Vietnamese names

Vietnamese names

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Vietnamese names generally consist of three parts: a family name, a middle name, and a given name, used in that order. Like their Chinese, Korean, and other counterparts, this is in accordance to the East Asian system of personal names. In a deviation from the East Asian naming system, a person will be referred to either by the whole name or by a given name in normal usage.



Due to the ubiquity of the major family names such as Tran and Nguyen, a person is often referred to by their middle name along with their given name in Vietnamese media and youth culture.



The Vietnamese language is tonal, and so are Vietnamese names. The same spelling with different tones are different names, which can confuse non-Vietnamese people when the diacritics are dropped when used outside of Vietnam.



Family name



The family name, positioned first, is passed on by the father to his children (patronymic naming system). It is estimated that there are around one hundred family names in common use, although some are far more common than others. The name Nguyễn is estimated to be used by almost 40% of the Vietnamese population. The top three names are so popular because people tended to take the family name of kings, to show their favor and loyalty. Over many generations, the family names became permanent.



The most popular family names among the Vietnamese are (the Chinese characters following each name are their Chinese equivalents):



1. Nguyễn 阮 (38.4%)

2. Trần 陳 (11%)

3. Lê 黎 (9.5%)

4. Phạm 范 (7.1%)

5. Huỳnh/Hoàng 黃 (5.1%)

6. Phan 潘 (4.5%)

7. Vũ/Võ 武 (3.9%)

8. Đặng 鄧(2.1%)

9. Bùi 裴 (2%)

10. Đỗ 杜 (1.4%)

11. Hồ 胡 (1.3%)

12. Ngô 吳 (1.3%)

13. Dương 楊 (1%)

14. Lý 李 (0.5%)





The following include some other less common surnames, in no particular order:



* Lâm 林

* Đinh: 丁

* Nghiêm: 嚴

* Đào: 陶

* Vương: 王

* Trịnh: 鄭 (almost exclusively a northern surname, based around Thanh Hóa)

* Phùng: 馮

* Chung: 鍾

* Triệu: 趙

* Đoàn: 段

* Hà: 何

* Trương: 張

* Tôn: 孫

* Liễu (in northern or central regions): 柳

* Lưu (in central or southern regions): 劉

* Mai: 梅

* La: 羅

* Văn: 文

* Tạ: 謝

* Lương: 梁

* Kim: 金

* Thạch: 石

* Lạc: 駱

* Thủy:水



In Vietnamese cultural practice, women almost always keep their family names once they marry, just as in other East Asian cultures, including Chinese culture, to the north and northeast.



Some Vietnamese have a dual family name. Usually it is a combination of the father's family name and the mother's family name. For example, "Nguyễn Phạm", "Nguyễn Lê".



Intercalary name



The middle name is selected by parents from a fairly narrow range. In the past, almost all women had Thị (氏) as their middle name, and many men had Văn (文). More recently, a broader range of names have been used, and people named Thị sometimes omit their middle name. The middles are used to judge the gender of the person[2]. So respectively, the name "Lee Thị Nguyễn", is a female name because of the "Thị". The same applies to the males with the Văn as their middle name.



Thị is by far the most common female middle name. Male middle names include Văn, Hữu (友), Đức, Công, Quang and many others.



Generally, the middle name has three usages:



1. To indicate a person's generation — brothers and sisters share the same middle name, which distinguish them from the generation before and after them (see generation name).

2. To separate branches of a big family. For example, "Nguyễn Hữu", "Nguyễn Sinh", "Trần Lâm". However, this usage is still controversial. Some people consider they are dual family names, not family name + middle name. Some families may, however, set up arbitrary rules about giving a different middle name to each generation.

3. To indicate a person's position in the family, also known as birth order. This usage is less common than others. It seems that just the Chinese still keep this convention.



Given name



The given name is the primary form of address for Vietnamese. It is chosen by parents, and usually has a literal meaning in the Vietnamese language. Names often represent beauty, such as bird or flower names, or attributes and characteristics that the parents want in their child, such as modesty (Khiem). Typical given names consists of two parts, the first is tên lót, which is just there to make it sound prettier, fancier, while the second is the one that most people go by.



Typically, Vietnamese will be addressed with their given name, even in formal situations, although an honorific equivalent to "Mr.", "Mrs.", etc. will be added when necessary. This contrasts with the situation in many other cultures, where the family name is used in formal situations. This practice is similar to Icelandic practice.



Addressing someone by his or her family name is rare, though not impossible to find. In the past, married women in the north have been called by their family name, with Thị 氏 as a suffix. In recent years, doctors are more likely to be addressed by their family name than any other group of society, though this form of reference is more common in the north than in the south. Some extremely well-known people are sometimes referred by their family names, such as Hồ Chí Minh ("Uncle Hồ") (however his real last name is Nguyễn), Trịnh Công Sơn ("Trịnh music"), and Hồ Xuân Hương ("the poetess with the family name Hồ"). In the old days, people in Vietnam, and particularly North Vietnam addressed parents using the first child's name for example Mr and Mrs Anh or Master Minh.



However, when being addressed within the family, the children are commonly referred to by their birth number, starting from one in the north but starting with two in the south.





Example



* Nguyễn Tấn Dũng is the current Prime Minister of Vietnam. Nguyễn is his family name, Tấn is his middle name, and Dũng is his given name. In formal usage, he is referred to by his given name ("Mr. Dũng"), not by his family name ("Mr. Nguyễn").

* Likewise, the famous general and military leader, Võ Nguyên Giáp, is referred to by his given name, eg, "General Giáp."
 
source: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=163573248297

Myanmar, a well-known producer of gems in the world, boasts ruby, diamond, cat's eye, emerald, topaz, pearl, sapphire, coral and a variety of garnet tinged with yellow.

Myanmar, a well-known producer of gems in the world, boasts ruby, diamond, cat's eye, emerald, topaz, pearl, sapphire, coral and a variety of garnet tinged with yellow.

Myanmar cultures about 400,000 units of pearls every year from eight pearl farms in the country with investment from Australia, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, China and Thailand, according to report.

Myanmar's ruby, diamond, cat's eye, emerald, topaz, pearl, sapphire, coral and pearl gain reputation in the world market.

The government's Central Statistical Organization revealed that in the fiscal year 2008-09, Myanmar produced 32,921 tons of jade and 18,728 million carats of gems which include ruby, sapphire, spinel and peridot, as well as 201,081 mommis (754 kilograms) of pearl.

In March this year, an annual gems emporium, which was the 46th,was held in Yangon on the basis of competitive bidding. In the emporium, more than 5,000 jade lots were displayed and 191 million U.S. dollars worth gems and jewelry were sold out.

The event was attended by over 2,300 foreign traders mostly from China and China's Hong Kong.

The gem merchants attending the show are mainly from Asian countries of China, China's Hong Kong, China's Taiwan and Singapore.

In June this year, a special Myanmar gem emporium again attracted more than 3,000 foreign gem traders, registering the highest number of visitors compared with the last few years' and the proceeds from it amounted to 292 million dollars.

Myanmar's gem market in Asia seems to have not been much affected by the global economic downturn as seen by observers as the country's gems and jewelry stand high in demand among the Asian countries.

read more at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/13/content_12045884.htm

Solution for Myammar

Aung San Suu Kyi should be make the symbolic leader of Myammar for her effort and her father contribution to the country.

Than Shwe should be the actual leader since he got the military backing!!

With two of them nominated, and out of the election, I believe Myammar will have a smooth election and transition to democratic.

The symbolic leader and actual leader election can be held later after a term or two when the democratic system run smoothly!!

ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly or AIPA

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization or AIPO was set up on September 2, 1977 and transformed itself into an assembly in 2007, with an accompanying name-change to the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly or AIPA.

read more at http://www.eturbonews.com/10417/asean-parliamentarians-hold-30th-general-assembly-pattaya

Modern SEA

a book that trace from historical to contemporary South east Asia, good reading!!

Integration of South East Asia

The road path to a united south east asia.

With the present development of Malaysia, where their politics become more plurals and diversified, Singapore may choose to reenter Malaysia if the climate permit, to work hand in hand and in a win win situation for both countries.

As Indonesia entering the BRIC to become the next I in BRIIC, pulling down the important of Singapore and Malaysia, the development maybe crucial for the two countries.

If Brunei oils reserves reduce or any other incidents, it may induce Brunei into Malaysia. Placing all this former British colonies into one as original planned.

With the competition from US, Europe, Latin America, India, China and other, this entity will merge with Indonesia eventually, fulfilling Surkarno's dream in a peaceful manner.

Philipine may join in this group in later stage.

Vietnam as another power house may give a helping to Loas and Cambodia, uniting the Mekong River's countries. Hopefully Thailand, Myammar will later merge in to become a united Indochina.

If these two entities merged, a complete integration of South East Asia will emerge, and it will be comparable to US, Europe, China, India, Latin American, and will be able to self sustain as well.

This is only a possible path in view of the present climate.

Aseanapol

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations will reportedly establish a headquarters in Malaysia for its police body Aseanapol, to boost regional crime and security cooperation.

The association would be tasked with curbing crime in the region, especially the drugs trade and people trafficking.

read more at http://news.my.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3312349