I got immensely confused with Cho after a while. My first reaction, when Cho was introduced, was that she was Korean. My mother [who is natively korean]'s maiden surname is Chang, and Cho is a surname in Korea, as well. I shrugged it off as 'nice white lady who doesn't realise that Cho is usually a surname in Korea' and went on my merry way.
I've heard about Cho being Chinese, which wouldn't make as much sense, since Chang [usually pronounced with a long ah] is pronounced/spelt more like zhyang in Chinese [at least in the mainland areas], and Cho isn't really used in China, at least not under that pronunciation, insofar as I can tell. As for Cho being Japanese, Chang is definietely NOT a Japanese surname, since they tend to be much longer than Korean/Chinese surnames. Korean surnames are usually one syllable, like Rhee, Lee, Pak, and Kim, and Chinese ones generally aren't much longer. Japanese last names, on the other hand, are typically much longer, like Katsumoto, Yoshimitsu, and so on. The shortest Japanese surname I've ever come across is Gozen, and that's an old, old name.
Additionally, the odds of her being both Chinese/Korean and Japanese are pretty slim, as all three cultures have been duking it out for centuries. Or rather, China and Japan have been using Korea as their personal fighting ground for centuries. The three cultures aren't fond of one another. I'm not saying it's impossible, but unless her parents are fairly rebellious or have been in the UK for a long time [both of which are perfectly feasible], they would have most likely married within their own race. While Cho is obviously fine with dating whomever she feels like, her parents generation tends to lean towards marrying within their own race. Not always fun, but elder generations of Asians tend to lean towards homogenity within their bloodlines.
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Date: 2005-11-16 04:17 am (UTC)I got immensely confused with Cho after a while. My first reaction, when Cho was introduced, was that she was Korean. My mother [who is natively korean]'s maiden surname is Chang, and Cho is a surname in Korea, as well. I shrugged it off as 'nice white lady who doesn't realise that Cho is usually a surname in Korea' and went on my merry way.
I've heard about Cho being Chinese, which wouldn't make as much sense, since Chang [usually pronounced with a long ah] is pronounced/spelt more like zhyang in Chinese [at least in the mainland areas], and Cho isn't really used in China, at least not under that pronunciation, insofar as I can tell. As for Cho being Japanese, Chang is definietely NOT a Japanese surname, since they tend to be much longer than Korean/Chinese surnames. Korean surnames are usually one syllable, like Rhee, Lee, Pak, and Kim, and Chinese ones generally aren't much longer. Japanese last names, on the other hand, are typically much longer, like Katsumoto, Yoshimitsu, and so on. The shortest Japanese surname I've ever come across is Gozen, and that's an old, old name.
Additionally, the odds of her being both Chinese/Korean and Japanese are pretty slim, as all three cultures have been duking it out for centuries. Or rather, China and Japan have been using Korea as their personal fighting ground for centuries. The three cultures aren't fond of one another. I'm not saying it's impossible, but unless her parents are fairly rebellious or have been in the UK for a long time [both of which are perfectly feasible], they would have most likely married within their own race. While Cho is obviously fine with dating whomever she feels like, her parents generation tends to lean towards marrying within their own race. Not always fun, but elder generations of Asians tend to lean towards homogenity within their bloodlines.
/ramble