Malai-yitzu Temalalate is a 20-year-old Paiwan woman. Her transliterated name in Chinese includes nine Chinese characters and a dot separating the two parts of her name. It had to be edited in a special way so that all the characters could fit in the space for names on the ID card. She said that because her name is so special, teachers often pay more attention to her during roll call. Many of her classmates want to get to know her because of her extremely long name, allowing her to make many new friends.
Temalalate studies at Tzu Chi College of Technology in Hualien. She is an only child, and both of her parents are also members of the Paiwan ethnolinguistic group. Her ancestors were chieftains, so she has always received a lot of attention since she was very little. Her father gave her the beautiful Paiwan name of Malai-yitzu, which refers to the beauty of a woman that even the blooming flowers and full moon cannot match. Temalalate identifies her as a member of a specific tribe.
She said she used to go by her Han Chinese name, Lee Nien-tzu, when she was a little girl, and that her elementary school classmates still call her by that name. She started using this significantly longer transliterated name when she started junior high school. At first she was not used to being called by the name at all, and it always takes a long time to write her entire name when she has to fill out forms or take exams. Since her classmates do not know what to call her, and in order to make things simpler when introducing herself, she tells them to call her Malai, which is a shorter version of her given name.
Photo: Lee Li-fa, Taipei Times
照片:自由時報記者李立法
Malai said there are about a dozen classmates in her school with an Aboriginal background, but she is the only one who uses an ancestral tribal name. She says that because of the name teachers always enjoy calling her name during roll call. Although she feels the name is an inconvenience when she gets a chop engraved or fills out applications, she is happy that companies tend to hire her because they think her name is very attractive.
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY TAIJING WU)
「瑪萊依慈.得馬拉拉得」是位二十歲排灣族女性。音譯成中文的姓名包含間隔號總共十個字,身分證姓名欄得特別編排打印。她說,因為姓名特別,上課時常被老師點名,也因為名字很長,很多人都想認識她,讓她交到不少朋友。
就讀花蓮慈濟技術學院的瑪萊依慈.得馬拉拉得,是家中獨生女,父母親是排灣族原住民。來自頭目家族的她從小備受疼愛,父親幫她取了一個美麗的排灣族名字「瑪萊依慈」,意思是擁有閉月羞花之貌,「得馬拉拉得」則是氏族名。
她說,小時候有過「李念慈」的漢名,國小同學現在還叫她「念慈」,上了國中才使用這個較長的名字。剛開始很不習慣,每次填寫資料及考試時名字都要寫很久,同學們也不知道要怎麼稱呼她,為求方便好記,自我介紹時,她都請大家簡稱她為「瑪萊」。
瑪萊說,全班四十多人中具原住民血統的有十來個,只有她使用原族傳統名,老師點名最喜歡找她,雖然刻印章或申辦證件常感不便,但她在校外應徵打工時,卻有僱主認為她的名字具吸引力而錄取她。
(自由時報記者李立法)
The third-hottest July worldwide ended a string of record-breaking temperatures last month, but many regions were still devastated by extreme weather amplified by global warming, the European climate monitoring service said Thursday last week. Heavy rains flooded Pakistan and northern China; Canada, Scotland and Greece struggled to tame wildfires intensified by persistent drought; and many nations in Asia and Scandinavia recorded new average highs for the month. “Two years after the hottest July on record, the recent streak of global temperature records is over,” Carlo Buontempo, director of the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, said in a statement. “But that
Peacocks are among the most beautiful birds in the world. Their bright feathers and graceful movements have fascinated humans for centuries. These magnificent creatures belong to the pheasant family and are found in regions across Asia and Africa. Let’s explore peacocks’ unique characteristics and cultural significance. There are three main species of peacock: the well-known Indian peafowl, native to South Asia; the endangered green peafowl from Southeast Asia; and the rare Congo peafowl, found in African rainforests. Although the term “peacock” technically refers only to males, many people use it for both sexes. Male peacocks display their colorful tail feathers, which
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang Whale shark reproduction has long been a mystery for scientists. However, a significant discovery in 1995 off the eastern coast of Taiwan provided valuable insights. Researchers examined a pregnant female of the species and found over 300 embryos inside her body, ranging from about 40 to 60 cm in length. This discovery revealed that whale sharks are ovoviviparous. Instead of laying eggs in the ocean, the mother carries them internally until they hatch, giving birth to fully developed live young. Since the eggs don’t hatch all at once, embryos at different stages of development can all exist within
A: Wow, Taiwanese pop band Sodagreen just held two concerts in Kaohsiung to mark the 20th anniversary of their debut. B: I’m glad they’re continuing to perform, even after taking several long breaks. A: Canadian singer Elijah Woods also staged a show in New Taipei on Tuesday, followed by US singer Camila Cabello, who is set to rock Kaohsiung tonight. B: I love Camila’s global hit Havana. It was the best-selling digital single of 2018, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). A: The singer with Cuban-Mexican heritage was born in Havana, and her music has been influenced by her roots. A: