Pronounce it Right Joe Rogan - Huawei, Xiaomi, Muay Thai Andy 'Ngo' and 'Nguyen' 'NG' Names
How should you REALLY pronounce 'Huawei' 华为 (華為)? Xiaomi 小米? - How about surnames starting in NG like 'Ng', 'Ngo' 吳 and 'Nguyen' 阮? - And what about Muay Thai (มวยไทย)? Some people spend a lifetime mastering Thai boxing and even moving to Thailand, but still fail to pronounce it properly.
Watching a lot of Joe Rogan lately, as much as I love the podcasts, with more and more words from Chinese, Thai and other Asian languages getting headlines these days in western media, I realise that there's a need for a crash course in pronouncing names and words from these languages.
In this 'pronunciation' series of Wag the Dragon I cover some important words that you might find yourself using in conversations these days. In the next episode we will look at getting BEER NAMES correct when you're traveling across Asia. Some of the real pronunciations might surprise you - and might explain why you're not getting the beer you ordered.
For an even more detailed video on how to pronounce the initial 'NG' sound in languages like Thai, southern Chinese dialects like Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, Vietnamese, Burmese, Khmer and Indonesian, check this clip out:
Don't miss my latest interview on the Fitness Business Asia Podcast
Here's the blurb:
Jack talks to Stuart about negotiations in Asia, with landlords, employees and partners. This episode is a must for anyone doing business in Asia, with Stuart building a strong picture of what it means to connect with the locals here.
- The importance of relationships in Asia
- The sensitivities of contract negotiation with landlords
- Negotiating with staff in Asia as a business owner
- Be careful about who you bring into the business!
- How to handle disputes in Asia
- Listening and observing – key to building bridges
- Building a strong network to call upon
- How to discipline members of staff in Asia
- The give and take of Eastern vs Western culture
- Considerations when firing in Asia