Pronunciation of "Ng"

Random question of the day. A fellow I'm working with at my 2-week-from-now new job's name is Choy Ng. Any insight into the correct pronunciation of that name? Is is "Eng", or "Mhn"???? I am pretty sure it's Chinese or Cantonese, but I am honestly now sure. Curiosity abounds!!!

Fiery Sword said:

Random question of the day. A fellow I'm working with at my 2-week-from-now new job's name is Choy Ng. Any insight into the correct pronunciation of that name? Is is "Eng", or "Mhn"???? I am pretty sure it's Chinese or Cantonese, but I am honestly now sure. Curiosity abounds!!!

Click to expand...

...you can learn anything from TMBG, aparently!

that could not have been a more entertaining answer.

Fiery Sword said:

Random question of the day. A fellow I'm working with at my 2-week-from-now new job's name is Choy Ng. Any insight into the correct pronunciation of that name? Is is "Eng", or "Mhn"???? I am pretty sure it's Chinese or Cantonese, but I am honestly now sure. Curiosity abounds!!!

Click to expand...

I'm not very PC but if I were in your shoes I'd just ask

Cheesefood said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dQLkxz6c2E

Click to expand...

My wife's going to *love* that you posted an OLD TMBG video...

Have you gotten Miles the "ABC" DVD? Cassie absolutely *loves* it.... except that when she asks for it, she says "E-E-E's?"

Pumbaa said:

I'm not very PC but if I were in your shoes I'd just ask

Click to expand...

I'm mostly with ya there, man - sucks that the PC police make me think twice about doing it. But you are right, I should just ask.

the_bird said:

My wife's going to *love* that you posted an OLD TMBG video...

Have you gotten Miles the "ABC" DVD? Cassie absolutely *loves* it.... except that when she asks for it, she says "E-E-E's?"

Click to expand...

I have it on my iPod.

Who put the alphabet
In alphabetical order!

(I love that song).

Fiery Sword said:

I'm mostly with ya there, man - sucks that the PC police make me think twice about doing it. But you are right, I should just ask.

Click to expand...

FWIW, I think that's probably a Vietnamese name, I believe.

I'd ask. What on earth would being PC have to do with doing someone the simple courtesy of wanting to pronounce their name correctly? Sounds like a straw-man argument to me, FWIW.

Fiery Sword said:

I'm mostly with ya there, man - sucks that the PC police make me think twice about doing it. But you are right, I should just ask.

Click to expand...

I had a Hmong patinet the other day named You Her . . . I asked the granddaughter to spell it for me and she looked at me like I was a retard . . . Y O U last name H E R, then she gave me the explination . . . When they fled Vietnam the Americans couldnt pronounce her given name and just kept calling her "You" & "Her" so when she got to the paper work thats what she wrote down and it stuck . . . I asked what her REAL name was back from Nam and the granddaughter (who spoke perfect Hmong and English) looked at me and said "F' me, I cant pronounce it either"


I wish I could make stuff like this up

Pumbaa said:

I had a Hmong patinet the other day named You Her . . . I asked the granddaughter to spell it for me and she looked at me like I was a retard . . . Y O U last name H E R, then she gave me the explination . . . When they fled Vietnam the Americans couldnt pronounce her given name and just kept calling her "You" & "Her" so when she got to the paper work thats what she wrote down and it stuck . . . I asked what her REAL name was back from Nam and the granddaughter (who spoke perfect Hmong and English) looked at me and said "F' me, I cant pronounce it either"


I wish I could make stuff like this up

Click to expand...

LMAO!! No way man, reality is MUCH more hilarious.

Ize

I've heard many different pronunciations of Nguyen.

Most Americanized Asians will take up an English first name that's easy to pronounce, or will just get accustomed to a new way of hearing their name. It's no surprise that native English speakers can't make the same sounds as Asians, and vice-versa.

Cheesefood said:

I have it on my iPod.

Who put the alphabet
In alphabetical order!

(I love that song).

Click to expand...

You bastard - that's going to be stuck in my head all day...

We bought "No!" long before Cassie was conceived... I can't wait until we can take her to one of the kid-friendly shows. They played one, a free gig, IIRC, over in Albany a couple summers ago, but Cassie was only six months or so old - she'd get an absolute blast out of it now.

Sorry,

I once had a class with an indian kid named Sh!thead. Yes, it's a real name, pronounced Shi-Todd. Look it up if you don't believe me.

cweston said:

I'd ask. What on earth would being PC have to do with doing someone the simple courtesy of wanting to pronounce their name correctly? Sounds like a straw-man argument to me, FWIW.

Click to expand...

Like everything else in this world, it's politics. I'm not going to travel to Mexico and ask some guy what the correct way to pronounce guaje is......I'm going to look into it first so that I go prepared.....which is why I asked in the first place.

Regardles, some people get offended being asked how to pronounce their name. To some, it can come across as ingorant. (I think this is absolute bunk, but I will acknowledge that it is a reality and play the PC game) I'd rather not chance it with a new employer, so I'm checking into it on my own. .....And aparently, Them Might Be Giants knew I needed the answer so they recorded a song.

I'm bringing this up. I hope it doesn't de-evolve into a ghetto name thing.

Pronounce "Deborah "








Client was PO'd that no one called her.
de BOR ah

I think the name is Vietnamese.

Id ask. I hate it when people try to pronounce my last name, and do it incorectly over and over. I'd much rather them ask, and my name has vowels in it. I cant see him taking offense if you ask once and remember it.

- magno

Deb-ra! texxxxttt liimitt...

I worked with a deBORah once, took me a long time to correctly say it. I am lucky to work at a facility where there are about 25 nations represented at a place that employs maybe 400. I am always asking them how to pronounce something, especially their names since I am often training them, they do not seem to mind me asking.

Fiery Sword said:

Regardles, some people get offended being asked how to pronounce their name. To some, it can come across as ingorant. (I think this is absolute bunk, but I will acknowledge that it is a reality and play the PC game)

Click to expand...

OK--I guess we're talking past each other here...

My point is that a person getting offended if you ask them how to pronounce their name isn't being PC, they're just being an a**hole, IMHO

Fiery Sword said:

Regardles, some people get offended being asked how to pronounce their name. To some, it can come across as ingorant. (I think this is absolute bunk, but I will acknowledge that it is a reality and play the PC game) I'd rather not chance it with a new employer, so I'm checking into it on my own. .....And aparently, Them Might Be Giants knew I needed the answer so they recorded a song.

Click to expand...

If you ask you are ingorant, and there is nothing wrong with being ingorant . . . it just means you lack the knowledge. Now if you ask him seeking the knowledge and be becomes an @ss about it I would just call him "prick"

cweston said:

OK--I guess we're talking past each other here...

My point is that a person getting offended if you ask them how to pronounce their name isn't being PC, they're just being an a**hole, IMHO

Click to expand...

I agree, with both statements.
.....And sometimes even acknowledging a PC paranoia perpetuates the PC bull****e. I guess I'm guilty as charged.

I always know someone is looking for me when they say, "David Ssss..."

Cheesefood said:

I've heard many different pronunciations of Nguyen.

Most Americanized Asians will take up an English first name that's easy to pronounce, or will just get accustomed to a new way of hearing their name. It's no surprise that native English speakers can't make the same sounds as Asians, and vice-versa.

Click to expand...

I used to have a friend...he died, and he told me a story about this country sheriff asking an Arab "why are all you guys named Al"?

olllllo said:

I'm bringing this up. I hope it doesn't de-evolve into a ghetto name thing.

Pronounce "Deborah "

Client was PO'd that no one called her.
de BOR ah

Click to expand...

Anyone read the book "Freakonomics"? There is one chapter about the effect one's name has on one becoming successful. Well, the authors mention a pair of kids whose parents (or parent, I can't remember) named them Lemonjello and Orangejello, pronounced with the accent on the second syllable like the Deborah name above. wierd.

Dude, if I went to high school with a kid named leMONjel'o or orONgel'o i would have buster their balls to no end.

desiderata said:

Anyone read the book "Freakonomics"? There is one chapter about the effect one's name has on one becoming successful. Well, the authors mention a pair of kids whose parents (or parent, I can't remember) named them Lemonjello and Orangejello, pronounced with the accent on the second syllable like the Deborah name above. wierd.

Click to expand...

That is an awesome book.
Incidently I crawled a few public dbs to find instances of children named "Uneeka" or "Uniqah" (derrivations of unique) and it was shocking.

I wish they'd do an analysis on the keg deposits.

Fiery Sword, SWMBO says its pronounced Eng, and it is Vietnamese.

Good luck with your new job.

- magno