 2 buckets at at time. There is nothing--I say nothing--more satisfying that taking care of trees and watch them grow from seedling, to sapling and then many many years later, a full grown tree.
And nothing makes me sadder than the felling of a tree.
Thomas Dotson says:
Thank you Belle.
I will NEVER make this mistake again. Sadly, I'm woefully ignorant when it comes to Chinese culture and name prounouciation and this was enlightening.
Odd side note BaBa also means Father in Yoruba a West African language.
Thomas Dotson, Redroom.com
Belle Yang says:
Thomas,
I believe everyone will be pronouncing Renjie's surname correctly at headquarters from this day forth. I insist.
Wang, and there are many meanings for the same pronunciation, means "King." He is related to Dr. Marthin Luther perhaps.
Huntington Sharp says:
Chinois
Of course you should be entitled to have your surname pronounced as it would be in Chinese. I just asked Renjie Wang here about this, and he's right there with you. I'd suggest a little patience, though; after all, this mess is the fault of the transliterators of Chinese, rather than those of us who are used to English spelling conventions. I know I just chuckle when I hear people whose first language isn't English struggle with pronouncing my name. (A new acquaintance from Texas even does interesting things to "Huntington" that make me smile.)
I wonder about your first name, though: the French "l" is pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching the tip of the incisors, not curled against the roof of the mouth as we do in English. And the final "e" is often pronounced, especially in song.
Huntington Sharp, Red Room
Belle Yang says:
But no one would
get Hunti wrong. Could be Hunt-eye, I guess. Yes, Huntington would be hard for the Chinese rabble.
Eric Nichols says:
If you like californian, you'll love Brooklynese
I still have some ancestors in Brooklyn. My aunt pronounces Long Island "Lawn Guy Land." No kidding.
(Actually, according to Websters, the second g in garage (whether pronounced as a "J" or a "zh" is considered a soft g. The first g is hard...as in guts and guys. :))
eric
Judith Tannenbaum says:
loss
I really hope all the sounds -- "Lawn Guy Land" etc -- of regional speech don't completely disappear.
Eric Nichols says:
Belle is from the SOUTHERN part of Chiina
which is why she says y'all. :)
Belle Yang says:
Taiwan
lies near the Tropic of Cancer. Yes, I am a Southern Belle.
sonshi (not verified) says:
More names abused
Two very popular Vietnamese names that I'm sure have been ravaged by English speakers are "Dung" and "Phuc."
"Dung" has an unfortunate meaning in English but it's a boy's name that means "Bravery" in Vietnamese. Its close pronunciation is "Y-oh-m." However, this pronunciation isn't exact because it (like many Vietnamese words) has sounds not found in English. And Vietnamese is a tonal language so the slightest variation will quickly change the word (usually to a non-word) you're trying to convey.
"Phuc" has an unfortunate closeness to the F word; the pronunciation is actually close to the F word. But again, the true pronunciation is unlike anything in English and trying to convert it into the closest English sound will prove futile. "Phuc" is a very beautiful Vietnamese girl's name that means "Prosperity."
The Vietnamese first name I was born with is "Cuong" (means "Strong"), which is also very popular. I won't even bother to try to find an exact English sound to match because there isn't any. "Kung" is close but nowhere near the true Vietnamese pronunciation. Although I legally changed my first name to Thomas after high school, I still commemorated my birth name later on by forking over big bucks for the domain name Cuong.com. It was expensive but well worth it personally.
Sincerely,
Thomas "Kung" Huynh
Belle Yang says:
Phuc
is the Chinese Fu? Fu is prosperity in Chinese. Are there any similar words in Vietnamese to the Cantonese language?
Evie Shockley says:
eternal gratitude
Belle,
Many many thanks for breaking it down! I feel so vindicated. I have a friend -- not a close friend, but a professional acquaintance I like a lot -- whose last name is Wang. I was pronouncing it correctly for years, until someone else "corrected" me, saying it was proper to use that nasal a. Apparently, the fact that there is a name spelled "Wong" meant to her her that "Wang" must be pronounced differently! Thank you for giving me the beautiful pronunciation of my friend's name back! (I'd all but stopped saying it, out of uncertainty and aesthetic objections -- haha!)
Speaking of Vietnamese names, I was lucky to meet a wonderful poet named Hua Ngyen, who clued me in on the pronunciation of her name ("whah whenn" should give you the sense of it), which I would never have guessed -- and which made me very pleased, when a Ngyen showed up in one of my courses, not to have destroyed her name on the first day of classes!
My own name is pretty easy, but because there actually is an alternative pronunciation out there, I get called "Ev-vie" sometimes. Give me the long e, please -- pronounce it like Adam's endearing nickname for his roommate in Eden. : )