Monday, November 08, 2004
What's in a Name?
It all started when Gabriela wanted to celebrate her "name day." November 8th was Saint Gabriel and Michael's Day, so she invited us to have dinner with her to celebrate the occasion.
It wasn't long before I was surrounded by English teachers (Gabi's colleagues) at the table and I popped the question: "What strange names have you heard in Hong Kong?"
I'm not being a culturally insensitive moron here - it's a trend for kids to choose strange English names. And I mean strange. So why not ask the experts on the topic?
For instance, Duncan was telling me how one of his students declared, "I'm Spiderman!" one day. Duncan kindly retorted, "No you're not!" But when he checked the roster, indeed, his name was "Spiderman." Well…they'll eventually grow out of it, or grow up, and realize it's not so cool.
So... Heather and Helen were full of stories. Heather had once scolded a child saying, "No, you get down from there, Bobo!" Ash was delightfully tickled by his student, "Turbo," who made motoring noises wherever he went. The best is when you encounter a kid whose name is "Schoolbag." I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face calling out such a name in class.
The thing is, it's not the parents - the kids actually think up of the cool names (remember, in their mind, it's cool) and decide to change their names every other week. No wonder the English teachers go nuts.
On the other hand, sometimes it does run in the family. Helen was telling us about a kid named "Buzz Lightyear" and his Mom was "Woody." No joke - I'm not making this up.
Sometimes, people don't grow out of this funny name phase. Courtney knows someone at work named "Zero." I have a colleague named "Dance," and I once saw a popcorn vendor at a theme park named "Him" (Some would argue that it is actually his Chinese name - I wanted to see if he had a girlfriend named "Her"). Another one I fancy is "Fannie," to which Americans giggle and the English cringe. I can't help it (I know it's terrible) - they just seem so odd to me.
But then again, I'm sure people get a kick out of my name. No, my parents were not inebriated when they conceived me, thank you very much (Sometimes it's a hassle to tell people the difference between "Saki" and "sake (the drink)").
Here are some jokes from Helen (one for the road!):
Q: What do you call an Italian with a rubber toe?
A: Roberto!
Q: What do you call a Russian who delivers soda?
A: Dropsalottapopsoff
Q: What do you call two Spanish firemen?
A: Hose A, Hose B
...Ah. It's a great conversation starter.
It wasn't long before I was surrounded by English teachers (Gabi's colleagues) at the table and I popped the question: "What strange names have you heard in Hong Kong?"
I'm not being a culturally insensitive moron here - it's a trend for kids to choose strange English names. And I mean strange. So why not ask the experts on the topic?
For instance, Duncan was telling me how one of his students declared, "I'm Spiderman!" one day. Duncan kindly retorted, "No you're not!" But when he checked the roster, indeed, his name was "Spiderman." Well…they'll eventually grow out of it, or grow up, and realize it's not so cool.
So... Heather and Helen were full of stories. Heather had once scolded a child saying, "No, you get down from there, Bobo!" Ash was delightfully tickled by his student, "Turbo," who made motoring noises wherever he went. The best is when you encounter a kid whose name is "Schoolbag." I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face calling out such a name in class.
The thing is, it's not the parents - the kids actually think up of the cool names (remember, in their mind, it's cool) and decide to change their names every other week. No wonder the English teachers go nuts.
On the other hand, sometimes it does run in the family. Helen was telling us about a kid named "Buzz Lightyear" and his Mom was "Woody." No joke - I'm not making this up.
Sometimes, people don't grow out of this funny name phase. Courtney knows someone at work named "Zero." I have a colleague named "Dance," and I once saw a popcorn vendor at a theme park named "Him" (Some would argue that it is actually his Chinese name - I wanted to see if he had a girlfriend named "Her"). Another one I fancy is "Fannie," to which Americans giggle and the English cringe. I can't help it (I know it's terrible) - they just seem so odd to me.
But then again, I'm sure people get a kick out of my name. No, my parents were not inebriated when they conceived me, thank you very much (Sometimes it's a hassle to tell people the difference between "Saki" and "sake (the drink)").
Here are some jokes from Helen (one for the road!):
Q: What do you call an Italian with a rubber toe?
A: Roberto!
Q: What do you call a Russian who delivers soda?
A: Dropsalottapopsoff
Q: What do you call two Spanish firemen?
A: Hose A, Hose B
...Ah. It's a great conversation starter.
// posted by sakit @ 6:50 PM 
Comments:
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A few of my English-teaching friends did respond:
Well, to add on to the list, I met "Pizza" and said "I would like Pizza..." and had to stop myself from laughing. I also met "King." Also a girl (I think) wrote her name as "Jean" and pronounced it "Sean." I still don't know if s/he is female or male. There are actually two teachers at my school named "Fannie"
- Maggie
I would like to add a few offenders to your list. For example two nice young girls in one of my classes are called Banana and Pizza. In another class you will find another two girls called John and Joe, I can't believe that they are so gender confused at such a young age. Further up the school you will find two boys affectionately called Fish and Chicken. I don't know what to make of these two I mean they are old enough to know better. When I got back to the staff room some of the other teachers told me that chicken is Cantonese for prostitute. So feeling rather angry that they were taking the piss out of my ignorance I confronted the boy. Only to find his sweet face looking utterly innocent. So what can you do? They innocently pick names these names. I just feel sorry for people like Fanny who are totally ignorant until one day someone is cheeky enough to tell them the real meaning in English.
- Claire
Well, to add on to the list, I met "Pizza" and said "I would like Pizza..." and had to stop myself from laughing. I also met "King." Also a girl (I think) wrote her name as "Jean" and pronounced it "Sean." I still don't know if s/he is female or male. There are actually two teachers at my school named "Fannie"
- Maggie
I would like to add a few offenders to your list. For example two nice young girls in one of my classes are called Banana and Pizza. In another class you will find another two girls called John and Joe, I can't believe that they are so gender confused at such a young age. Further up the school you will find two boys affectionately called Fish and Chicken. I don't know what to make of these two I mean they are old enough to know better. When I got back to the staff room some of the other teachers told me that chicken is Cantonese for prostitute. So feeling rather angry that they were taking the piss out of my ignorance I confronted the boy. Only to find his sweet face looking utterly innocent. So what can you do? They innocently pick names these names. I just feel sorry for people like Fanny who are totally ignorant until one day someone is cheeky enough to tell them the real meaning in English.
- Claire
Surya tells me that there is a similar issue in Nigeria, with tribals picking more "modern" names for themselves. Some are innocent, such as "Love" or "Tuesday." But my favorite by far is "Expensive."
One of my brother's friends moved to the middle of Arkansas with his family. There he met someone named "Barcardi," given by his parents.
And here's one, it's pronounced "Absidy" but is spelled... you guessed it... A-b-c-d.
One of my brother's friends moved to the middle of Arkansas with his family. There he met someone named "Barcardi," given by his parents.
And here's one, it's pronounced "Absidy" but is spelled... you guessed it... A-b-c-d.
Hahaha... good one, Mel. ABCD...
Well, now that you mention it, we knew a kid at my university named "Aryan White" - and he was black as night... very strange parents, I reckon.
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Well, now that you mention it, we knew a kid at my university named "Aryan White" - and he was black as night... very strange parents, I reckon.
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