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Post by Paddy on Jun 28, 2009 7:53:14 GMT -5
Well my Chinese friend given me a Chinese name cause they cant pronounce my real name correctly. So my Chinese name is "Fei Hong", it kind of cool for a non Chinese guy who talk Mandarin and Hokkien to have a Chinese name. As in Huang Fei Hong? |
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Post by Subuatai on Jun 28, 2009 8:02:36 GMT -5
I think people should be able to choose what name they want to have (and in fact they do have this right when they reach the age of majority). So regardless of what their mother decides (and I don't believe that this may always be in the best interest of the child), the child will eventually have the right to make this decision for him/herself. So I agree when parents do that, it is a narcissitic motivation on the part of the parents, and not a reflection of what is best for the child. Unfortunately, this is not the case with all of what most parents decide for children.  How do you feel about the maternal surname being used instead of paternal? As my wife is rather a feminist-type, we had this discussion earlier. But I told her "I will not have my daughter's surname be named after a mobile phone company like you!" Of course, she wasn't impressed ;D Besides, it is still kinda weird nowadays when I get my mail and I keep seeing my own surname on her letters and end up opening them lol. She always goes off at me for that ;D Just so used to it dam it. Ne ways, in my opinion a name is just something that people use to call you, I don't think it really has much hold onto one's individual identity. Like I don't think my wife has become an instant Mongol by just having a surname change. |
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fei
Full Member
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Post by fei on Jun 28, 2009 8:10:56 GMT -5
Yeah, kind of lame but yeah. They respect and accept me as foreigner able to speak in Chinese than ABC or overseas chinese who cant speak their own language.
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Kush
Junior Member
X)
Posts: 153
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Post by Kush on Jun 28, 2009 9:25:10 GMT -5
No, not really. Not surprising that I have an English first name, from my experience most British Chinese people go by an English alias anyway and revert to their Chinese name when in Chinese company. Surname was obviously from my dad. Middle name is my Dads name as he had his fathers name for his middle name.
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Post by Paddy on Jun 28, 2009 9:39:26 GMT -5
^ What, pray, is a "very common EA name"? I would love to know what this is. Well, my name is Sean. It's apparently common because a lot of people I meet say they know other halfbloods with my name. I never did think it was common since I don't know another halfblood Sean... I don't personally know any EA Seans, but there is Sean Lennon who is of course a famous Jap/Brit EA. Maybe that's why people assume it to be a common EA name?? |
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Post by jefe on Jun 28, 2009 13:04:23 GMT -5
^ So SEAN is a common EA name? I also do not know any EA named Sean besides Sean Lennon. Jefe - why do you have so many names? Is it something akin to the Chinese tradition of accumulating names and titles as one gets older or is it an informed choice based on lifestyle and/or beliefs...or something else? Something else altogether. My grandfather first entered the USA with a *paper* name before the Chinese exclusion act was repealed. My father never changed his English name to match his Chinese surname. I never felt comfortable holding the surname of a person who never existed and not matching ANY relative. SO, I decided to have my English surname correspond to my Grandfather's original surname. My father and all 4 of his sisters plauded me on this move, but my brother condemned me. My mother was not pleased with it either, as she retained my father's family name so that she could share the name with her sons. However, she passed away only a few months after that. Basically, I have a name that corresponds to my Chinese name (which has never changed) and a name that corresponds to my former name, but with my new surname tacked on that is my ALIAS. The former name is no longer used, but is on all my old documents. WHEW! The DEVIL asked you to ask on his behalf?  |
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Post by jefe on Jun 28, 2009 13:12:59 GMT -5
How do you feel about the maternal surname being used instead of paternal? As my wife is rather a feminist-type, we had this discussion earlier. But I told her "I will not have my daughter's surname be named after a mobile phone company like you!" Of course, she wasn't impressed ;D I think this is a decision based on the culture of the family, of the greater society, and of the individual personal circumstances. For example, Chinese are heavily patriarchal, but there are people who take the mother's surname if their father became absent when they were young or the mother did not marry the father. Or they might take the name of the man that raised them, not their birth father, even if there was not an official adoption. I think someone's name has a very strong impact on their identity. Even your wife's surname change may indicate that in public social life, she has married into a family with that surname. In fact, having a name is something which helps to individualize your identiy, and is the word which most people recognize most when they hear it. |
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Post by thesa on Jun 28, 2009 13:14:39 GMT -5
Well, my name is S EAn. It's apparently common because a lot of people I meet say they know other halfbloods with my name. I never did think it was common since I don't know another halfblood Sean... A lot of Japanese EAs are named Kenji...or just Ken. the name says it all.... |
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Post by Ganbare! on Jun 28, 2009 13:21:21 GMT -5
There is also Sean McKay violonist for Yellowcard rock band, half japanese as well.
@thesa haha good thinking !
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Ragnar
Full Member
?slenskur/华人
Posts: 464
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Post by Ragnar on Jun 28, 2009 17:25:05 GMT -5
They still use the traditional name system in Iceland, so I don't have my father's last name. My last name is my father's first name + "son". If I had a sister, her last name would be my father's first name + "dóttir". If you want to know in what family you belong, you just have to keep track of it. I am thinking of changing or simplifying my last name because it has a letter from the Icelandic alphabet in it and nobody knows how to pronounce it  |
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Post by Paddy on Jun 29, 2009 4:36:53 GMT -5
The DEVIL asked you to ask on his behalf? Yeah. And the Devil's is still waiting for me to pass on your answer! |
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Post by Subuatai on Jun 29, 2009 8:03:18 GMT -5
I think this is a decision based on the culture of the family, of the greater society, and of the individual personal circumstances. For example, Chinese are heavily patriarchal, but there are people who take the mother's surname if their father became absent when they were young or the mother did not marry the father. Or they might take the name of the man that raised them, not their birth father, even if there was not an official adoption. Yeah I guess, there have been some nomadic tribes in the past which were matriachal, Tatars for example. Feminism has always prevailed on the steppes, and some tribes even had polyandry, in contrast to male polygamy. But I guess living in a Christian country, the male rules supreme ;D =/ I don't know mate, my wife never fit in anywhere, she never fit in to either Swedish or Chinese. So sometimes I consider her a "Mongol by injection", heh. End of story, don't give a crap about the mix... But even with the name change she's still her own self. Her previous surname which is Nordic, I don't think it really means much to her, in fact, neither Swede or Chinese cultures are now any part of her identity. Her name just doesn't represent her identity (which btw - her first name is Russian-originated). But hey I guess I'm just stuck with an individualistic wife who unlike me has an identity completely formed by herself not by any race or culture or even nation. To be honest, I actually admire (and secretly envy) such a strong sense of self - so I disagree with the whole idea of name changing. |
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Post by jefe on Jun 29, 2009 12:47:42 GMT -5
The DEVIL asked you to ask on his behalf? Yeah. And the Devil's is still waiting for me to pass on your answer! and WHAT are you going to tell him?  |
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Post by Paddy on Jun 29, 2009 13:38:35 GMT -5
Well, I was going to pass on your words verbatim, but looks like I'm going to have to make something up!
Anyway, you are clearly familiar with the Devil as you know he's male. You can leave me out of this and chat with him directly. ;D
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Post by manillafolder on Jun 29, 2009 21:43:03 GMT -5
My dad passed away last year and now I am thinking very seriously about changing my last name to hers. I look more flip than white anyhow. It helps strangers make sense of what I am  Maybe that is a poor reason, but as an EA it is nice to have an identity. |
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Maybe that is a poor reason, but as an EA it is nice to have an identity.