Governmental Cantonese Translation Service of English Names for British Officials
The British Consulate-General in Hong Kong is the sole governmental agency currently tasked with offering professional formal English-to-Cantonese name translation services to British officials.[1][2] No similar services are offered by UK diplomatic missions within the Greater China area.[3] It is a long tradition for the UK government to provide such uniform translation for certain cabinet members and other officials.[4][3] This practice has its origin in the distasteful translation of the name of the 16th Colonial Governor of Hong Kong,[5] and the UK government keeps this tradition alive even after the transfer of Hong Kong's sovereignty to China in 1997. The translation process is very refined, and there is a set of principles that they observe to avoid taboo, undesirable, or embarrassing translations as well as making the translated names more relatable, approachable, and agreeable to local Hong Kongers.[1]
These translated names are widely adopted and used by Cantonese media outlets in Hong Kong and Macau as well as their foreign correspondents and bureaus, spreading these names to Cantonese-speaking expatriate communities in Australia, Canada, the UK, the US, and the like.
Background[]
It was not uncommon for British officials to be given demeaning translation of their names in history. Before getting a new translation, the name of the very first Hong Kong colonial governor, Henry Pottinger, was originally translated as 煲顛茶 or Bōu Dīn Chàh in Cantonese[6] which phonetically rhymes with his family name Pottinger fairly well but literally means “to brew crazy tea” or implies “a nutter brews tea”.[7] Some of these degrading translations have survived into modern times. Both Lord William Napier and Sir Edward Belcher had the unfortunate to have their names respectively translated into 律勞卑 or Leuht Lòuh Bēi and 卑路乍 or Bēi Louh Ja. Each of which has multiple undignifying literal meaning or rhyming elements to it, such as “to discipline the servant inferior” for 律勞卑 (Leuht Lòuh Bēi) or “an inferior road for the cunning” for 卑路乍 (Bēi Louh Ja).[8] And both are still in use today.
The 16th Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Reginald Stubbs, was first given a particularly distasteful Cantonese translation for his name. 史塔士 or Sí Taap Sí was the original Cantonese translation, literally meaning “history” for 史 (sí), “a tower” for 塔 (taap), and “a vassal” for 士 (sí). However, the first and the third characters of 史 and 士 share the same archaic pronunciation of the character 死 (sí), meaning “to die”, and more troublesomely, the same pronunciation of the character 屎 (sí), meaning “shit”.[9] Also, Cantonese speakers sometimes call a toilet bowl 屎塔 (sí taap), being homophones to the first two characters of his newly translated name.[5] Thus, Stubbs's first Cantonese name translation rendered a wide variety of somewhat unpalatable translations and interpretations, like “toilet bowl’s shit”, “shit tower’s death” etc.[10]
Stubbs, as a result, became the very first governor given a formal Cantonese name translation, 司徒拔 or Sī Tòuh Baht. For native English speakers, 司 (sī) may still sound very much the same as 屎 (sí), but as the two different tone marks show, they are different. This slight difference in tones changes a lot in the meanings, given the fact that Cantonese is a tonal language. And at the same time, Stubbs believed having an authentically translated name would create an approachable image and help the colonial government build a closer relationship with ethnically Chinese Hong Kongers and indigenous villagers.[1][10] A new governmental tradition of English-to-Cantonese name translation for British officials was thus born.
Translation Service & Method[]
Prior to Hong Kong's sovereignty transfer in 1997, it was the joint effort of the Chinese Language Division of the colonial Chief Secretary's Office and the British Trade Commission in Hong Kong to come up with seemly name translations for British officials.[1][3] It is now the responsibility of the Hong Kong British Consulate-General, and they usually supply the press with a list of translated names when there is a new cabinet.[1][11]
The early translation method mainly focused on phonetic or homophonic translation of an official's family name.[1] As the system matured, the official's given names started having a role to play.[1] The translation process has become very sophisticated in modern times. Matters that are culturally only significant to local Hong Kongers, especially for the middle-to-upper class, but not so much to foreigners, like aesthetic values of different calligraphic styles of the characters on an East Asian seal or chop, divinatory feng-shui and suan-ming assessment of the character total stroke count, etc. are all part of the translation service.[12] The Consulate-General has revealed a summary of general guidelines that they now follow for the process:[1]
Guidelines | Details | Remarks |
---|---|---|
Goal | Take Cantonese as the target language as most Hong Kongers speak Cantonese. | |
Make an official's translated name as indistinguishable from locals’ names as possible so that ethnically Chinese Hong Kongers find it relatable. | ||
Principle 1 | Take English pronunciation as the basis and then look for homophonic Cantonese characters. | E.g.: 文 or Màhn for the former Prime Minister Theresa May’s family name. |
consider stressed syllables of the English name first. | Eg: 翠珊 or Cheui Sāan for the former Prime Minister Theresa May’s first name. | |
Principle 2 | Use common Cantonese family names when possible. | When the colonial government was trying to provide the former Governor Patten's wife a Cantonese name, all the options were given divinatory suan-ming assessment of the character total stroke count. She ultimately settled on a common family name 林 and given names 穎彤 or Làhm Wihng Tùhng in whole, meaning “a forest” for 林, “intelligent” for 穎, “scarlet” for 彤, and in all denoting an outstanding, clever, and beautiful lady. |
Make sure the translated given names are pleasant to the ear, divinatorily auspicious, and with decent meanings and metaphors. | ||
Principle 3 | Match the order of the characters with the Cantonese family name corresponding to the English family name. | The family name should come first. |
Do the same for the given names. | ||
Principle 4 | Aim to have a three-character name. | |
Ignore the official's English given names if that individual's English family name is enough to provide for a meaningful three-character Cantonese name. | E.g.: The former Chancellor Philip Hammond’s family name was enough to provide for 夏文達 or Hah Màhn Daaht. |
Cantonese & Multiple Mandarin Translated Names[]
This practice of providing comprehensive official name translation services has never been extended to Mandarin or to other UK diplomatic missions out of Hong Kong in the Greater China region.[4][3] As such, places where Mandarin is their official language usually have different Mandarin-translated names for British officials. The Mandarin-translated names do not only differ from their Cantonese counterparts but also among Mandarin-speaking regions.[13]
For instance, Hong Kong media observe the Cantonese name translated by the Consulate-General and call former Prime Minister Theresa May 文翠珊 or Màhn Cheui Sāan, meaning “refined” for 文, “jade” for 翠, and “coral” for 珊. And she is known as 梅伊 or Méi Yī in Mandarin in Taiwan, meaning “a Chinese plum” for 梅 and “that (a pronoun)” for 伊.[13] However, the Chinese Xinhua News Agency, being the official standard setter of name translation in China and known to have declined to accept the US government’s suggested name translation for former President Obama,[14] calls Theresa May 特雷莎.梅 or Tè Léi Shā Méi, meaning “special” for 特, “thunder” for 雷, “sedge” for 莎, and “a Chinese plum” for 梅.[13]
Folklore, Public Reception & Exceptions[]
Traditional Chinese | 唔怕生壞命, 最怕改壞名。 | ||
---|---|---|---|
Literal meaning | Don’t worry about being born with a bad fate; (had better) most worry about having a wrong name. | ||
|
Like in many cultures, Hong Kongers are generally very concerned with having good names for infants and even for adults themselves. A local Cantonese saying captures this concern very well, “唔怕生壞命,最怕改壞名”,[15] meaning “Don’t worry about being born with a bad fate; (had better) most worry about having a wrong name”, which shares some similarities with the more commonly known Latin phrase in the West, nomen est omen. It is, thus, not unusual to hear stories about adults in Hong Kong in their 30s or 40s changing their names after consulting with feng-shui and suan-ming practitioners in the hopes of improving various aspects of their lives.[16] Hong Kong parents of newborns are just as concerned if not more so.[15]
Against this cultural backdrop, the Cantonese-translated names prepared by the Consulate-General are generally very well received and often praised by the Hong Kong public.[17][18][19] In fact, it is not just Hong Kongers who have high regard for these names. Some of them are so well translated that they have earned the admiration of some Mandarin-speaking commentators of Taiwan.[3][13]
On the other hand, although it is the usual practice that the Consulate-General provides a new cabinet with Cantonese-translated names,[1][18] individual officials may still turn down such suggestions and opt for Mandarin-translated names instead, and they occasionally do.[4][11] When this happens, Hong Kong mainstream media usually adopt the Mandarin-translated names, but some members of the Hong Kong public may frown upon these names.[20][21] Former Prime Minister David Cameron provided one such example.
When Cameron entered Number 10 for the first time as prime minister in 2010, the Consulate-General offered him 甘民樂 or Gām Màhn Lohk as his Cantonese name,[1] meaning “willingly” for 甘, “people” for 民, and “joy” for 樂. This name in whole was intended to signify that he had “the will to make the people happy”, but he chose to forgo the offer. Instead, Cameron decided to stick to the Mandarin-translated name 卡梅倫 as his official name, meaning “to get stuck” for 卡, “a Chinese plum” for 梅, and “ethics” for 倫, which had already been in use by Chinese media and some Hong Kong media as well. It was later reported that he thought not taking up a new Cantonese name would save some hassle for the media in Hong Kong.[1][4]
However, quite a few of the Hong Kong public held negative views towards his Mandarin-translated name, especially when previous British officials, like Governor Patten, had adopted a new Cantonese-translated name despite having an existing Mandarin-translated name.[13][17] Some in Hong Kong continued to find Cameron's Mandarin-translated name objectionable even after six years in office when he needed to resign.[21] He was even made fun of having probably been destined to have his premiership cut short because of “having a wrong name”.[22]
Notable Exceptions[]
Here are some British officials who have not taken up their Cantonese-translated names suggested by the Consulate-General:
showTable of British Officials & Their Forgone Name Translations |
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Lists of British Officials & Their Cantonese Names[]
Politicians and Officials[]
English Names | Translated Names | show Remarks |
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Members of UK House of Lords[]
English Names | Translated Names | show Remarks |
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UK Consuls-General to Hong Kong[]
Tenure | English Names | show Translated Names |
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Governors of Hong Kong[]
(Note: Official translated names did not become available until the 16th Governor.)
Tenure | English Names | show Translated Names |
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References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l 【短片】【改名的藝術】英官員中文名點嚟?原來有4大原則. 蘋果日報 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "How to Make a Good Cantonese Name (The British Way)". How to Study Cantonese. 13 May 2020. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e 朱錦華 (26 July 2019). 國際火線/依然戀你如昔 從文翠珊看香港的英國情結. ETtoday新聞雲 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d 曾鈺成 (2 August 2018). 港式譯名. am730 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b 司徒拔道. 香港巴士大典 (in Chinese). Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ 煲顛茶 璞鼎查 砵甸乍. 明報教育網 (in Chinese). 12 November 2017. Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ 鄭明仁 (7 June 2018). 香港人母語學英文. am730 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ 沈旭暉 (25 September 2020). 國際香港本傳英國. Facebook (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ 蕭雪樺 (18 July 2016). 筆下留情: 英國高官的漢化譯名. 筆下留情 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b 沈旭暉 [@simonshen_glos] (4 October 2020). "1919年,司徒拔(Reginald Stubbs)就任第16任香港總督,在當時起,香港政府便開始為英國官員制定港式譯名,試圖以親民形象拉近與華人之間距離,讓這佔社會大多數人口,卻不諳英語的華人社群有更大機會願意接受管治,同時亦希望有助紓緩新界原居民問題... ⏺全文見Patreon patreon.com/posts/41945712" 香港化的港督譯名 (Tweet) (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Jump up to: a b 特稿﹕卡梅倫 克萊格 破例不改中文名. 明報教育網 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b 李奕鳴 (22 October 2018). 彭定康夫人改名有段古 仲要以漢字筆劃測吉凶?. 香港01 (in Chinese). Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f 趣談英國官員漢化譯名. 世界新聞網 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- ^ 第十三屆香港杯外交知識競賽: 統一外國人名翻譯. marketing.mingpao.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b 【最怕改壞名】如果想子女有錢 千祈唔好叫Chris同Karen?. 香港經濟日報 (in Chinese). 23 April 2020. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ Kwok, Ling (2 October 2020). 阿嬌出道12年再改名 黃長興因健康一年轉兩次名 盤點7個入行後中途改名的藝人. HK 港生活 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b 《文翠珊文詠珊?》港督中譯名似足香港人 彭定康本叫柏藤 魏德巍改衛奕信. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b 英公佈新內閣官方中譯名 樂怡佩琳俊偉國賢好親切!. 蘋果日報 (in Chinese). 24 January 2018. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ 點解英國人啲中文名咁好聽?. LIHKG (in Chinese). 6 September 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ 宜家新聞用甘民樂定卡梅倫做中文譯名?. 香港高登討論區 (in Chinese). 12 May 2010.
- ^ Jump up to: a b 陶傑 (5 July 2016). 梅叔和梅姨姨 - 陶傑. 蘋果日報 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 21 June 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- ^ zh:西人漢名甚優雅 妙譯全賴有行家. 粵語協會 (in Chinese). 15 July 2016. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- Diplomatic missions of the United Kingdom
- Diplomatic missions in Hong Kong
- Hong Kong–United Kingdom relations
- Hong Kong and the Commonwealth of Nations
- Translation
- Applied linguistics
- English languages
- Languages of Hong Kong
- Cantonese language
- City colloquials
- Divination
- Culture of Hong Kong
- Naming
- Names by culture