Having a name in China
For years and years the Chinese have come to the west and taken westernized names that 'sound' close... or start with similar sounds... or because they like particular cartoon characters. It seems, i dont know, somewhat disrespectful to me. I mean I dont mind having to learn how to pronounce someones name - i cant mangle it forever, right? (just watch me)
So - I get to pick a name. My first thought was 'What do you call the mouse shadow on the second moon?' - but for some reason i dont think that's going to work (and the last thing i need in china is for my name to become a killing word).
So I asked Cheryl (not really her name...) to help me.
She suggested 萧恩 - pronounced Siao En (sheow-en)
萧 is a musical instrument i gather... i dont know what 恩 means - not sure i want to know...
What's truly ironic though... is that when my parents were considering a name for me, Sean Connery was James Bond, and they thought 'Sean' was a cool name. Cheryl suggested it because 'that's what Sean Connery's name is... i think it's a very cool name' So the pretty chinese girl gives me a name for the exact same reason my parents did - and tells me it's 'very cool' - how can i turn that down?
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
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Sounds auspicious, as my Chinese friends like to say. Davy's entire team is in China, and they all use anglo names for their U.S. interactions, too. For some reason there are a ridiculous number of Harrys on Davy's team.
When I taught ESL, my Chinese girls typically chose flower names: Violet, Lily, and Rose were popular. I never had a Tulip, though. Or a Daffodil, come to think of it. . .
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