Posted by cyril on July 18, 2001 at 14:38:00:
In Reply to: Re: how to pronounce yeung posted by Benson Kwong on July 18, 2001 at 11:56:12:
: "eung" is a common sound in Cantonese, like Yeung (Yang), Cheung (Zhang), Leung(Liang). These are the standard translation in Hong Kong, which was a British colony. German or Dutch influence in that region were unlikely. My guess is that it was simply an invented spelling since no equivalent English sound was available.
i don't really know about the dutch influence actually. maybe it's just a coincidence, but i know that the 'eu' as it is proncounced in cantonese is the same one as it is pronounced in dutch