- References to oyster omelettes as hezaijian. I don’t know if they do this is Taiwan, but waitresses in Maryland kept doing it. Makes me want to resort to violence.
- References to the national team as 中華隊 (Chinese Taipei). Makes people think Taiwanese people have no self respect.
- English proper names should be sounded out instead of transliterated whenever possible.
- Crappy Romanizations like “Hsinchu.”
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Ah Huang instead of Hank, you mean?
Exactly, it’s Sin-tik
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Well, that’s how you pronounce those characters in Mandarin, and I’m sure those waitresses in Maryland aren’t Taiwanese. People in Taiwan who don’t speak Taiwanese do the same thing.
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No comment.
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So what if you don’t speak English? How would you sound it out?
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Some would argue that Pinyin is crappy romanization. How does “xi” even make sense for the “she” sound? Or “qi” for the “chi” sound?
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No, I mean like calling Mr. Garcia 賈西亞. Just say Mr. Garcia. Or Ah Huang or Ah Ga is fine.
That’s how it is in Portuguese.
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And in fact, “shi” is for the “she” sound.
“Xi” is a different sound that doesn’t exist in English.
Just like how the “hsin” in “Hsintsu” is for a sound that doesn’t exist in English? “Xi” doesn’t make any more sense than “hsin”.
Far less crappy than Wade Giles.
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“Shi” doesn’t sound like “she” at all. “Xi” sounds closer to it.
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Actually, I do have a comment about this.
You do realize that “Chinese Taipei” means “R.O.C. Taipei”, right? It doesn’t mean “P.R.C. Taipei”. At least not to the Taiwanese people.
My main issue is with the use of “Taipei” to represent all of Taiwan, as if Taipei was the only city in Taiwan.
I’ve been living in Taiwan for two years and I’ve only been to Taipei once, and I don’t know anything about it, other than the fact that it rains there almost every day.
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Yeah but say it in English and tell me what it sounds like.
It’s like “French Guyana” or “French Seychelles.”
Japanese and Korean media both call Taiwan “Taiwan.” They accord Taiwan the respect it denies itself.
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It really is beyond cringey calling a country a name their enemy forces them to use when in international gatherings…It is only justified by CCP loyalists. Disrespectful.
The issue with the point Alan makes is that this is a name that is being forced upon a nation called Taiwan, or ROC, because another country controls the international organizations, even when said organizations say they do not allow politics in their events (olympics). The argument gets even more weak when Taiwan flags are banned and the flower logo is used instead. it is demeaning and a cowardly move to allow that sort of oppression in any body that respects its intended purpose. And never mind the national anthem. Companies like the Olympics should be ashamed for taking away the dignity of athletes that not only cant celebrate to their own anthem or display their own flag but cant even utter the words of their own friggen country. Disgraceful…
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- “Shi” (as in 是) is pronounced “sh+her”
- “Xi” (西) requires you to spread your lips to the side and make a sound that is close to, but NOT the English word “she”. At least western journalists have mostly stopped calling the CCP dictator “gee” and “zee”. But I hear “she” from journalists and I first think they’re referring to a woman, not “Xi” Jinping
- “she” (as in 蛇) is “sh+uh”
Get rid of that damn word “narrative”. It’s SO irritating.
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Right. So like I said… “xi”（西） sounds like “she” more than “shi”（十） does.
I don’t think anyone in Taiwan would argue this. All I’m saying is some people (even in Taiwan) mistakenly believe that “Chinese Taipei” means “PRC Taipei”.
I’m not sure when “she” is the English word or the pinyin when it’s typed out on here. If that’s what you meant, sorry. Consider it a quick lesson in Chinese (pinyin) pronunciation for everyone else…
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wade giles was made for professional linguists and students, they knew how to pronounce it properly, the laymen in street just read it as if it was english.
the contribution of wade giles to the world of sinology is enormous, its a shame you make such broad statements without knowing the history behind it.
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This. My point exactly.
Any kind of romanization wouldn’t make sense if one never learned how to pronounce it properly, and just read it as if it was English.