Re: Bopomofo and pinyin

> > >    Aidan, the former chinese interpreter
> > Guei Ai-tan (WG)?
>     Oh I get it now, that's my "Chinese" name, right? Actually, when I was
> translating, it was 'Mo4 ke4lin2'. I'm the Aelya guy  Clinton
> Moreland-Stringham. My husband and I just got tired of 17 letters in our
last
> name, and we both HATE those first names, so we're getting them legally
> changed (me to Aidan Michael Grey, him to J. Brent Grey).
> But now I wonder what cool meaning I can give my new name (my old one was
> rather lame - 'inky border of the forest'  or something).
Ah, so there you are, Mo Xiansheng! I shouldn't worry so much about the
meaning of the last name; most Chinese speakers say that this is bereft of
meaning. Tribal and village clan names and such. Much more important -
meaning wise- is the first name. This is carefully chosen to invoke desired
for characteristics or map out "geomancy". Hence, the "ink" meaning doesn't
really hold in when it comes to surnames. So you might pick something that
starts with "g" that suits you (although it must fall within the "Book of
1,000 Surnames") "Ge"? Yawn. For "ai", my personal favorite is "ai3",
"clouds". "Dan"? "dan1", "cinnabar," red," "sophisticated". "Ai" could also
be used as a legit, albeit antiquated, surname. "Ai Dan" sounds to me
movie-starrish, but it leaves your partner in the lurch. Naming things (or
people - as conlinguists know - is a very personal business); plum the
depths of a good Chinese dictionary to find what works for you and conforms
to Chinese notions of auspiciousness and melliflousness. For me, the trick
is to make it not sound obviously foreign (though my Chinese name hardly
qualifies -- "Kou" ain't been used for dynasties)

Ob Conlang:

"Grey" in Géarthnuns is "néval" or "névale".

Kou