Talk:dwarf planet

Note about the Min Nan translation

ref: Wiktionary:Tea_room#Talk:dwarf_planet

I'm not very confident that he̍k-chheⁿ is commonly understood to mean planet in Min Nan. At least one other person expressed similar sentiments on the zh-min-nan:w:Talk:he̍k-chheⁿ page, he̍k-chheⁿ is the Min Nan reading of the Japanese term. 台灣話大詞典　(Tâi-ôan-ōe tōa-sû-tián) →ISBN, and 台語-華語線頂辭典 (Tai-gi Hôa-gí sòaⁿ-téng sû-tián) both list hêng-seng 行星 for planet. I posted a note on zh-min-nan:w:Talk:he̍k-chheⁿ with the above comments (in Min Nan), I will try to keep the English wiki in sync with any developments that may arise from that query. A-cai 04:14, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

I have have translated what has been discussed so far with respect to the Min Nan translation of "planet":

Translation of zh-min-nan:w:Talk:he̍k-chheⁿ

This is the first time I have heard the expression "he̍k-chheⁿ." Could you provide your source for this, for example: which dictionary is it in, or who was it that told you? Thanks Taokara 11:08 2005-11-11

• he̍k-chheⁿ is the Japanese way of saying it.
• Almost all of the old children's primers and manga write it that way (in Chinese characters).
• The Mandarin word for planet and star are both pronounced hêng-seng in Min Nan.
• For now, I will translate star as chheⁿ (as per A-giâu's usage in the sun article?), and planet as he̍k-chheⁿ. I will translate all astronomy items as ...-chheⁿ. For interesting items, I will rely on vernacular pronunciation (ex. translate Pluto as Mê-ông-chheⁿ instead of Bêng-ông-seng).
• I will try to write a section. Please feel free to edit or make additions. Thanks --Kiatgak 11:33, 11 November 2005 (UTC)

I found the word in a Japanese dictionary ^^ Perfect, if that was the way it was said in the past, then let's just use that. No need to go back and forth between Mandarin with this. Awesome! Taokara 15:23, 11 November 2005 (UTC)

I have never heard the word "he̍k-chheⁿ." I checked both Tâi-ôan-ōe tōa-sû-tián →ISBN and Tai-gi Hôa-gí sòaⁿ-téng sû-tián. They both translate planet as hêng-seng.

A-cai 04:30, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

I have never heard anyone say "he̍k-chheⁿ." But now that I think of it, I have not heard anyone say "hêng-seng" or "hêng-chheⁿ" either. If we go by the (current) Mandarin expressions, 行星 is "planet" and 恆星 is "star." However, both of these are pronounced "hêng-seng" or "hêng-chheⁿ" in Min Nan. To be honest, it's a mess. A-giâu 12:34, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

When I asked a native Min Nan speaker today, I was told that people merely use the word chheⁿ for "planet" and "star." I was told that right now, because the majority of Min Nan speakers are fluent in other languages (especially Mandarin), Min Nan speakers do not have an in-depth knowledge of scientific terminology for subjects such as astronomy. Perhaps the grandparents of this generation might be proficient in the use of this kind of language, but today's speakers don't really talk this way. Question, do you think the above sounds reasonable?

A-cai 10:57, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

Chheⁿ (chhiⁿ) simply refers to something that flickers in the night sky, but is not as big as the moon. All I know is that at some point later on, it was divided into many different subtypes. A-giâu 13:01, 28 August 2006 (UTC)