When I first arrived in Taiwan, nobody could pronounce my name correctly, especially in Chiayi, where I was living. After hearing my name butchered one too many times, I gave up and asked for a chinese name (Not a Chinese version of an English name!). I was given a nickname, “Da Mao”, which turned out to be invaluable in making friends with people who wouldn’t have been normally able to say my English name. My younger brother, naturally, became Xiao Mao when he came to visit me, and a year later, when he went on a high school exchange to China with his classmates, he was always the one with whom the Chinese students spoke most frequently, just because they could pronounce his name easily.
I agree with Mr. Sanders that locals shouldn’t feel compelled to choose an English name. The roman alphabet allows us to pronounce foreign names more accurately than Chinese does. Also, I think some of the names chosen by locals are just ridiculous. One student I had informed me that her name was Pruedissana (her spelling). She said she wanted to use this “English” name because it was more convenient! I asked her where she got it, and she told me that she made it up (Surprise, surprise). I told her that I also liked using my Chinese name, “Bala ba Bulu” out of convenience, and she said without a hint of irony, “But that’s not a Chinese name!” I said, “But I made it up, AND I can write it in Chinese!” She still didn’t get it. And Taiwanese citizens who give themselves names like Apollo, Adonis, Pandora, etc, are just opening themselves up to ridicule.
If and when you get a “real” Chinese name, make sure that you know how to describe the characters. For instance, my Chinese surname, “Dai” is “Dai maozi de dai”, i.e. the Dai in the sentence of putting on a hat. The Quan in my name is “Quan shui de quan”, i.e. the quan found in the word for spring or mineral water. Especially in telephone conversations with strangers, you might be asked for this name, from the pizza place, the cable tv place or wherever.
I’d be curious to know if it is possible to have a non-Chinese name and still be a Chinese citizen. Given the phonetic limitations of Chinese, it would be impossible to write most foreign names in Chinese. Could one be a Mr. Smith and still become a citizen of Taiwan without a Sinicized name? What about local women who marry foreigners? Are there any who have legally changed their surnames to their husband’s surname, as is common in the west? Can Miss Chen Huimei become Ms. Julie Peterson, without giving up her nationality, or does she have to submit to the unwieldy “Pidesun Zhuli”?
