Network Working Group H. Deng
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Pronouncing and Using Chinese Personal Names
draft-deng-chinese-names-06
Abstract
This document gives general rules for how to pronounce Mandarin
Chinese names in conversation, and how to determine which name is
someone's surname. It also covers some other related topics about
Chinese names. The intent is to allow IETF participants who are not
familiar with Chinese to communicate better with Chinese
participants.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Pronouncing Chinese Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1. Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2. Introduction to the Pinyin System . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.3. Pronouncing Pinyin Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.3.1. Pronouncing the Initial Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.3.2. Pronouncing the Final Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.3.3. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3. Using Chinese Personal Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4. Difference Between Written and Spoken Order . . . . . . . . . 8
5. Women's Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
6. Inferring Gender from Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
7. Use of English Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
8. Writing the Four Tones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
9. Using Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
10. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
11. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
12. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
13. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1. Introduction
In typical conversations in the IETF, people's names are used
heavily. In face-to-face meetings, people will speak about other
participants by name both formally and informally ("Mr. Smith
says..." or "Bob says..."), and the same is true about how people
sometimes refer to each other on working group mailing lists. Most
times, people want to use other people's names correctly, to be both
more precise and more polite.
The number of Chinese participants in the IETF, both in face-to-face
meetings and on mailing lists, has greatly increased in recent years.
Many non-Chinese participants have a difficult time knowing how to
pronounce a Chinese name that they encounter on a mailing list, RFC,
or name badge. In fact, many people don't know how to tell which of
the two names in a printed Chinese name is the surname and which is
the personal name. And yet most people want to be able to use each
others' names correctly.
This document covers general rules for Mandarin Chinese names. The
rules are widely applicable, especially to those whose names are
based on the pinyin romanization. The rules do not necessarily
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apply, however, to Cantonese, Hakka, or the dialects native to Taiwan
or Shanghai. They also do not apply to non-Han ethnic groups, even
where those ethnicities use romanizations based on pinyin.
There are many other documents that cover similar material, such as
[ChineseNames]. Also, this document mostly discusses Chinese
personal names, but the pronunciation section applies to Chinese
company names as well. It is hoped that this document makes typical
communications between non-Chinese and Chinese in the IETF easier and
more natural.
2. Pronouncing Chinese Names
2.1. Background
Nearly all Chinese people normally spell their names with Han
characters, which are non-phonetic ideographic characters. However,
many Chinese people also spell their names using Latin characters.
Converting Han characters to Latin character equivalents is called
romanization [Romanize].
Non-Chinese speakers seeing the romanized spelling of Chinese names
often have a difficult time pronouncing them correctly. The
essential problem is that there have been two major standards for
romanization from Chinese. An older system, "Wade-Giles", was widely
used until the "pinyin" system was adopted in the mid-1960s, but
pinyin is now much more common. This document focuses on pinyin
spellings [Pinyin].
2.2. Introduction to the Pinyin System
Pinyin is the official phonetic system for transcribing the sound of
Chinese characters into Latin script in China. It is often used to
teach Standard Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign
publications and may be used as an input method to enter Chinese
characters (Hanzi) into computers. "Pinyin" literally means
"spelled-out sounds."
Pinyin was published by the Chinese government in 1958 and revised
several times. The International Organization for Standardization
adopted pinyin as the international standard in 1982.
Note that there are many ways to learn to pronounce Chinese words.
Some methods are tailored for English speakers, many others are
tailored for other languages. There are numerous resources online
for those who want to explore beyond what is given here.
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2.3. Pronouncing Pinyin Words
This section describes a simple way to pronounce a syllable in
pinyin. The basic steps are to divide the pinyin syllable into an
initial sound and a final sound, and combine the two sounds together.
The examples of the sounds are all from spoken American English. Of
course, there are variations in that, but it is maybe the most
recognizable to readers of this document. Also, there are many
regional variations in China on pronunciation of some of the sounds,
so these tables cannot be considered definitive.
Spoken Chinese also has tones (shifts in pitch) within a syllable.
The four main tones of Chinese are first tone (even), second tone
(rising), third tone (down then up), and fourth tone (falling).
These four tones are used to clarify the meanings of words. Since
many characters have the same sound, tones are used to differentiate
words from each other. The tones are sometimes difficult to learn,
just as it is often difficult for non-native speakers of many
languages to learn intonations and pitches. Many non-Chinese
speakers just pronounce all syllables with the first tone (even).
2.3.1. Pronouncing the Initial Sound
The following table lists the initial sounds.
Pinyin | English approximation
---------------------------------------------------------------------
b | unaspirated "p", as in "spit"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
p | strongly aspirated "p", as in "pit"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
m | as in English "mummy"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
f | as in English "fun"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
d | unaspirated "t", as in "stop"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
t | strongly aspirated "t", as in "top"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
n | as in "nit"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
l | as in "love"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
g | unaspirated "k", as in "skill"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
k | strongly aspirated "k", as in "kill"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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h | as in "hay"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
j | no equivalent in English; like "ge" in garage
---------------------------------------------------------------------
q | no equivalent in English; like "pun*ch y*ourself"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
x | no equivalent in English; like "wi*sh y*ou"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
zh | like "ch" (a sound between "*ch*oke" and "*dr*ew", but
| with the tip of the tongue curled more upwards
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ch | as in "chin", but with the tongue curled upwards; similar
| to "nur*tu*re" in English, but more strongly aspirated
---------------------------------------------------------------------
sh | as in "shoe", but with the tongue curled upwards; similar
| to "marsh" in American English
---------------------------------------------------------------------
r | similar to the "z" in "azure" and the "r" in "reduce"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
z | similar to something between "su*ds*" and "ca*ts*"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
c | like the "ts" in "cats"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
s | as in "sun"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
w | as in "water"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
y | as in "yes"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Figure 1: Pronouncing Pinyin Initials
2.3.2. Pronouncing the Final Sound
Final sounds are generally more difficult to pronounce than initial
sounds. But unlike English where there are often many ways to
pronounce a final (such as the "ough" sound in "cough" and "rough"
and "though" "through"), final sounds in Chinese are more regular.
Pinyin | English approximation
---------------------------------------------------------------------
a | as "a" in "father"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
i | as "ee" in "see"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
e | as "er" in "her"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ai | similar to "eye", but a bit lighter
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---------------------------------------------------------------------
ei | as "ey" in "hey"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ao | approximately as "ow" in "cow"; the "a" is much more
| audible than the "o"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ou | as in "so"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
an | as "on" in "con"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
en | as "en" in "taken"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ang | as "ong" in "monger"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
eng | like in "en" above with "g" added
---------------------------------------------------------------------
er | similar to the sound of "ar" in "bar"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ia | as "ya" in "yard" but with a brighter beginning
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ie | as "ye" in the slang "yep" but with a brighter beginning
---------------------------------------------------------------------
iao | similar to the slang "yow" but with a brighter beginning
---------------------------------------------------------------------
iu | similar to the slang "yo" but with a brighter beginning
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ian | similar to "yen" but with a brighter beginning
---------------------------------------------------------------------
iang | like "ian" above with a "g" added
---------------------------------------------------------------------
in | as "een" in "seen"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ing | as in "sing"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
u | as "oo" in "soon"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
v | Like the vowel in French "tu" or German "suess",
| produced by placing the tongue as for the "i" vowel
| while rounding the lips as for the "u" vowel.
| More commonly displayed as "ü"
| Since 2012, appears in Chinese passports as "yu"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ua | as "wa" as in "water" but with the "w" lighter
---------------------------------------------------------------------
uo | as in "woe", but with the "w" lighter and the "o" shorter
---------------------------------------------------------------------
uai | as in "why" but with the "w" lighter
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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ui | as in "way" but with the "w" lighter
---------------------------------------------------------------------
uan | as in "wan" but with the "w" lighter
---------------------------------------------------------------------
un | as in "won" but with the "w" lighter
---------------------------------------------------------------------
uang | as in "wrong" without the "r" and the "w" lighter
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ong | starts with the vowel sound in "book" and ends with the
| nasal sound in "sing"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Figure 2: Pronouncing Pinyin Finals
2.3.3. Examples
One of the authors of this document has the first name "Zhen" and the
last name "Cao". For the first name, divide "Zhen" into initial "zh"
and final "en", looking them up in Figure 1 and Figure 2,
respectively. From the tables, "zh" pronounces like "ch", and "en"
follows its pronunciation in "taken". "Cao" is broken into "c" and
"ao". Another of the authors has the first name "Hui" and the last
name "Deng". "Hui" can be divided into "h" (initial) and "ui"
(final), while "Deng" is divided into "d" and "eng". (The third
author's name is not in pinyin, of course.)
3. Using Chinese Personal Names
In China, when giving somebody's full name, usually his or her family
name is put first, and the given (personal) name last. One of the
Chinese authors of this document has the given name "Hui" and the
family name "Deng", and the other Chinese author has the given name
"Zhen" and the family name "Cao"; when one speaks of them in China,
they say "Deng Hui" and "Cao Zhen".
Almost all family names have only one Chinese character, with only a
few having two characters. For given names, however, both one-
character names and two-character names are common.
Thus, most Chinese people's names have two to three Chinese
characters (although a few people's names have four characters).
When saying the name of someone whose name has two characters, it is
normal to say both names, with the family name first. However, when
saying the name of someone whose name has three or more characters in
informal conversation, it is normal to only say the given name.
For example, "Hui Deng" has two characters, and in China is normally
called "Deng Hui". Another example would be a name such as "Xiaodong
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Duan". This is a name of three characters ("Xiaodong" is the given
name and has two characters, and "Duan" is the family name and has
one character). In this case, Chinese people speaking his name in
informal conversation would normally omit family name, and just call
him by using his given name, Xiaodong.
If people are not familiar with each other, or are introducing each
other for the first time, it is common to use the full name,
regardless of the number of syllables.
As a side note, the discussion above points out a problem with IETF
protocols that only have one field for a person's name, instead of
multiple fields for given name, family name, and so on. A Chinese
person has to decide which order to put their name in the single
field: the order they would normally put them in China, or an order
they hope will help non-Chinese correctly identify the given and
family names. Future revisions of these protocols might allow for
better distinctions in the names of people who do not follow the
European customs of "given name comes first".
4. Difference Between Written and Spoken Order
Because both Chinese and English speakers might try to conform with
other cultures, Chinese people will typically write their given name
first and their family name second, like the use of "Hui Deng" and
"Zhen Cao" in this document. Non-Chinese speakers will then say the
names in the order they read them in the written document, but that
will be the reverse of the way that Chinese people would say them.
A useful and growing convention is to write the family name in all
capitals. Thus, you might see "Hui DENG" or "DENG Hui" instead of
"Hui Deng".
Another useful tips: if one only has been given a Pinyin email
address, it is more likely to be in the Chinese order if the domain
is a Chinese company or Chinese hosting service.
5. Women's Names
Few Chinese women change their family names to their husband's family
name when they marry; normally, they just keep their family name.
Today, some Chinese children have both their father's and mother's
family name, then given name.
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6. Inferring Gender from Names
Technically you can't tell a Chinese person's genders only by their
names in Pinyin.
Several facts shape the above statement. First of all, every Chinese
character can be used in names. Secondly, some characters have been
used more frequently in boys' names, and some characters have more
frequent presence in girls' names. But generally they are mixed.
Third, when the characters are translated into Pinyin, it's hard to
tell the original Chinese characters which represent their meanings.
7. Use of English Names
Some Chinese people have informally adopted English given names for
use in business. The name might be one that sounds like the Chinese
name (such as "Sheldon" for "XiaoDong" or "Lisa" for "Lixia") or
might be a name whose meaning is similar to the Chinese meaning (such
as "Lilly" for a Chinese woman's name that means a type of flower).
These names are rarely the legal name of the person, and Chinese
people usually don't use the English name when speaking to other
Chinese people.
8. Writing the Four Tones
The four tones introduced in Section 2.3 are sometimes indicated in
Chinese names as the numbers 1 though 4. Even is 1, rising is 2,
down then up is 3, and falling is 4. Thus, a name such as "Deng"
might be written as "Deng2" to indicate a rising tone.
The four tones are also sometimes indicated with Latin punctuation
that is meant to show the movement of the sound. Even is with a
macron (a horizontal bar), rising is with an acute accent, down then
up is with a caron (like a small raised "v"), and falling is with a
grave accent. (Because RFCs still cannot contain non-ASCII
characters, these characters cannot be shown here.)
The use of digits and punctuation to show tones is not very common,
but it is seen in some academic journals and sometimes on business
cards.
9. Using Titles
Most Chinese people are called by different names according to the
relationship between them and the person addressing them. For
example, parents call their child by one name, but his or her friends
may use a different name, and work colleagues might use yet a
different name. These different names include titles (terms of
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respect), nicknames, and so on. In Chinese culture, it is extremely
common to show respect to someone by using a proper title according
to their occupation or status in society.
These days, there are many commonly used titles. Two generic titles
that have similar meanings to "Mr." and "Ms./Mrs." are "Xiansheng"
and "Nvshi" (pronounced as "Xian1sheng1" and "Nv3shi4"). These two
titles are widely used either between people who are unfamiliar with
each other, or during the formal situations like a conference.
Another two commonly used titles are "Jiaoshou" and "Laoshi"
(pronounced as "Jiao4shou4" and "Lao3shi1") which indicate that
someone is a professor or instructor. For example, if the surname of
that person is "Zhang", then you could call him or her "Zhang
Jiaoshou" or "Zhang Laoshi". Other titles which also have been
widely used include "Laoban" (pronounced "Lao3ban3") for a high-level
manager in a company, "Zhuxi" (pronounced "Zhu3xi2") for the
chairman, and "Zong" for the president. In most cases, the title
comes after just the surname, but occasionally, the title comes after
both the given name and surname.
10. Acknowledgements
Paul Hoffman contributed content to the early version of this
document, and help polished the text. He was on the authors list of
the previous versions. Thank you so much, Paul.
Many people contributed to this document by offering initial
encouragement and ideas of what should be covered. The two Chinese
authors were also encouraged by some non-Chinese people who made an
effort to pronounce their names correctly before this document was
even published. Some of the people who contributed include: Aaron
Ding, Bob Briscoe, Cameron Byrne, Dave Thaler, Fred Baker, Haibin
Song, Ida Leung, Jari Arkko, John Klensin, Margaret Wasserman,
Melinda Shore, Mikael Abrahamsson, Noel Chiappa, Nori Demizu, Randy
Bush, Randy Presuhn, S. Moonesamy, Simon Perreault, Sri Gundave,
Stephen Sprunk, Ted Hardie, Ted Lemon, Vero Zheng, Wes George, Will
Liu, Yu Juan, and Yuanchen Ma. We apologize for others whose names
we may miss or have misplaced.
11. IANA Considerations
None.
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12. Security Considerations
None.
13. Informative References
[ChineseNames]
Wikipedia, "Chinese Names", August 2013,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_name>.
[Pinyin] U. S. Library of Congress, "Chinese Rules of Application",
August 2013,
<http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/chinese.pdf>.
[Romanize]
Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China,
"Basic rules of the Chinese phonetic alphabet
orthography", June 2012,
<http://www.moe.edu.cn/ewebeditor/
uploadfile/2015/01/13/20150113091717604.pdf>.
Authors' Addresses
Hui Deng
Huawei
Email: denghui02@gmail.com
Zhen Cao
Huawei
Email: zhencao.ietf@gmail.com
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