Asian Skaters' Names

[slider11]

I am trying to understand the configuration of the the names of the various skaters from Asian countries. So, let's take "Shhoma Uno". Shoma Uno is from Japan and, I believe, his first name is Shoma and his last (surname) is Uno. But, I believe, that China's Boyang Jin's first name is Jin and last /surname is Boyang. Correct me if I'm wrong. Also Yuna Kim is from S. Korea and her first name is Yuna and last/surname is Kim. So is it only Chinese names that place the surname first? I'm interested from a skating standpoint and also to broaden my cultural knowledge. Thanks!

 

[Spirals for Miles]

No.
The ISU uses the western customs.
Technically, it's Uno Shoma, Jin Boyang, and Kim Yu-Na (although Kim's is transliterated as Yuna or alternatively Yun-a)
at least I think I'm right... maybe not

 

[brightphoton]

Hungarians also do the Last Name First Name thing

 

[xeyra]

I am trying to understand the configuration of the the names of the various skaters from Asian countries. So, let's take "Shhoma Uno". Shoma Uno is from Japan and, I believe, his first name is Shoma and his last (surname) is Uno. But, I believe, that China's Boyang Jin's first name is Jin and last /surname is Boyang. Correct me if I'm wrong. Also Yuna Kim is from S. Korea and her first name is Yuna and last/surname is Kim. So is it only Chinese names that place the surname first? I'm interested from a skating standpoint and also to broaden my cultural knowledge. Thanks!

I'm pretty sure Boyang is Boyang's first name and Jin the family name.

 

[sandi]

In Korea, Japan, and China when you introduce yourself and write your name.. it's family surname and then given name. So in Western media they say first name and surname first... Not sure how often Western media prints their name in surname, first name.

Jin is the family surname and Boyang is the given name.

 

[Spirals for Miles]

In Korea, Japan, and China when you introduce yourself and write your name.. it's family surname and then given name. So in Western media they say first name and surname first... Not sure how often Western media prints their name in surname, first name.

Jin is the family surname and Boyang is the given name.

typically just on official documents
like standardized tests, medical forms, applications, taxes, etc.

 

[Lamente Ariane]

China, Japan and Korea all put surname before first name traditionally. However I've noticed that several NBC/Olympic channel commentators tend to refer to Chinese skaters last name-first name and Japanese skaters first name-last name, so I can understand why there's confusion.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

China, Japan and Korea all put surname before first name traditionally. However I've noticed that several NBC/Olympic channel commentators tend to refer to Chinese skaters last name-first name and Japanese skaters first name-last name, so I can understand why there's confusion.

Yeah, even Chinese names have been uttered both ways by US commentators. Lu Chen was probably called Chen Lu about half the time (or more).

 

[chopinskate]

Kim Yu-Na (although Kim's is transliterated as Yuna or alternatively Yun-a)

She'd stated she preferred Yuna. :agree:

 

[largeman]

No.
The ISU uses the western customs.
Technically, it's Uno Shoma, Jin Boyang, and Kim Yu-Na (although Kim's is transliterated as Yuna or alternatively Yun-a)
at least I think I'm right... maybe not

You're absolutely right! :thumbsup:

 

[cl2]

On the official ISU protocols, the convention is: Given Name SURNAME. That is, the first name is written first, but the last name is all capitalized. No ambiguity there.

 

[Crossover]

When you get confused about skaters' name, the easiest way to figure out is to go to their ISU bio page.

Regardless of nationality, all skaters' surname is always styled in full CAPITAL letters such as Xiaoyu YU / Hao ZHANG.

http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00055106.htm

 

[Crossover]

On the official ISU protocols, the convention is: Given Name SURNAME. That is, the first name is written first, but the last name is all capitalized. No ambiguity there.

Oh, I didn't realize that you beat me to it already. I should've read all posts other than the OP.

 

[Mathman]

Is the Bo in Jin Boyang the same as the Bo in Zhao Hongbo?

 

[cohkaix]

Is the Bo in Jin Boyang the same as the Bo in Zhao Hongbo?

In this case, yes, it happens that the 'Bo' in both names correspond to the same written character. But note that there are cases when the same sounds correspond to different characters (written) in Mandarin. And the homophone problem in Mandarin is just one of the features of the language.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Is the Bo in Jin Boyang the same as the Bo in Zhao Hongbo?

Jīn Bóyáng: 金 博洋
Zhào Hóngbó: 赵 宏博 (Simplified); 趙 宏博 (Traditional)

Yep. Found that out when I was making out the new Fan Fest Index spreadsheet, which I never got finished because things got on top of me (and because so many new Fan Fests for Junior skaters kept appearing!)

(I should add that in most cases, the space between the surname character and given name characters is omitted. But, I inserted it there for clarity).

And it was interesting to find that most Asian names can be written in 2 different sets of characters.

Chinese: Simplified and Traditional
Japanese: Kana and Kanji
Korean: Hangul and Hanja

For Japanese and Korean, the second system listed is basically Chinese characters. But, I was never able to find out which type of Chinese characters they correspond to.

And I can tell you something - it was really annoying when you came across articles that only had one version of the name, but didn't tell you which version it was! Such as was the case with Bóyáng! (And because the character for "Bó" is exactly the same in both versions of Hóngbó's name, I can't even work it out from that! )

Thankfully, one skater who I was able to find both versions for was this one:

关 颖珊 (Simplified); 關 穎珊 (Traditional)



CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

No.
The ISU uses the western customs.
Technically, it's Uno Shoma, Jin Boyang, and Kim Yu-Na (although Kim's is transliterated as Yuna or alternatively Yun-a)
at least I think I'm right... maybe not

Oh, you've opened a can of worms there mentionioning that particular Korean skater.

Strictly speaking, it should be Yun-A, because the first character of her given name is the character for "Yun":

김 연아 (Hangul); 金 姸兒 (Hanja)

If I remember correctly, the story goes that somebody filled out an official form for her wrong. And because this was the transliteration for her name that was now on record, she went with it to make life simpler. (Officials can be awkward when they come across ambiguities with names. Just ask any Czech woman...)

I have to admit, I am more inclined to use the "correct" transliteration. But, because the "incorrect" trasliteration is the one most commonly used, that is the one that is used in the title of her Fan Fest.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[Spinning]

Oh, you've opened a can of worms

CaroLiza_fan

Talking about openning a can of worms, nothing beat the Nguyen.

It is my mother's family name but I've never been able to master it correctly (even after spent 7years in Hanoi:sad21:

One of our distant cousin's clan go with Yu-yen to be practical living in Thailand.

 

[AnalyticalMind]

No.
The ISU uses the western customs.
Technically, it's Uno Shoma, Jin Boyang, and Kim Yu-Na (although Kim's is transliterated as Yuna or alternatively Yun-a)
at least I think I'm right... maybe not

Correct with a caveat.

It's true that East Asian languages use family name first, but when referring to these people in non-Eastern languages, Japanese names post-1868 use the Western name order (Shoma UNO), Chinese names retain their Eastern name order (JIN Boyang), and Korean names can go either way (KIM Yun-a OR Yun-a KIM).

As such, you'll hear commentators use both orders for Korean skaters, as well as Chinese skaters (because ISU lists them in Western order but Eastern order is technically correct), but you'll never hear Uno Shoma when his name is mentioned in English.

(Source: I'm of Japanese descent, and confirmed the Korean bit here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_name#Eastern_name_order)

 

[Wilwarin]

Jīn Bóyáng: 金 博洋
Zhào Hóngbó: 赵 宏博 (Simplified); 趙 宏博 (Traditional)

Yep. Found that out when I was making out the new Fan Fest Index spreadsheet, which I never got finished because things got on top of me (and because so many new Fan Fests for Junior skaters kept appearing!)

(I should add that in most cases, the space between the surname character and given name characters is omitted. But, I inserted it there for clarity).

And it was interesting to find that most Asian names can be written in 2 different sets of characters.

Chinese: Simplified and Traditional
Japanese: Kana and Kanji
Korean: Hangul and Hanja

For Japanese and Korean, the second system listed is basically Chinese characters. But, I was never able to find out which type of Chinese characters they correspond to.

And I can tell you something - it was really annoying when you came across articles that only had one version of the name, but didn't tell you which version it was! Such as was the case with Bóyáng! (And because the character for "Bó" is exactly the same in both versions of Hóngbó's name, I can't even work it out from that! )

Thankfully, one skater who I was able to find both versions for was this one:

关 颖珊 (Simplified); 關 穎珊 (Traditional)



CaroLiza_fan

The second system go with traditional Chinese characters. Also for me who use simplified Chinese characters, traditional ones are still understandable.

So when I went to Japan last year I could read about 30% of the characters. With additional English, I didn't feel like there is a language barrier.

However, I think in South Korea the second system is less used than Japan. I'll find it out pretty soon