As Leah and I are off to Madeira for 12 days from tomorrow morning there may be a longish delay in any responses.
I'm listening to The Beatles' Here Comes the Sun. Written and sung by the under-valued George Harrison. You can listen here!
Friday, 22 November 2019
Tu You You
As Leah and I are off to Madeira for 12 days from tomorrow morning there may be a longish delay in any responses.
I'm listening to The Beatles' Here Comes the Sun. Written and sung by the under-valued George Harrison. You can listen here!
Hello Bazza, It is not as bad as all that! The Chinese syllable "you" is pronounced "yo". Her name in Chinese is 屠呦呦, (pronounced more-or-less Tu Yo-Yo); the surname Tu means butcher or slaughter, both words also used as English surnames. The "you" in her name is an exclamation, and my dictionary says that two together (yo-yo) is the sound that deer make, although despite having many deer in my Ohio yard, I have never heard them produce a sound. Perhaps Chinese deer are more loquacious.
ReplyDeleteAnother famous Yo-Yo is Yo-Yo Ma, the cellist, although the "you/yo" in his name is different and means "friend".
--Jim
Jim: Ha ha! I stand corrected but should one let the true facts get in the way of a good gag!
ReplyDeleteAs long as it isn't offensive, I'm OK with it. I'm sure that, if I knew her, she would be a deer friend...
Thank you bazza! I haven't heard of Tu Youyou but that may be because she is not European and not a male.
ReplyDeleteApparently she won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2015) for her discoveries concerning a new therapy against Malaria. I hope her therapy turns out to be hugely successful.
Despite the pronunciation of her name not being as it looks, I think your joke is a hoot. :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you and your bride have a lovely trip. Take care!
H: Yes,work has saved very many lives. Sadly you are right about her ethnicity and gender rendering her less well-known in the West. See Jim's remark, above.
ReplyDeleteSusan: Yes the joke always trumps the facts! Thanks for your good wishes.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice that she did well in life despite her name.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you and Leah will have a wonderful trip. Safe travels.
Arleen: I don't suppose her name is much of a problem in China!
ReplyDeleteWe just got back from a wonderful time in Madeira, thanks.