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Adopting English names devalues Chinese culture
By Eric Davis |
March 2, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WILLIAM Shakespeare wrote in "Romeo and Juliet" that a "rose by any other name would smell as sweet." However, in some cases, names certainly are not equivalent. It seems misguided for Chinese to take English names.
My understanding is that Chinese choose English names because 1) they believe that they are easier for foreigners to pronounce and 2) they feel it improves business interactions.
Well, first things first, it certainly is true that English names are easier for most foreigners to pronounce. But why is that? Is it not because of greater exposure?
For many Americans, names like Guiseppe, Tarik, Yoko, Youssef, Pierre, Fatima and Vladimir were once strange. However, with time and experience, they now can be pronounced correctly by most Americans. Would it not be better if Chinese names were also on that list?
Furthermore, even if Chinese names are too difficult to pronounce easily, should they really be abandoned? Is that not giving up a piece of Chinese culture?
Sharing Chinese names is yet another way to impart culture. Letting foreigners hear the sound of Chinese names or their meanings surely is preferable to hiding one's culture by adopting a foreign moniker.
Thus, would it not be preferable for a Chinese to allow his foreign friends to call him Chenggong or even "Success" rather than some arbitrary name like Bob?
Are English names really better for the business world?
There is a pace to business and some would argue that the only thing that matters is the bottom line. Thus, if taking an English name acts as a type of grease that moves business along, they would say doing so should be fostered. Clearly, there is truth in this philosophy, but an English name is not the only way to achieve one's business goals.
Joe or Zhida?
I will admit that if a customer service representative, instead of saying "Hello, this is Joe," said "Hello, this is Zhida," it might not be easily received if this was a new name to the listener's ears.
So, in practice, this change that I am advocating will require an intermediate stage where Chinese state their name and then spell it.
If this advice is accepted, a customer service representative's introduction would then become "Hello, this is Zhida, Z-H-I-D-A, Zhida. How may I help you?"
I would not think that the extra five seconds would in any way hamper or hurt businesses. Plus, with time, this stage would no longer be required as audiences became attuned to hearing and distinguishing Chinese names.
Now, some Chinese friends have told me that using English names creates more equality in the workplace, as it eliminates the need to call people by their organizational titles.
Well, equality is great and should be emphasized, but aren't there better ways to achieve the goal? For example, Chinese could just use their real given names instead of English ones. That, as well, would create an equal feeling in the workplace.
Now, some Chinese say that would be weird, as it is something that currently only people who are close friends do.
I can understand that it might feel strange, but with change of any sort, there is a period where things feel uncomfortable and abnormal.
Then, one a-cclimatizes to the change and the worries go away. It would be similar to foreigners here in China learning to use familial titles and apply them to strangers.
"Auntie" and "uncle" are not terms of address ever used in the West when speaking to strangers. And yet we foreigners can adapt and thus come to use those terms without great difficulty.
So, why would Chinese prefer to take a foreign given name and devalue their actual name when it could serve the same purpose? The key question seems to be whether the benefits of this convention outweigh the costs.
Beyond the costs already discussed above, there is one more that should be included in the calculus. That is the cost that comes from cultural imperialism.
Could it not be said that those who take English names, in a way, are not supporting Chinese values? Aren't they implicitly saying that English names are superior?
And if high-level foreign managers in China behave as if it is too much trouble for them to learn a Chinese name or without thought allow their companies to create a culture where Chinese workers feel it wise to choose English names, aren't they as well guilty of insidious forms of cultural imperialism?
All in all, this comes down to a question of identity. What identity do you Chinese want to have in the world? This may seem trivial, but it really is rather deep.
(The author is a foreign teacher at the Department of Foreign Languages at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. Shanghai Daily condensed the article.)
My understanding is that Chinese choose English names because 1) they believe that they are easier for foreigners to pronounce and 2) they feel it improves business interactions.
Well, first things first, it certainly is true that English names are easier for most foreigners to pronounce. But why is that? Is it not because of greater exposure?
For many Americans, names like Guiseppe, Tarik, Yoko, Youssef, Pierre, Fatima and Vladimir were once strange. However, with time and experience, they now can be pronounced correctly by most Americans. Would it not be better if Chinese names were also on that list?
Furthermore, even if Chinese names are too difficult to pronounce easily, should they really be abandoned? Is that not giving up a piece of Chinese culture?
Sharing Chinese names is yet another way to impart culture. Letting foreigners hear the sound of Chinese names or their meanings surely is preferable to hiding one's culture by adopting a foreign moniker.
Thus, would it not be preferable for a Chinese to allow his foreign friends to call him Chenggong or even "Success" rather than some arbitrary name like Bob?
Are English names really better for the business world?
There is a pace to business and some would argue that the only thing that matters is the bottom line. Thus, if taking an English name acts as a type of grease that moves business along, they would say doing so should be fostered. Clearly, there is truth in this philosophy, but an English name is not the only way to achieve one's business goals.
Joe or Zhida?
I will admit that if a customer service representative, instead of saying "Hello, this is Joe," said "Hello, this is Zhida," it might not be easily received if this was a new name to the listener's ears.
So, in practice, this change that I am advocating will require an intermediate stage where Chinese state their name and then spell it.
If this advice is accepted, a customer service representative's introduction would then become "Hello, this is Zhida, Z-H-I-D-A, Zhida. How may I help you?"
I would not think that the extra five seconds would in any way hamper or hurt businesses. Plus, with time, this stage would no longer be required as audiences became attuned to hearing and distinguishing Chinese names.
Now, some Chinese friends have told me that using English names creates more equality in the workplace, as it eliminates the need to call people by their organizational titles.
Well, equality is great and should be emphasized, but aren't there better ways to achieve the goal? For example, Chinese could just use their real given names instead of English ones. That, as well, would create an equal feeling in the workplace.
Now, some Chinese say that would be weird, as it is something that currently only people who are close friends do.
I can understand that it might feel strange, but with change of any sort, there is a period where things feel uncomfortable and abnormal.
Then, one a-cclimatizes to the change and the worries go away. It would be similar to foreigners here in China learning to use familial titles and apply them to strangers.
"Auntie" and "uncle" are not terms of address ever used in the West when speaking to strangers. And yet we foreigners can adapt and thus come to use those terms without great difficulty.
So, why would Chinese prefer to take a foreign given name and devalue their actual name when it could serve the same purpose? The key question seems to be whether the benefits of this convention outweigh the costs.
Beyond the costs already discussed above, there is one more that should be included in the calculus. That is the cost that comes from cultural imperialism.
Could it not be said that those who take English names, in a way, are not supporting Chinese values? Aren't they implicitly saying that English names are superior?
And if high-level foreign managers in China behave as if it is too much trouble for them to learn a Chinese name or without thought allow their companies to create a culture where Chinese workers feel it wise to choose English names, aren't they as well guilty of insidious forms of cultural imperialism?
All in all, this comes down to a question of identity. What identity do you Chinese want to have in the world? This may seem trivial, but it really is rather deep.
(The author is a foreign teacher at the Department of Foreign Languages at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. Shanghai Daily condensed the article.)
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