Names of Macau

Template:ChineseText The Macau Special Administrative Region (simplified Chinese: 澳门特别行政区; traditional Chinese: 澳門特別行政區; pinyin: Àomén Tèbié Xíngzhèngqū) [, ] ; Portuguese: Região Administrativa Especial de Macau [], abbreviated as RAEM), commonly known as Macau or Macao (simplified Chinese: 澳门; traditional Chinese: 澳門; pinyin: Àomén, or informally known as 馬交 maa-gau) is one of the two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), along with Hong Kong.

Legend

Main article: History of Macau

The name Macau (Portuguese pronunciation IPA: [mɐ.'kaw]) is thought to be derived from the Templo de A-Má (Temple of A-Ma or Ma Kok Temple) (媽閣廟, Cantonese Jyutping: Maa1 Gok3 Miu6, local pronunciation: Maa5 Gok3 Miu6 or Maa5 Gok3 Miu5), a still-existing landmark built in 1448 dedicated to the goddess Matsu - the goddess of seafarers and fishermen.

In keeping with saga, a fisherboat sailing across the sea one day found itself in an unexpected rainstorm. Every one on board was about to give up all hope of surviving this natural disaster. An attractive young lady, who had boarded the boat at the eleventh hour, stood up and ordered the tempest to calm down. The gale ceased and the sea became calm.[1] The fisherboat, without further event, arrived safely at the port of Hoi Keang. The young lady walked ashore to the top of the Barra Hill where, in a glowing aura of light and fragrance; she ascended into heaven immediately. On the specific locale where she set foot on, a temple was built.

Several hundred years later, when Portuguese sailors landed and asked the name of the place, the natives replied A-Ma-Gao (i.e. Bay of A-Ma).[2] The peninsula was therefore renamed and Amagao was abbreviated to Macau in modern usage.

Synonyms

The Chinese name Aomen 澳門 (pinyin: Àomén, Cantonese Jyutping: Ou3 Mun4) means "Inlet Gates". The "gates" refer to two erect gate-like mountains of Nantai (Chinese: 南台; pinyin: Nántái) and Beitai (Chinese: 北台; pinyin: Běitái). Alternately, Ao may derive from Macau's previous name Heong San Ou, as it is geographically situated at "Cross' Door".

Macau is also known as

• Hou Keng Ou (壕鏡澳 Oyster-mirror Inlet)
• Heong San Ou (香山澳 Xiangshan Ao; Fragrant-mountain Inlet)
• Lin Tou (蓮島 Liandao; Lotus Island)
• Soda Port (梳打埠)

While Àomén/Ou3 Mun4 is the traditional Chinese name of the place, it is common among the Cantonese-speaking population of the territory to use the Portuguese name when speaking in Cantonese, pronouncing it Maa3 Gaau1 (Jyutping romanization), occasionally rendering it phonetically as 馬交 in Chinese characters. The form "Macao" was the original Portuguese spelling, and has been retained in most European languages. In modern Portuguese, the correct spelling is "Macau". During the 20th century, the official spelling "Macau" became more and more common in English-language sources, including most print media.

Dualism

Since the handover of administration in 1999 (Portugal had unilaterally relinquished its sovereignty over the enclave in 1974 already), the government of Macau considers both "Macao" and "Macau" to be acceptable spellings of the name, however "Macau" is the official spelling in the Portuguese version of the Basic Law of Macau. English is not an official language in Macau so there is no "official" English spelling but most English speaking people prefer to use "Macau" ("ao" not being a normal vowel combination in English).

This dualism is visible in many government publications and documents, sometimes even within the same paragraph. For example, the archaic spelling of "Macao" appears on the local government's web portal[3], but the Macau Government Tourist Office uses the "Macau" spelling, as is also reflected in its website [4]. Similarly, "Macao" is used on the Macau Special Administrative Region passport, but the government's official explanatory note on the passport spells it as "Macau" [5].

Official and Diplomatic Status

Main article: Macau Basic Law

In comparison, the central government of the People's Republic of China consistently spells its name as "Macao" in English. Less commonly used, is the pinyin transcription of Aomen, but its usage is not used officially. The decision not to adopt pinyin names after the handover to China appears to be consistent with the usual PRC policy of respecting the local linguistic traditions in the romanized version of names, as in other non-pinyin names like Lhasa, Ürümqi or Hohhot, for example. However the Central Government's preference for the archaic spelling "Macao" is because phonetically in pinyin "Macao" is pronounced similarly to "Macau" in English.

According to the Unofficial English Translation of the Basic Law of Macau,

• Article 136

The Macao Special Administrative Region may, on its own, using the name "Macao, China", maintain and develop relations and conclude and implement agreements with foreign states and regions and relevant international organisations in the appropriate fields, including the economic, trade, financial and monetary, shipping, communications, tourism, cultural, science and technology, and sports fields.

• Article 137

Representatives of the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region may, as members of delegations of the People's Republic of China, participate in international organizations or conferences in appropriate fields limited to states and affecting the Region, or may attend in such other capacity as may be permitted by the Central People's Government and the international organisations or conference Concerneds and may express their views, using the name "Macao, China". The Macao Special Administrative Region may, using the name "Macao, China", participate in international organizations and conferences not limited to states.

Macau participates in international organisations and international sport events like WTO, IMF, East Asian Games as Macao, China.

This is curious because the Official Portuguese version of the Basic Law of the Macau refers to "Macau, China" in Articles 136 and 137. So "Macau" ought to be the official spelling for international purposes, the English translation being for information only.

Table of certain alternative names for Macau

Alternate Names or Name Variants for
Macau Special Administrative Region
(certain examples) [6]

Language	Name
Japanese	マカオ
Korean	마카오
Chinese	Aomen Tebie Xingzhengqu (澳門特別行政區)
Czech	Macao
Danish	Macao
German	Macao
Spanish	Macao
French	Macao
English	Macau
Dutch	Macau
Turkish	Makao
Portuguese	Região Administrativa Especial de Macau
Polish	Makau
Russian	Makao