why it's "Louie" and not "Lui"
Replies: 1
why it's "Louie" and not "Lui"
| Louie Lai Wah (View posts) | Posted: 25 Jan 2002 5:39AM GMT |
Classification: Query
Hello,
Like many of you, I used to think that we had the spelling "Louie" because the first of our relatives who came over simply accepted without question this adaptation of our name (from non-Chinese immigration officials). However, when I finally asked my father about it, he said that it was *intentional* for us Toisanese. And as far as I know, all Louies are Toisanese.
In Standard Cantonese, our name is pronounced most like "Lui" - hence, the number of Hong Kong (standard Cantonese-speaking) Chinese with our last name who spell it that way. But in Toisan, our name is pronounced in a slightly different way - it has a distinct twang to it, and actually does sound more like "Louie." So, it's possible our ancestors fully knew what they were doing.
And really, if you think about it, *any* translation of our name into the Roman alphabet is going to be a westernization/anglicization. Unless the government-in-question is going to start learning how to write the Chinese character for "thunder" on all our forms, I don't see how "Lui" is any more authentic than "Louie," especially since I've never met anyone named Louie who wasn't Chinese. "Louis" is French. "Louie" is 98.9% Chinese.
Like many of you, I used to think that we had the spelling "Louie" because the first of our relatives who came over simply accepted without question this adaptation of our name (from non-Chinese immigration officials). However, when I finally asked my father about it, he said that it was *intentional* for us Toisanese. And as far as I know, all Louies are Toisanese.
In Standard Cantonese, our name is pronounced most like "Lui" - hence, the number of Hong Kong (standard Cantonese-speaking) Chinese with our last name who spell it that way. But in Toisan, our name is pronounced in a slightly different way - it has a distinct twang to it, and actually does sound more like "Louie." So, it's possible our ancestors fully knew what they were doing.
And really, if you think about it, *any* translation of our name into the Roman alphabet is going to be a westernization/anglicization. Unless the government-in-question is going to start learning how to write the Chinese character for "thunder" on all our forms, I don't see how "Lui" is any more authentic than "Louie," especially since I've never met anyone named Louie who wasn't Chinese. "Louis" is French. "Louie" is 98.9% Chinese.