A-giâu’s attempt at reconstructing some of the Sinitic names on Malaysia’s list of forbidden personal names (which I posted on yesterday) had me feeling a little guilty that I didn’t do more research on this. So I did some additional digging and came up with an article that listed some of the Hanzi (Chinese characters).
Here are the Sinitic names, as given in the article (see ref. below). I’ve added romanization in Pinyin and approximate English translations. A few of these, though, have me perplexed. What, for example, is so bad about Hor Kianh (??)?
Hoklo/Hokkien/Taiwanese
| source’s romanization | Hanzi | Romanization in Pinyin (Mandarin) | English translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ah Chwar | 阿蛇 | Ā Shé | Snake |
| Ang Mor | 紅毛 | Hóngmáo | Westerner (figuratively; literally: “red hair”) |
| Heoy Kay | 火雞 | Huǒjī | Turkey |
| Hor Kianh | 虎仔 | Hǔzi | Tiger |
| Khiow Koo | 駝背 | Tuóbèi | Hunchback |
| Tok Sim | 毒心 | Dúxīn | Evil Mind |
| Tua Pooi | 大肥 | Dà Féi | Fatty |
| Tua Bug | 大目 | Dà Mù | Big Eyes |
Cantonese
| source’s romanization | Hanzi | Romanization in Pinyin (Mandarin) | English translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ai Chai | 矮仔 | Ǎizi | Dwarf |
| Chow Kow | 臭狗 | Chòu Gǒu | Smelly Dog |
| Chow Tow | 臭頭 | Chòu Tóu | Stinky Head |
| Sor Chai | 傻仔 | Shǎzi | Fool |
| Kou Lou | 高佬 | Gāo Lǎo | Tall Devil |
| Tai Ngan | 大眼 | Dà Yǎn | Big Eyes |
| Soh Low | 傻佬 | Shǎ Lǎo | Stupid Imp |
| Tai Yee | 大耳 | Dà Ěr | Big Ears |
Mandarin
| source’s romanization | Hanzi | Romanization in Pinyin (Mandarin) | English translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ar Loo | 阿驢 | Ā Lǘ | Donkey |
| Hwai Sze | 壞死 | Huàisǐ | Bad Death |
| Chang Chee | 娼妓 | Chāngjì | Prostitute |
| Ho Sze | 猴子 | Hóuzi | Monkey |
| Sun Choo | 山豬 | Shānzhū | Wild Boar |
| Tha Thaw | 大頭 | Dàtóu | Wastrel, Silly Person (lit. “Big Head”) |
| Chue Sze | 豬仔 | Zhūzi | Piggy |
| Sze Kwee | 死鬼 | Sǐguǐ | Devil |
source: Jiazhang wèi háizi qumíng xuzhi: Agou, Jizi, A-Zhuàng jìn yòng (????????? ????????), China Press (Malaysia), July 30, 2006
Thanks, Mark, for the nice dig.
I am relieved the much-maligned “LP” has managed to evade this registry. There is hope yet for parents who would like to endow their boys with a dose of nativist masculinity.
On a lighter note, I think China Press needs to brush up on its Hanzi for regionalects. ??, for example, is clearly a Mandarin gloss for “khiau-ku” (or Khiow Koo); the latter is apparently not a cognate.