AAJA has released a pronunciation guide for victims in the Atlanta spa shootings with Chinese-language and Korean-language names.
Please note that the pronunciation of Asian names is complex and can vary based on specific regions and personal preference. We urge newsrooms to consult the people who knew families of the victims first about their preferred pronunciation names, before consulting our pronunciation guide. The goal of AAJA’s pronunciation guide is to provide journalists an example of how our members would pronounce the names in their reporting.
Our pronunciation guide is provided by native speakers of Mandarin and Korean.
In our video pronunciation guide, reporters Janice Yu and Frances Wang state a correct pronunciation of each of the Chinese- and Korean-language names. Six of the eight victims are Asian.
Soon Chung Park
Hyun Jung Grant Please note the video pronunciation guide uses Hyun Jung Grant. A crowdfunding page set up by her family members uses her maiden name Hyun Jung Kim.
Suncha Kim
Yong Ae Yue
Xiaojie (Emily) Tan
Daoyou Feng
The tonal representation may not be accurate; at the time of recording, the Hanzi and Hangul names were not yet released., We ask reporters to best mimic the sounds pronounced in the video.
Please do not assume you can abbreviate the names as middle names. First names made up of two characters or two words are common in both the Chinese language and the Korean language.
As more information emerges about the victims’ identities, center their stories and those within the community. Please consult sources who knew the victims or members of the AAPI community to ensure accurate spelling and pronunciation of Asian names. Amongst communities of Korean and/or Chinese heritage, there may be different pronunciations of names due to regional differences in dialect and language.
Please refer to our full guidance on coverage of Atlanta shootings and anti-Asian hate incidents here.
