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Re: Anthroponymy (was Re: Re: Laadan)

From:Douglas Koller, Latin & French <latinfrench@...>
Date:Friday, December 13, 2002, 15:28
Florian writes:

>Chinese women don't even change their family name.
Usually true, unless you address her as "taitai" (Mrs.), where it's the husband's surname that's used. It's no longer a terribly widespread custom, but one still hears it, at least in Taiwan. While I've heard that little expressions of pre-liberation politesse are creeping back into mainland usage, I haven't been there in over a decade, so I can't verify. Still, it's hard to imagine the old workhorse "tongzhi" (comrade) losing significant ground, in which case everyone uses his/her own name. Kou