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Did nobody pay attention when they told us how to address/refer to Yao?

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Williamson, Dec 6, 2002.

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  1. Williamson

    Williamson JOSH CHRISTOPHER ONLY FAN

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    In reading this board it seems like 50% of the people who post here keep referring to him as Ming as though it is his surname. Yao is actually his surname and Ming his first name, though in his culture, nobody would refer to him as just Ming. It was explained to me that calling him Ming is similiar to calling me William because my last name is Williamson. It doesn't make any sense to him. He is Yao or he is Yao Ming. He is never just Ming.

    I know this is a bit knit picky, but it is something that bothers me as I do feel we need to respect his cultural differences.
     
    #1 Williamson, Dec 6, 2002
  2. A-Train

    A-Train Member

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    OK, William...
     
    #2 A-Train, Dec 6, 2002
  3. JLB

    JLB Member

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    Bye-Bye
     
    #3 JLB, Dec 6, 2002
  4. DaDakota

    DaDakota Balance wins
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    Whopdeedoo Willie !!

    DD
     
    #4 DaDakota, Dec 6, 2002
  5. li_chen18

    li_chen18 Member

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    I bet he loves people call him Ming, too. Yes, Ming is his first name and Chinese people rarely use someone's first name to refer to this person, if they don't know him very well. However, if this peron is their good friend or, if they really like him, they would love to use his first name. My opinion is, calling him Ming is even better.
     
    #5 li_chen18, Dec 6, 2002
  6. rezdawg

    rezdawg Member

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    ok
     
    #6 rezdawg, Dec 6, 2002
  7. ruyun5

    ruyun5 Member

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    I like calling him Ming. It rhymes with the ring. :D
     
    #7 ruyun5, Dec 6, 2002
  8. heypartner

    heypartner Member

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    anyone notice that nba.com has him listed under the M's in the player section.

    They list him like this:

    Ming, Yao

    Even though his jersey says Yao, and the league office had to tell him that he could only use his surname.

    :rolleyes:
     
    #8 heypartner, Dec 6, 2002
  9. pangzi

    pangzi Member

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    Actually it is alright to call him Ming just like when people call Mike, Shaq, Wilt, Hakeem, Magic, Kareem, Issah, or even Oscar. You don’t call Bill, Larry, or John since there are too many of them and the media was not helping them either, to be like Mike. Normally you don’t call a person by the first name if it only contains one character, unless you are his/her most significant other (or one of them).
     
    #9 pangzi, Dec 6, 2002
  10. ricerocket

    ricerocket Member

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    You can call him Ray, you can call him Johnson, you can call him... :rolleyes:
     
    #10 ricerocket, Dec 6, 2002
  11. Williamson

    Williamson JOSH CHRISTOPHER ONLY FAN

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    li_chen18- that's interesting. the way I read it was that just calling him Ming didn't even make sense to him? But then, I've also read that Olajawon changed his name from Akeem to Hakeem when he went muslim when it fact it was his name all along and he was just too polite to correct us until some years down the road so I'm not at all surprised to hear that what I've read is a little bit off base.

    And while I'd love to consider myself a friend to Yao Ming, I think I'll stick to calling him Yao or Yao Ming. ;)
     
    #11 Williamson, Dec 6, 2002
  12. Williamson

    Williamson JOSH CHRISTOPHER ONLY FAN

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    "Actually it is alright to call him Ming just like when people call Mike, Shaq, Wilt, Hakeem, Magic, Kareem, Issah, or even Oscar. You don’t call Bill, Larry, or John since there are too many of them and the media was not helping them either, to be like Mike. Normally you don’t call a person by the first name if it only contains one character, unless you are his/her most significant other (or one of them)."




    I agree with you there, but I am getting the impression that a lot of the people who are addressing him as Ming are doing so because they think it is his surname.
     
    #12 Williamson, Dec 6, 2002
  13. pangzi

    pangzi Member

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    NBA.com or the the NBA messed up. They got Wang Zhizhi's right though. Is Bateer his last name?
     
    #13 pangzi, Dec 6, 2002
  14. li_chen18

    li_chen18 Member

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    You're absolutely right, Jmwilliamson. A lot of people think that Ming is his family name. Shaq once called him "Mr. Ming", which was kind of funny.
     
    #14 li_chen18, Dec 6, 2002
  15. RocDreamer

    RocDreamer Member

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    I like "big man"!
     
    #15 RocDreamer, Dec 6, 2002
  16. pangzi

    pangzi Member

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    Anyway, you may not even need a real name in sports. Many American know who The Greatest is. BTW, what is Peli's name? Family or given.
     
    #16 pangzi, Dec 6, 2002
  17. goodbug

    goodbug Member

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    Yes, his surname is Yao, given name Ming. In Chinese,
    surname is called before first name. And in Chinese culture,
    most of the time people use the full name to call each other,
    if you are a close friend, you may call one's first name only. You can also use Mr. Yao in very formal situation, but never refer sb. with surname only. In short, Yao Ming is never called Yao in any situation.

    A joke is that eastern people respect their ancestors most so
    family name is follows by given name, the western people respect
    themselves most so given name precedes
     
    #17 goodbug, Dec 6, 2002
  18. Williamson

    Williamson JOSH CHRISTOPHER ONLY FAN

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    i'm at least relieved to learn it isn't offensive or disrespectful to address him/refer to him as Ming.
     
    #18 Williamson, Dec 6, 2002
  19. AMS_blackwidow

    AMS_blackwidow Member

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    i like YOA..... YAO gunna make them lose ther mind....up in here.. up in here.
    YAO gunna make them lose ther cool....up in here.. up in here
    YAO gunna make them lose ther games....up in here.. up in here

    ok its corny.. very corny:(
     
    #19 AMS_blackwidow, Dec 6, 2002
  20. Williamson

    Williamson JOSH CHRISTOPHER ONLY FAN

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    Wait, He's never referred to as Yao in any situation? Then they sure made that confusing by making his jersey read only Yao. I forfeit. Call him Ming! I'm just lost... I mean I understand, but I'm lost.

    Also, I laughed when Shaq called him Mr. Ming too.
     
    #20 Williamson, Dec 6, 2002
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