In Japanese, "taiko" means "big drum" and taiko drumming bands are part of Japanese culture. In Chinese, "taiko" seems to mean, as far as I can tell, "outer space" as in "taikonaut." Anybody know if there is an etymological connection between the words?

Don't have any links but I recall from my studies in Heian Japanese literature that Chinese and Japanese were already very distinct languages in the 10th Century. At that time aristocratic men were expected to know both Chinese and Japanese characters while women were only expected to know Japanese. Knowledge of Chinese was seen as scholarly so Chinese was not known by the Japanese peasantry. So any connection between Chinese and Japanese 'taiko' would likely be pretty distant.

It's somewhere on the board but... Taiko means "heaven" or "sky" if I recall correctly. -Colt

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taikonaut

Claims that it is the western press that coined the term Taikonaut.

Will add more stuff when I have looked up other sites.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taikonaut


Claims that it is the western press that coined the term Taikonaut.

Will add more stuff when I have looked up other sites.

__________________
Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.

--Niels Bohr, Danish Physicist.

I learned astronaut as Tai Kong Ren: Tai Kong meaning "space" and Ren meaning "person." Maybe that isn't what they are using at this point for these guys.
Colt, Tien = sky.

Aporetic

I don't recall that there's much connection between spoken Chinese and spoken Japanese, although it's been many years since I studied Mandarin. I do seem to recall though that the written languages are related--that the Japanese may have adopted the Chinese characters for their own language( based on meaning of words or pronunciation I can't say). What's interesting (I think) is that all dialects of Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese, etc.) use the same characters, so that no matter what your spoken dialect, you can read any common Chinese writing.
It's pretty difficult to say what the syllable "tai" might mean, unless you have either heard it pronounced (Chinese is tonal) or seen it written as a character.

Should add that it's pretty difficult to say what tai means without seeing it written. (tai is a common syllable in Chinese and may be anything from too to the first syllable of the word for "wife." It may also be pronounced differently, depending on what it means (Chinese is a tonal language.)
Sorry about the repetition--was having trouble getting this stuff to post.

The Japanese used the Chinese characters (Kanji) to be their written language. I believe that you can basically write something in Kanji and both nationalities will be able to understand it. The spoken languages, however, sound nothing alike.

Tien is the Japanese pronounciation of the character for Heaven or Sky. Somewhere I have a Kanji book, if I ever find it, I will have more information.

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Here is some stuff..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taikonaut

and more

http://www.wordspy.com/words/taikonaut.asp

Apparently, taikong is Chinese for space.

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Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.

Hence, "taikonaut."

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Yes, tien may mean heaven (Tienanmen Square--the Gate of Heaven) or it may mean day, or any number of other things. Depends on tone and written character and context. I'm a little surprized it may mean the same thing in Japanese though.

I wish I could find that book... On reflection, I think that Tien is the Chinese reading of the character. I think that the Japanese is something different. However, I think the Japanese also use the Tien reading.

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Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.

This is from taikonaut.com.

Some japanese and korean words have chinese roots to them but the pronunciation has changed significantly. Both cultures still use chinese characters (japan more so), but if you showed someone from japan or korea the characters for "Taikong" they would understand the meaning but pronounce it quite different from the chinese.

Since I've got access to a good computer with working Chinese software for once, I can show you what it looks like too:-
太空
There you are - hope you enjoyed it - it's rare indeed that I have anything useful to contribute to this board (I'm a translator, and, worse, an arts graduate...).

Based on your name you wouldn't happen to be a Chinese translator, would you?

=D> Chinese translator and proud of it!
I first strayed here trying to find out about the Chinese space program - especially their ideas on Moon exploration - for a university project, and have been quietly lurking ever since.

Do you know this one? 8-[

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"Flying in space is risky business, but just staying on this planet is risky business too." - John Young, astronaut

Long March, I was hoping you'd catch this one. I remembered your first visit here looking for info on the Chinese space program, but could not remember your name. Don't belittle that degree. There are lots of us out here with similar degrees who aren't doing anything nearly as interesting as you are.

I don't know about anyone elses computers, but on mine the characters just showed up as 2 boxes. Thanks anyway, and welcome Long March. Stick around--it is always good to hear other peoples thoughts.

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Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.

--Niels Bohr, Danish Physicist.

On mine it shows as two question marks (??).

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