• ZDL@lazysoci.alEnglish
        31·
        5 days ago

        … It does?

        How is that name pronounced in the west? Here it would be pronounced something kinda/sorta like “LEE-OWE KAHNG” Each one syllable (the first being a diphthong). The latter syllable is difficult to transcribe into an English word. I can’t think of a word in English that has that vowel sound precisely, but it’s basically the “a” in “father”, not in “cask”.

        (Now be glad I didn’t explain Laura Luo’s family name…)

        • SanctimoniousApe@lemmings.worldEnglish
          1·
          2 days ago

          To be fair, there’s also several American accents that could screw up the pronunciation depending upon what part of the country they’re from. I’d be amazed if a country the size of China didn’t have similar occurrences.

          • ZDL@lazysoci.alEnglish
            1·
            2 days ago

            I’m approximately 99.44% positive that at no point would “Liu” be pronounced as “Lu” in any dialect of Chinese.

            Seeing as they already have the perfectly cromulent “Lu” available for that sound.

            Romanizations are by definition sound-based, unlike characters.

        • Tar_Alcaran@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          3·
          4 days ago

          I mean, it all depends on whether you like being correct, or are following the pronunciation from the 1992 videogame Mortal Kombat.