12 Notation of Japanese names
Description
This article is from the Japanese FAQ, by TANAKA Tomoyuki tanaka@cs.indiana.edu and Olaf Meeuwissen olaf@IMSL.shinshu-u.ac.jp with numerous contributions by others.
12 Notation of Japanese names
[mention SWET's style book here]
---- 1. family name first?
from "American misconceptions about Japan FAQ":
--------------------------------------------------------------------
(MISCONCEPTION 4) Japanese have first names followed by last names
just like Americans do.
THE TRUTH: a Japanese name usually consists of a family name
followed by a given name.
most academic and serious treatment of Japanese culture
in English text (such as scholarly papers and serious
books) observe this original order, while popular and
cursory ones (such as newspaper and magazine articles)
reverse and "Anglicize" the order.
note that preserving the original name order in English text
is the default for people from mainland China (PRC) (Mao
Tse-tung, Chou En-lai, Li Peng), Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh, Nguen Van
Thieu, Pham Van Dong), and North Korea (Kim Il Sung). it is
also common for people from Taiwan (ROC) (Chiang Kai-shek) and
South Korea (Rho Tae Woo, Chun Doo Hwan).
---- 2. capitalization
it is a good idea to write the family name in all capitals
(as TANAKA Tomoyuki, Gray DAVID, WANG Pei)
whenever there is a possibility of confusion, like the
first time the name appears.
this way of capitalization to specify the family name is
also common in the U.S. military, U.S. phone books.
the French-speaking world (see < news:soc.culture.french> ),
and Esperanto community (see < news:soc.culture.esperanto> ).
---- 3. "Tsuchihashi" or "Tutihasi"?
when you study the Japanese syllabury
(the gojuuon (50-on) table, which you can
probably see in BB's and Olaf's FAQs),
you'll realize how much more logical and consistent to
use "Tutihasi" over the ad hoc spellings such as "Tsuchihashi".
[more later]
-- offensive use of the "-san" suffix by white Americans.
inappropriate use of "-san" in English speech/text
please do not call me "Tanaka-san" in English speech or text.
white Americans (e.g. comedians, bigots, smart alecs) often use
the "-san" ending to make fun of the Japanese and Japanese Americans.
see http://www.deja.com/=dnc/getdoc.xp?AN=370355372
http://www.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=363446365
http://www.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=370355372
[more later]
Continue to:
My Books
