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A: Unlike in a Western name, the family name in a Chinese name comes before
the first name. There are also meanings in a Chinese name.
B:That's correct. The meanings in a Chinese name are reflected in the
combination(组合) of the characters ,which are influenced either by elements of
culture or era. Usually the cultural influence is stronger in the characters for
family names. Any character that has the particle that means"woman" suggests its
traces back to the matriarchal society.Some family names originated either in
official titles or occupation(职业),or in animals of worship. A few others come
from numbers.
A: I see . What about given names?
B: In comparison, meanings in given names are always chosen to reflect
elements of the era. In the old days, characters meaning "wealth" ,"fortune"
,and "happiness" were very common in names. Characters with the meanings of
"gifted" ,"handsome",and "clever" were often chosen by parents as well wishes
for their children to be beautiful,capable ,and intelligent. During the 1950s
and 1960s ,many boys were given the name with the meaning of "building the
country","celebrating the nation" ,"fighting the American imperialists", and
"overtaking the British". The reform and opening policies also provided more
choices of characters, such as "bo" meaning "strive" ,"si" meaning"thoughtful"
,and "yuhang" meaning "aeronautics" .Parents would like their children to learn
more knowledge ,to be more thoughtful and to have great aspirations(抱负,志向).Some
people also like to use translated Western names such David, Richard, Lisa and
Linda.
A:This is quite similar to English names. Some of the surnames also come
from occupations,such as Sheppard ,Smith and Baker.Some Western names also have
meanings ."Laura " for example means "laureate" in Latin, and "Samson" means
"Sun" in Hebrew.
B: I don't know much about Western names. When translated into Chinese .
Westerns names are simply a phonetic combinations of Chinese characters. In
order for people to remember Western names. Translators in the 1950s and 1960s
tried to localize names in literature, such as Scarlett O' Hara and Rhett Butler
in Gone with the Wind. Even a place like Atlanta was translated in such a way
.Although it was easier to remember these names,they don't look Western any
more. So when some of the literary works were retranslated in the 1990s ,
phonetic translation was used again.
A: A Western novel with each of its characters having a Chinese name is
very similar to a Westerner having a typical Chinese name like Da Shan ,meaning
"Big Mountain". It sounds werid(怪). I'd rather have something that can remind me
of the original. |
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发表于 2016-7-13 22:57:20