Monday, 8 December 2025

Some Chinese practices: 01 (Calling someone by their full name)

 

In English, in an informal situation, when someone calls someone they know by their full name, it's usually for telling him/her off.  (Note the "disapproval" and "reprimand" in the AI overview below.)


(AI overview says) Quote Calling someone by their full name can signal formality, respect, getting their full attention, or even disapproval/mockery, depending heavily on context, culture, and relationship; it can signify a serious tone, a hierarchical difference (like a boss to an employee), an attempt to connect deeply, or a moment of reprimand, replacing casual nicknames with the complete, official address. Unquote


    I worked in Taipei with an American oil company, Conoco Taiwan (now ConocoPhillips), for two years.

    By Oriental standards in those days, for a girl to be working abroad at age 21 was considered young.  I didn't know anyone (friends or relatives) in Taiwan either, so a kind colleague started to invite me home to spend Sundays with her family -- parents and four children: the eldest of the girls being my colleague, the brother at university, the two younger sisters at school.

    I was, therefore, a regular guest at their home, usually arriving before lunch (their arrangement), and spending all day there with them.

    The first time I heard one of the family address someone else in the family by their full name, I thought, "Oh dear, s/he is in for it.  S/he is in trouble."  It turned out not to be the case.

    It also doesn't have to be from top to bottom, i.e., the parent or older sibling addressing the younger member(s).  It can be upwards as well.

    I now find the same practice in the mainland Chinese drama series, set 1979–92, that I've been watching on YouTube.


(Taiwan, 1975–6; mainland China, 1979–92)


No comments:

Post a Comment