odresel wrote:Also, there are some two-name family names, the most common of which is Au Yeung, but most people from this clan are given two additional names, contrary to what was posted above.
I didn't say that; nor would I. You didn't understand what I wrote, so I've rewritten the sentence...
This is a bi-lingual website, and I think most of the key contributors here (i.e., those participating in this thread) understand Cantonese is actually more than just a "dialect" (in the sense that the term dialect is frequently used in English). On the other hand, formally written Chinese in Guangdong-speaking areas is essentially written Mandarin (although depending on the formality of the writing, there are many differences). This is actually quite a complex subject that we needn't delve into in a movie database forum.
BTW, the notion that somehow naming traditions and the use of traditional characters are "old-fashioned" is somewhat misleading. HK and Taiwan natives have no such sentiment...on the contrary, in some ways it's quite the reverse.
odresel wrote:The two-character names are far more commonly found (certainly more than 20%) on the Mainland.
Actually, I was referring to my personal experience and observation. But 20% is, in fact, quite close. It's well documented that currently newborn children are given two-character names about 50% of the time, and have been doing so since 1966. Before that it was less than 10%. So, overall with the extant mainland population it's probably in the 20% range...