Cultural differences between Canada and China -Family name and given name
Family Name and given name
By Suzanne Zhu, Oct 2010
In Canada, when you call people, in most occasions, you call them by their first names, whether they are your boss or a new acquaintance. In Chinese, family names always precede given names, which also indicates that the family name is the most important part in one’s identity. Unlike people in the West, Chinese people are not comfortable calling each other by their given names. When you meet someone for the first time, people would ask about family names instead of given names. First or given names are reserved only for close friends and family members. To colleagues and professionals, you address them by calling their titles to show respect for their professional title, status and position, followed by their family names. For example, to a teacher whose family name is Zhang, you would call Teacher Zhang; to a manager whose family name is Li, you would call him Manager Li, to a coach whose family name is Wang, you would call him Coach Wang.
To learn more about Chinese language and the cultural differences in communications between Canada and China, enrol in our Vancouver Mandarin Classes. Visit www.KeyLanguageTraining.com for more information.
