What is Digg?142 Comments
- marchaos, on 10/11/2007, -6/+155Thank god the title wasn't "93 Million Wangs [pic]".
- Anrkist, on 10/11/2007, -8/+68"how small problems grow " lol...
- dracostimpy, on 10/11/2007, -1/+55"Under a new draft regulation released by the ministry of public security, parents will be able to combine their surnames for their children, a move that could open up 1.28 million new possibilities, the China Daily reported."
If there's 93 million Wangs, then that could easily lead to a million or so Wangwang babies. I'm sure a handful of those might hookup too, resulting in a couple dozen Wangwangwangwangs. If that happens, it's gonna be difficult for me as an American to tell the difference between people with Chinese and Vietnamese surnames.
I propose a new law that says Chinese people can append numbers to their surnames if they're already compound names. Wangwang65 and Wangwang92 are much easier for me to deal with, as those are typical digg user names. - hiPpymIck, on 10/11/2007, -0/+49they could do what the scandinavians do..
"ANDERSEN, ANDERSON, ANDERSØN, ANDERSSEN, ANDERSSON, ANDERSSØN, ANDERSSØNN"
wang wwang wanng wangg wwanng wwangg wanngg wwanngg - amoirae, on 10/11/2007, -0/+47I figured this was going to be another Paris Hilton report...
- pimpinainteasy, on 10/11/2007, -1/+41+1 for the amusing headline.
- DesktopGeo, on 10/11/2007, -4/+35@LethalAmbition
Hi, where they hell do you get your crazy-ass theories? Chinese naming convention comes from the Chinese provinces that were around in ancient history. If you were part of Wu country, you were designated a Wu. This is opposed to naming by family lineage which would result in a greater variety of surnames. Your post demonstrates incredible ignorance and is bordering on racism.
Chinese tradition of keeping it "pure?" Seriously, where the hell do you get this stuff from? Do you have the idea in your head that there were like white, brown, or black people in the region and the chinese guys only went for the asian chicks?? - ThinkBox, on 10/11/2007, -0/+30Funny, this might be the first time that government restrictions reenforced individuality rather than conformity. You better start being unique or we'll throw you in jail!
- 2shae, on 10/11/2007, -4/+32Do you know how many people are called mohammed?
Probably even more than Wang - LethalAmbition, on 10/11/2007, -1/+27With names like WangWang82 the kid should automatically be given a hotmail address.
- Frozo, on 10/11/2007, -2/+20Combine the surnames??
So in 2 generations, China could have a kid named Yao WangChangDengDongShuoPanLiangJin?? - Berkana, on 10/11/2007, -2/+20The most popular last name on earth, if I remember correctly, was Chen. The most popular first name on earth is Muhammad. As for how many folks there are who are named "Muhammad Chen," I'm guessing not too many.
- Phyltre, on 10/11/2007, -1/+17It bothers me that they need to legislate names in the first place. Some things are better left unmanaged.
- SpaceMonkeyZero, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1793 Million Wangs? Not that there's anything Wong about it.
- dcreation, on 10/11/2007, -6/+22It's funny how small problems grow exponentially along with population; although I don't see the U.S. having a 'Smith' or 'Jones' problem if they were to grow to a billion.
- zachlutz, on 10/11/2007, -3/+18So I suppose there's about 46 million Wang wangs?
- DCB360, on 04/11/2008, -0/+15Yay a new stereotype is born.
- DaffyDuck, on 10/11/2007, -2/+15"Technically, it's pronounced "wong," but I'm digging just for the title. :)"
Funny that you were dugg down even though you are right. It IS pronounced Wong. It's my wife's surname and she assures me it is never pronounced like Wang.
If you pay attention, you will notice they use Wong instead of Wang in Hong Kong. That's because it is a different romanization of the same name (and same Chinese character) that happens to come closer to the correct pronunciation. Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong vs. Mandarin in mainland China.
Few Americans realize this. If anyone is curious why it is spelled Wang and pronounced Wong, you need to look at how the Chinese language has been romanized. The current favorite romanization for mainland China is Pinyin and while it is one of the closest at capturing the sound of each word, it still is imperfect. - frode!, on 10/11/2007, -0/+13They may have more Wangs but our Wangs are bigger.
Generally speaking people in the US are taller - AmishRefugee, on 10/11/2007, -2/+14so that means every Chinese person i meet has a 5% chance of having the last name of Wang? heh...
- zombieball, on 10/11/2007, -1/+13desktopgeo is absolutely correct. Chinese surnames originated from where you came from. Quite sad that no one else seems to be commenting on this fact but rather throw out a plethora of wang jokes....
- ninj3, on 10/11/2007, -1/+10Hey my surname's Wong and incidentally, my wang is hu...
But I digress. I'm from HK originally so the romanisation of my name is Wong.
In cantonese, the character for my surname indeed sounds like Wong.
In mandarin, the same character sounds like Wang.
Personally, I find the wang jokes funny but I can see why others might be offended xD
Dugg for funny title. - FickyFicky, on 10/11/2007, -6/+15Direct to the story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070612/lf_afp/lifestylechinasocietynameoffbeat_070612065246 - robwicks, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8Well, we black Americans have mastered the art of never running out of names . . .
:)
Just add a "Ra" "La", or "Sha" to the beginning, and you'd triple your output.
"This is my boy, ShaWang." - GawtMilk, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8200,000,000 in China?
Try seven times that amount. - Spuy767, on 10/11/2007, -2/+8Holy ***** was I confused about the subject of this article before I read the description. I was afraid that this was definitely not safe for work. Buried for linking to a blag for ad hits. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070612/lf_afp/lifestylechinasocietynameoffbeat_070612065246 Go there.
- sdcarter, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7Combining surnames could be brought online by making it trendy. For example:
Everybody's Wangchung tonight. - ninj3, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7You sure they're speaking official mandarin?
And is their surname written like:
___
_|_
_|_
^^That's my last name written in simplified chinese. Or rather in ASCII art ;P
It's hard to explain the exact tonation when said in mandarin. The "a" in Wang in mandarin sounds a bit like the "a" when you say "farm". And when you say Wang your voice has to sort of go up if you get my meaning :S
Whereas I expect most westerners pronounce wang like hang.
In any case, the pin yin for my last name is "wáng". Note the accent on the "a" to indicate inflection. I think it's the closest english approximation available. - robdiggity, on 10/11/2007, -2/+8Kentucky Fried Movie, The (1977)
Game Show Announcer: "Guard number one is a senior on Klahn's mountain, and aspires to be a research chemist. Welcome, please, Hung Well! Guard number two is a real skating buff. A warm welcome for Long Wang! Traveling comes naturally to guard number three, as he's a licensed airplane pilot. Welcome, please, Enormous Genitals!"
As it happens, and by complete coincidence, *I* am building a fighting force of extraordinary a-magnitude. - ChileanGoD, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6Same study should be done in Vietnam about the Nguyen family.
- urby86, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5I vaguely remember one of my Chinese teachers saying that they don't have phone books for that very reason.
- katulatakulu, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5That's Number Wang!
- Berkana, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6It becomes a problem in China if you meet a gorgeous girl and start flirting with her, just to find that she's got the same last name as you. That pretty much kills your chances of pairing up, even if you're so far removed that any relation would be many generations ago.
- jgreene777, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5That won't happen in the US because of the great degree of diversity in our heritage. When do you ever see a crowd photo in the US that is full of the same color folks? I mean besides in Alabama... or Harlem... There are pockets of homogeneity, but over the entire population, the United States has probably the most diverse background of any nation.
- Walker2323, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4That's a LOT of Wangs!
- M3RCINIAN, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Fail.
- MikeonTV, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4George Takei would have something to say about this (you have to be a Stern Show fan)
- davewashere, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Just after reading this post, I glanced over at the outgoing snail mail box in my office. Right on top is an envelope going to a doctor in NJ with the last name Wang. Peaking out under that envelope was another addressed to a Wang in Florida, also a doctor. Next time I need emergency medical care I'm going to call 911 and ask for a Wang.
- ninj3, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I wouldn't say that.
If I met a girl last name Wong I'd be happy. No need to argue about whether she changes surname or not :) - franklink44, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4You guys must be math majors. High school arithmetic. Our educational system scares me.
- DaffyDuck, on 10/11/2007, -3/+6"In mandarin, the same character sounds like Wang."
I hate to disagree with a native Chinese speaker but I've heard my Mandarin speaking parents-in-law say it hundreds of times and it always sounds like Wong. - djcgmcse, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4"I get a strong smell from my wang"
"Oh.. my..!"
/george takei
http://igetastrongsmellfrommywang.ytmnd.com - CBTF, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3How is this a stereotype?
- aDJsavedmylife, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3"It bothers me that they need to legislate names in the first place."
In Iceland you can only name your child from a list of approved names. I dunno what to think of that. - Charlotte_Web, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4"I don't see the U.S. having a 'Smith' or 'Jones' problem if they were to grow to a billion."
That's probably due to immigration. I'm sure that China's immigration numbers are a small fraction of the US's. - traveler19, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3This just in!! All the IPv6 addresses have been taken!
- philz, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3I think this article comes straight from Moe's Tavern:
"Is there a Wang in here?"
/here all week - skyyrie, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3god damn the americans!
- emjaychina, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4Its most definatly pronounced "wong".
I am in China, and have been here for 5 years. I know at least 50 wangs, they are ALL pronounced "wong" - zxjams, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Lo Wang rather kick ass than solve stupid puzzle.
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