Names

[ChinaLama]

So a friend of mine is going back to her Korean name after spending at least as long as I've known her (3 yrs?) and PROBABLy most of her life using her Anglo name. Yah, so now she's asking us to call her by "Soo Kyung" instead of "Linda." But for her, her grandpa (?) gave her her Korean name, her dad gave her the anglo one (she's not too tight w/ her dad so that may be one SMALL reason she's going by Soo Kyung now...i'm GUESSING it's mostly a cultural thing but I could be wrong)

And I myself have refused to anglicize my name even when my dad says I should to make it easier to pronounce. When I was younger, it was my gesture at maintaining my roots to being Chinese, but now I think of it as a more personal issue. My dad thought long and hard on what my name would be, and it has a decent story behind it. Picking some common sounding anglo name like "james" or "john" or "joseph" is just damn BORING and has no meaning to it; also, so many people have called me by my shortened version of my Chinese name, "Jing," that it might as well be my "English" name and it would be a BITCH to tell ppl i know to call me something different. Plus Jing is a pretty friendly sounding name, but if you don't think so, you can beg to differ. And you'd best be begging cuz i am going to use my psychic powers and voodoo dolls to wreck your life.

Anyway, so my question is have any of you gone to a non-Anglicized name or gone to a more Anglicized version and why? Or do a lot of you, like Linda does in a lot of official correspondence for a long time (and a lot of Hong Kongers and Koreans), go by both kinds of names? like John Yang whatever or something.

of course, my KID's name is gonna be something totally fucked up. My friend was discussing naming kids after sodas. Like Slice as a guys name, Sprite NOT as a guy's name cuz everyone would call him a little fairy in the playground. Pepsi maybe as a chick name?

[princess]

i have an american first name and a japanese middle and last name. i go by either, depending upon who im around.

[kasia]

[quote:d0eb545b7c="Saiko"]I don't have a middle name. My entire life, I've been Maggie Ngo (though everybody knows me as Mags). The only times I ever go by my Chinese name is when my parents call me. My dad calls me Gah and my mom calls me Gah-yee. Though when she's mad, she says my entire name. Mm-gah-yee.[/quote:d0eb545b7c]

that's my cousin's name!! my chinese name is wai-yee.

[angelaine]

When I first arrived in Canada I didn't know any english so the teacher decided it might be a better idea to refer to me with my chinese name so I would know she was talking to me. It's stuck since. Throughout school I've always been Lok Chow, always been Lok.

At work it's a different matter.. I use my anglo name at work.. but I don't like it. It's makes me think of cows. (My name that is)

[princess]

[quote:f6004ce025="angelaine"]

At work it's a different matter.. I use my anglo name at work.. but I don't like it. It's makes me think of cows. (My name that is)[/quote:f6004ce025]

lol

i wouldnt mind going by my japanese name at all times but people butcher my last name enough.

[angelaine]

[quote:af3040ef2b="princess"][quote:af3040ef2b="angelaine"]

At work it's a different matter.. I use my anglo name at work.. but I don't like it. It's makes me think of cows. (My name that is)[/quote:af3040ef2b]

lol

i wouldnt mind going by my japanese name at all times but people butcher my last name enough.[/quote:af3040ef2b]

Butcher it? What's your last name?

I'll trade you my anglo name for your last name.. :D

[Arex]

Hey, can someone tell me what Yao-En (my middle name) means??? It doesn't mean "distant gratitude," does it? Yes, I know, I'm a disgrace 'cause I'm not even sure WTF my middle name means.

AYW = A Yellow World

[tapestrybabe]

I've gone by TJ for such a long time. There was only one phase of mine when i started to use my Korean name, Sung Ja.. and that was a time when i was participating in a lot of korean organizations... and i would introduce myself as Sung Ja.. but it just sounded weird to me... not natural... So, i just stopped and i just go by my American name... TJ.. which i'm just use to ppl calling me....

[ShyAi]

To my family only, witht the exception of 1 person, call me by chrisie chrisy chirs c. however the hell you'd write it. Some kind of girly shit. I dislike it. How would you get that form Chris? When refering to my self I always use Chris. It seems embarassing as hell when called out that in front of a group of people or somethng. I should change my name. Hell one thing is having the same first name; Chris, but then knowing of another Chris and he has the same last name (Cavan)?. We even go to the same church.

[SunWuKong]

[quote:dc8010c2b5="ChinaLama"]Plus Jing is a pretty friendly sounding name, but if you don't think so, you can beg to differ. And you'd best be begging cuz i am going to use my psychic powers and voodoo dolls to wreck your life.
[/quote:dc8010c2b5]

which tone is the "Jing" in your name? i am not sure what word that would be without knowing the tone.


[quote:dc8010c2b5="Arex"]Hey, can someone tell me what Yao-En (my middle name) means??? It doesn't mean "distant gratitude," does it? Yes, I know, I'm a disgrace 'cause I'm not even sure WTF my middle name means.
[/quote:dc8010c2b5]

same question, what tones is your name in? in case you are not sure, here are the four different tones in mandarin: yao1 (http://132.229.12.115/CCDICT/Sounds/Mandarin/yao1.wav) yao2 (http://132.229.12.115/CCDICT/Sounds/Mandarin/yao2.wav) yao3 (http://132.229.12.115/CCDICT/Sounds/Mandarin/yao3.wav) yao4 (http://132.229.12.115/CCDICT/Sounds/Mandarin/yao4.wav)



i thought about this issue a while back, but never thought it was a big deal that i have an english name as well as chinese name. my family came from HK and it's common HK culture to have both an english name and a chinese name. in fact most people there use their english names in conversation. HK is a bi-cultural city (and i would not consider any city in the US to be a bi-cultural city in the sense that it is truly an amalgamation of two cultures), and the idea of having both an english name and a chinese name has been common since my parents' generation.

[tapestrybabe]

[quote:698689b848="SunWuKung"]i thought about this issue a while back, but never thought it was a big deal that i have an english name as well as chinese name.[/quote:698689b848]

Well...Kim Sung Ja is my ORIGIONAL name! And I admit.. there was a time i use to be bothered that my white parents... gave me another name... Toni Joy... (TJ) But i think i've come to grips that i can still have a korean identity.. even with having an english name...

[ChinaLama]

Jing is "an jing de jing" (the "jing" of "quiet"). Li is the li of stand.

[SunWuKong]

[quote:3dcb710c44="ChinaLama"]Jing is "an jing de jing" (the "jing" of "quiet"). Li is the li of stand.[/quote:3dcb710c44]


oh ok that seems to be a pretty agreeable name :)

[Arex]

[quote:0f81fa7dc8="SunWuKung"]
same question, what tones is your name in? in case you are not sure, here are the four different tones in mandarin: yao1 (http://132.229.12.115/CCDICT/Sounds/Mandarin/yao1.wav) yao2 (http://132.229.12.115/CCDICT/Sounds/Mandarin/yao2.wav) yao3 (http://132.229.12.115/CCDICT/Sounds/Mandarin/yao3.wav) yao4 (http://132.229.12.115/CCDICT/Sounds/Mandarin/yao4.wav)
[/quote:0f81fa7dc8]

Hmmm... You're asking the wrong person. I'm a 2.5th generation ABC and my dad (1st gen) wanted us to grow up speaking strictly English (he now kinda regrets it, though figures that us speaking Shanghainese wouldn't be all that useful anyway). Oddly, our mom (2nd gen) wanted us to grow up bilingual. Of course, since she doesn't speak anything 'sides English, she didn't really have much say.=P

I'm pretty sure the "Yao" means "distant" or something to that effect. It's the "En" that I'm less sure about. Of course, I'm sure there're probably four tones for that too...=P

RX

[deez nuts]

People call me by my American name. But legally and professionally my middle name is my Chinese name. My dad told me to do it that way, my fourth year of med school, so that will show up on my diploma and eventually my medical licenses. His reasoning, so I can have a bigger patient pool, since I am fluent in English and Chinese. Bigger patient pool = bigger bucks, he says.

[SunWuKong]

[quote:50b8745219="Arex"]Hmmm... You're asking the wrong person. I'm a 2.5th generation ABC and my dad (1st gen) wanted us to grow up speaking strictly English (he now kinda regrets it, though figures that us speaking Shanghainese wouldn't be all that useful anyway). Oddly, our mom (2nd gen) wanted us to grow up bilingual. Of course, since she doesn't speak anything 'sides English, she didn't really have much say.=P

I'm pretty sure the "Yao" means "distant" or something to that effect. It's the "En" that I'm less sure about. Of course, I'm sure there're probably four tones for that too...=P

RX[/quote:50b8745219]

Ok, I think I know what words they are: Yao (http://132.229.12.115/cgi-bin/view.php?dbase=ccdict&query=9059&mode=internal&lang=en&beijing=pinyin&canton=jyutping&hakka=default&sound=1&fields=jyutping,pinyin,tongyong,english)-En (http://132.229.12.115/cgi-bin/view.php?dbase=ccdict&query=6069&mode=internal&lang=en&beijing=pinyin&canton=jyutping&hakka=default&sound=1&fields=jyutping,pinyin,tongyong,english)

The "En" means benevolence or kindness. It's a really nice name actually. :)

I have heard my cousin say the same thing, that it's useless for him to learn Chinese. Well, he speaks near-accentless Cantonese just because alot of his co-workers speak it and he's been speaking it with them. It's kind of sad in a way, but I can't really argue for there being any practical purpose of it if the person never plans on living or working in a Chinese dominated city. However, one of the best ways to understand a culture is to learn the language, and if you have an interest in Chinese culture, it's really important to learn the language. Another thing is that Chinese people alot of times use language to determine their acceptance of other people. Westerners that can speak Mandarin are very respected for the fact that they can speak Mandarin. Some Westerners would even be considered Chinese if they know the culture well enough. And by knowing the culture, I don't mean it on an academic sense, I mean it in the sense that they live in and practice the culture as their lifestyle. On the other hand, if an overseas Chinese can hardly speak the language, he is considered pretty much a Westerner.

But by "acceptance", I don't mean to imply that Chinese people automatically look down on non-Chinese people. I'm referring to daily interactions, conversations, etc etc. You can't expect Westerners to understand certain aspects of Chinese culture so Chinese people generally leave them out of their interactions with Westerners. But the ironic thing is that most Westerners living in China want to get the full experience of Chinese culture and would rather be treated no differently! Because of this, you'll actually find alot of Westerners living in China who speak near fluent, if not fluent, Mandarin. I had an English co-worker in HK who reads the Chinese newspaper everyday! It's really interesting to see white people speaking Chinese. And I mean, Mandarin is one thing, but some even speak Cantonese, and Cantonese is notoriously difficult to learn. You can live in a Cantonese speaking city for 10 years and still barely know it. It has 9 tones! But I know Westerners (usually British) who actually grew up in HK and can speak fluent Cantonese. It makes you do a double-take at first when you see white people speak fluent Chinese. :)

[ChinaLama]

[quote:7b36359c9e="SunWuKung"]I have heard my cousin say the same thing, that it's useless for him to learn Chinese. Well, he speaks near-accentless Cantonese just because alot of his co-workers speak it and he's been speaking it with them. It's kind of sad in a way, but I can't really argue for there being any practical purpose of it if the person never plans on living or working in a Chinese dominated city. [/quote:7b36359c9e]


Well, if he speaks near-accentless Cantonese, then I think he's already learned more than enough Chinese. Why do we have to take the Northern Hegemon's xi nao and be indoctrinated into believing MANDARIN = Chinese? Mandarin is BEIJING-based...and look at how Beijing ppl talk! w/ all those heavy "r's," it sounds like they're drunk all the time! As far as I'm concerned, Mandarin only became THE "Chinese" language because of some historical accidents (starting with the completely useless Ming dynasty allowing Peking to remain the capital instead of moving to Nanjing <ok maybe they were in Nanjing for just a little bit> or back to Hangzhou like the Southern Song).

Down with Mongol domination! it's time we Southern Chinese peoples re-asserted OUR cultures instead of just take it up the arse from those northern barbarians.

[SunWuKong]

[quote:ebab49faff="ChinaLama"]
Well, if he speaks near-accentless Cantonese, then I think he's already learned more than enough Chinese. Why do we have to take the Northern Hegemon's xi nao and be indoctrinated into believing MANDARIN = Chinese? Mandarin is BEIJING-based...and look at how Beijing ppl talk! w/ all those heavy "r's," it sounds like they're drunk all the time! As far as I'm concerned, Mandarin only became THE "Chinese" language because of some historical accidents (starting with the completely useless Ming dynasty allowing Peking to remain the capital instead of moving to Nanjing <ok maybe they were in Nanjing for just a little bit> or back to Hangzhou like the Southern Song).

Down with Mongol domination! it's time we Southern Chinese peoples re-asserted OUR cultures instead of just take it up the arse from those northern barbarians.[/quote:ebab49faff]


hmmm, everybody in china still learn their native dialect i think. not 100% sure though. mandarin is basically just a tool to linguistically unite chinese people. and also mandarin is alot easier to learn for westerners than alot of other dialects. so i think it works out fine. besides, i think mandarin sounds alot better than many local dialects. it has a flow that, for example cantonese, doesn't really have. (by the way, my mandarin is only so-so)

[ChinaLama]

No, I think in schools they have switched to 100% Mandarin by now, although when I was REALLY little i remember having some classes in Shanghainese. Maybe it's different in HK or something.

See...when you say mandarin has a better flow, you're just buying into the hegemony. ni de nao yi jing xi hao le. :(

[SunWuKong]

[quote:611cec2183="ChinaLama"]No, I think in schools they have switched to 100% Mandarin by now, although when I was REALLY little i remember having some classes in Shanghainese. Maybe it's different in HK or something.

See...when you say mandarin has a better flow, you're just buying into the hegemony. ni de nao yi jing xi hao le. :([/quote:611cec2183]


yeah they've been switched to 100% mandarin for a while now actually. but people still speak their local dialects at home, that's how they learn. not sure though, but i know that's how it is in guangdong. and i'm pretty sure it's that way in fujian, too. am i buying into a hegemony that mandarin has a better flow? i suppose i could be. but regardless, there still needs to be a national dialect so people can communicate. if it's not mandarin, it'll be something else anyway.