"Amarantha" > wrote in message
. 244.170...
> > Right, although in this case it should be noted that in the
> > case of one of the Iron Chefs themselves - Chen Kenichi -
> > the Americanized version leaves his name in the original
> > form, based on the notion that to most American ears
> > "Chen Kenichi" SOUNDS more like a "first name, last
> > name" than would "Kenichi Chen" (which is really what
> > it should be if you insist on the family name last).
> >
>
> On the English-language version of the show they reverse the Japanese
names
> to conform to English name order standards, but all the Chinese names,
such
> as Chen's and those of Chinese challengers, are left in the chinese
format.

Yes, but the reason for doing this is as I stated - most often,
Chinese names given surname-first (which is not just the
Chinese format, but common to a number of Eastern
cultures) will SOUND better (i.e., "as expected") to
American (and other Western) ears. "Chen Kenichi" simply
sounds better to Americans than "Kenichi Chen," which if
you listen closely to the original Japanese dialogue (when
audible, as is often the case with Kaga) or read the printed
version of his name is the way he's referred to on the show.

Adding to the confusion is the fact that many Chinese who deal
regularly with Westerners will often adopt a "Western"
given name, to use on their business cards and in any other
dealings with us. I recall quite clearly being unsuccessful
in suppressing my amusement in one such case, and then
having to explain why the choice of the name "Peter" might
not have been the best one to make, when one's family
name might be Romanized as "Pan"....:-)

Bob M.