Posts by Chi-Jui Chang

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Posts by Chi-Jui Chang

Everything You Need to Know About Chinese Names (Part 2)

September 20, 2012 | By Chi-Jui Chang, Master’s student, Financial Engineering

Last month, I introduced a post about the Chinese language, written Chinese, and Chinese naming and transliteration customs, as it relates to Chinese names. This month, I’ll move on to explain pronunciation. First step: Vowels While Wades-Giles and Pinyin transliterations appear quite dissimilar, they use the same set of Latin letters in almost the same way to represent Mandarin vowels: ‹a›, ‹e›, ‹i›, ‹o›, ‹u›, ‹y›, and ‹w›. Remember: do not think in terms of English. English has a rich set of vowels, so these few poor Latin letters have to take on multiple values in the notoriously creative English…

Published in: Student Voices

Everything You Need to Know About Chinese Names (Part 1)

August 29, 2012 | By Chi-Jui Chang, Master’s student, Financial Engineering

“Hi, my name is Chris. And you are … KYE-JOO?” “It’s CHEE-RAY.” “CHEE … RAY? But it’s spelled with a j… Can I call you Chi for short?” “Sorry, no, but you can call me Daniel.” This is a typical conversation a Chinese or Taiwanese person would have with a foreigner. Despite a much appreciated American courtesy to pronounce things right, it showcases a series of choices one has to make regarding the personal name: Should I pronounce the name as if it is spelled in English, or should I pronounce it correctly? Chinese is tonal. Should I pronounce the…

Published in: Student Voices

A Frugal Sojourner’s Guide to the Ace Deuce

August 22, 2012 | By Chi-Jui Chang, Master’s student, Financial Engineering

International master's students, most of whom are Asian, are subject to nontrivial financial burdens. They are usually not eligible for scholarships, and proof of sufficient funds from home is a requirement for admission. With a heavy course load, they barely have time to work to even cover their living expenses, which in my case, at around $600 a month, is three times that in Taiwan. During the process, part of the meaning of coming to the “Land of the Free” is lost: that is, to experience and explore a Western way of life, or, to put it less momentously, to…

Published in: Student Voices

Meet Our Bloggers: Chi-Jui Chang

July 25, 2012 | By Chi-Jui Chang, Master’s student, Financial Engineering

Hello! My name is Chi-Jui, pronounced CHEE-RAY and shamelessly meaning 'how brilliant' in Chinese. I come from Taiwan, and I will be your Financial Engineering and Taiwanese/Chinese correspondent for the coming year. This is my second year in the States, and I am in fact studying for a second graduate degree. In Taiwan I majored in Electrical Engineering and gained a master's in Computer Science. To be honest, I think I've been in school too long, but getting a graduate degree is almost a must in Taiwan to be able to earn a decent salary, and if you have any…

Published in: Student Voices

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