CC - Item 5A - City of Rosemead Chinese Name StandardizationROSEMEAD CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JEFF ALLRED, CITY MANAGER
DATE: AUGUST 14, 2012
SUBJECT: CITY OF ROSEMEAD CHINESE NAME STANDARDIZATION
SUMMARY
Currently within the Chinese speaking community, there are multiple transliterations
used to identify Rosemead. The City Council will consider standardization of
Rosemead's Chinese transliteration. For Rosemead, it is proposed that the Chinese
characters IJVWTMi (lu6 sT mi) be authorized as the official Chinese version of the City of
Rosemead's name.
The Chinese characters that are proposed to represent Rosemead put forth a dignified
and professional image for the City. This particular selection of characters 9TIN (lu6
sT mi) also appears in the widely circulated Chinese American and Chinese Canadian
newspaper World Journal as the Chinese transliteration of Rosemead.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council approve WTM(lu6 sT mi) as the City of
Rosemead's standardized Chinese transliteration.
ANALYSIS
Since the Chinese and English linguistic systems are so different, true phonetic
equivalents between the two languages do not exist. As such, the transliterations of
English words in Chinese are not exact, which sometimes results in contextual
awkwardness. In- addition to attempting phonetic equivalence between the two
languages, another factor that must be considered is the chosen characters' combined
meaning.
As the Chinese language has a more narrow range of phonetics than the English
language, it relies on other methods of word differentiation. Instead of solely employing
phonetic variation to determine linguistic meaning, the Chinese language also uses tone
and context to distinguish the meaning of a word or phrase. Consequently, it is possible
for a Chinese phonetic equivalent to be very close to its English counterpart in sound,
ITEM NUMBER: 5N
City Council Meeting
August 14, 2012
Page 2 of 4
but vastly differ in meaning. In Rosemead's case, a slight connection is present
between the commonly used Chinese characters �c1ljN(r6u si mi) and the English
name Rosemead since a "mead" is a honey beverage and W(mi) translates into
"honey ". However, that connection is not strong because Rosemead is originally derived
from the name "Rose's Meadow ", where "mead" is simply an abbreviation of the word
meadow.
The proposed version of the Rosemead Chinese characters more clearly distinguishes
the characters as a name of geographical place from a descriptive phrase. The three
commonly used characters *'U*(r6u si mi) together directly translate to read "soft
like honey," which is a strange name for a city in a Chinese context.
9(r6u), the first character in the current commonly used Chinese transliteration, directly
translates into "soft" in English. The revised first character (IU6) can mean "to collect"
or "to catch," but also is used in Chinese transliterations of geographical locations
beginning with the letter "R." The current commonly used middle character %L(si) is a
particle that signifies a simile or metaphor, whereas the revised middle character Wf(s7)
is a more neutral particle that has been used in other phonetic equivalents of English
place names. Lastly, the current commonly used character W(mi), means "honey," as
previously noted, whereas the revised character 9(mi) means "close" or "secret ". This
revised character also is commonly used to transliterate "me" sounds from English into
Chinese.
Chinese
Pinyin
English Definition
Character
Pronunciation
rou
soft; gentle, pliant
i
luo
to collect/ to gather/ to catch
'
gj
this, thus, such; emphatic particle
t it
si
resemble, similar to; as if, seem
M!
honey; sweet, • nectar
City Council Meeting
August 14, 2012
Page 3 of 4
171711 dense, thick, close, intimate
M
Chinese
Transliterations Current Usage Pros Cons
of Rosemead
lLj
rou si mi
* 7 4
luo ST MI
Commonly seen in local
Rosemead media and
signage.
World Journal, a Chinese
newspaper distributed in
both the U.S. and Canada,
uses this version. This
paper is cited as having
the largest circulation
among Chinese
Americans and Chinese
Canadians.
Familiar to
Rosemead
residents.
Currently
circulated
through print
and online
media outlets.
Close phonetic
Already widely
recognized
because of its
appearance in
World Journal.
Clear
distinction that
the character
combination is
a place name,
not a
description.
Presents a
professional
Direct translation
of characters into
English is "soft
like honey."
Is not as close of
a phonetic
equivalent to
Rosemead as
other versions.
In preparing this report and recommendation, City staff consulted with Mayor Pro Tern
Polly Low and City Council Member Steven Ly. Staff also consulted with Mr. Daniel
Deng, a local attorney and former journalist with strong ties to the Chinese - American
media.
Upon City Council approval of the recommendation, the City will notify various
applicable parties of this standardization, including media outlets and translation
services used by the City.
City Council Meeting
August 14, 2012
Page 4 of 4
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
This item has been noticed through the regular agenda notification process.
Submitted by
*q uv-
Allison Lew
Administrative Intern