Question about names

[undeadrobins]

To preface this with a disclaimer: I'm very new to Chinese and Taiwanese dramas, so my knowledge is based on what I've picked up through fandom recently. However, I want to understand more, hence my asking questions! Please excuse any mistakes I make in asking!

Is there a difference in how characters refer to each other in Chinese and Taiwanese shows?

In most of the shows I've watched so far, characters refer to each other by either their full names or by honorifics until they reach a certain level of familiarity. However, according to the subtitles on Viki, several of the characters use shortened versions of names. Ah-Fei is common, as is Ah-De, even between characters that don't seem to have a particular level of closeness.

Is this abbreviated form used in a more casual way in Taiwan, or is it because I'm misunderstanding its use, or is it just poor subtitling?

Does anyone have a resource of how the characters refer to each other?

Thanks in advance!

Comments

[clevermanka]

I was wondering about this a few days ago, too. The folks in Trapped seem to throw around the diminutives with casual abandon in ways that characters in Guardian don't. Is that cultural, were Trapped writers were commenting on the relationships in that that show, etc.?

[undeadrobins]

I'm pretty sure it's just that I don't understand the difference between the shows or the language or something. I'm hoping that someone knows the reasons!

[anotherslashfan]

If you could pick out a specific ep I could maybe check it for you? It's been so long and I watched it mostly unsubbed, but it'd be nice to revisit for a bit.

[doctorskuld]

The Ah- diminutive is used more often in Taiwan and in southern Chinese provinces than in the northern provinces of China. So there are regional linguistic differences at play, for sure.

The Mainland tends to use different diminutives, like Xiao- or Lao-, which you will be more familiar with if you watch Mainland C-dramas.

I'm not sure if there's a different level of familiarity with diminutive usage, but they can turn into nicknames to the point where one may not necessarily have to be close to them to know the common usage of the name?

Like you don't have to be close to a person to call him "Mike" instead of "Michael" if everybody else calls him "Mike."

[undeadrobins]

I knew you'd be the person who knew! That all makes complete sense to me, so thank you!

[feklar42]

I think it also gets a little confusing because different translators will translate names and honorifics differently. Some subtitlers seem to discard the honorifics altogether and just use the character's name. I suspect they are trying to make it easier for people to know which character is being referred to, but once you start to develop familiarity with the honorifics and diminutives, it actually gets a little distracting. Then, some subtitlers try to translate an honorific or diminutive into an English equivalent, which really does not work for me. Generally, I would prefer they keep the original word and explain what it means (if necessary).

Another thing that might affect the difference between Taiwanese and Chinese shows is that Chinese shows are often dubbed with a form of Mandarin that I think of as being somewhat like BBC received pronunciation. I don't know what the rationale is, since they also always of Mandarin subtitles which would enable listeners to understand despite the different accents the actors might have.