This has always confused me. While I can see why someone might want to use an English name for convenience in the ESL classroom or even in the entertainment business, why do so many important Taiwanese figures also use “English” names? I can’t think of anywhere else this is done, except for Hong Kong with its colonial history. What is wrong with the original name? Isn’t using a foreign name in this way subverting ones own cultural identity?
The trend is especially ridiculous for politicians…does not giving yourself a name like “Apollo” sound rather far-out and unstatesman like? It would be much easier if everyone just used pinyin to transliterate their names into Roman letters, then we wouldn’t have to worry about remembering two different names for everyone.
In Malaysia the Chinese population often uses Western names, too, but generally they are “normal” English first names. Some Chinese there refer to it as ‘Christian name’ though they aren’t necessarily Christians.
As wrong as using a Chinese name in Taiwan for foreigners? Then again it wasn’t my choice but I really don’t care if they use my my Chinese name on the NHI card and on one side of my business card, i.e. I don’t think this threatens my cultural identity.
No doubt some people give themselves ridiculous names but otherwise I don’t care, I usually remember only one of their names, the one that those people prefer to use or introduce themselves with.
I don’t think Taiwanese people using English names is “wrong”, just a little weird for some people-for example KMT politician 陳學聖 using the alias “Apollo Chen”. No other country has this custom of politicians adopting “English names”.
I have a Chinese name but only because I was forced to adopt one, and it is impossible to to write my proper name using Chinese characters. On the other hand, it is easy to render Chinese names into Roman letters.
I wonder when Apollo Chen started referring to himself using his English name.
I’ve always thought, based on my personal observations rather than any in-depth study, that the usage of English names became more widely adopted when Hong Kong pop stars started to become popular in Taiwan, which is to say more or less around the 1990 time frame. Many Taiwanese pop stars who didn’t have English names at the time started to add them to their album releases to mimic their Hong Kong couterparts. This may have started a trend.
Of course, many Taiwanese have studied abroad and adopted Western names for such purposes. This may be the case for Apollo Chen.
My Taiwanese colleagues ALL have and use English names simply because we are an international company and some of our European amd Americas customers would not be able to pronounce their names.
Have you ever tried getting hold of Ms. “Huang Shiao-Wen” when you pronounce it “Wang Shiao-Wen”? The smallest missed tone and the result is utter chaos. 
All over the world people in non-eng-lish speaking countries adopted eng-lish first names for a variety of reasons. I think Anubis is on the mark with his comment. Ease of pronunciation for business or personal contacts is usually the main one.
Another might be admiration for personages from the ‘western’ - read:eng-lish speaking world, i.e. Shakespeare Mbesi, a chap I knew in Cameroon. His father was a university professor who specialized in that area and named his son after the playwright. Why he didn’t just name him William I never could understand. This is also very common in Africa, as well as other places formerly colonized by Europeans.
IMO, the most common reason here is the extreme difficulty most non-Chinese people have pronouncing, and remembering, Chinese names. Unless one writes them gown repeatedly, even with a facility for names, its quite a stretch to remember the accents and phrasing required to pronounce them correctly.
So, as a result, you have people named “Apollo Chen” and “Winston Wang” and “F1 Wu” helping us foreigners along with saying ‘Howdy F1! How’s it hangin’ ?’ rather than mumbling out a mangled greeting that does no one any good.
Just my thoughts.
I wanted Mien Bao on my business cards but every company I have worked for has refused to go along with this because it is “ridiculous”. This despite the fact that every asian country I have worked in have transliterated Brad as their version of Bread. They all call me it thinking I don’t know whats going on and I think it makes me easier to remember. Who forgets when they meet a business partner called Suparman?
I heard when Ma Ying-jeou first when to Harvard, he had an English name, Enjoy Ma. And after attending several parties on campus and introducing himself as “Enjoy,” he thought better of it from people’s peculiar reaction. Can you imagine if he had decided to keep the name, a president named Enjoy?!
I think he also wrote an essay condemning people for taking English names…
Right, I know a guy called “Madella” who named himself in admiration of the ex-South African president.
I can completely see the logic of Taiwanese people adopting English names for convenience in dealing with foreigners, or just because they like the name. But for politicos it seems to lack a certain level of gravitas.
It might also hinder communication…I’m sure most Taiwanese would understand a foreigner’s “Ma Ying-jeou”, but the wouldn’t have a clue who “Vincent Siew” was. How the hell did he get that spelling of his name anyway?
[quote=“TainanCowboy”]All over the world people in non-eng-lish speaking countries adopted eng-lish first names for a variety of reasons. I think Anubis is on the mark with his comment. Ease of pronunciation for business or personal contacts is usually the main one.
Another might be admiration for personages from the ‘western’ - read:eng-lish speaking world, i.e. Shakespeare Mbesi, a chap I knew in Cameroon. His father was a university professor who specialized in that area and named his son after the playwright. Why he didn’t just name him William I never could understand. This is also very common in Africa, as well as other places formerly colonized by Europeans.
IMO, the most common reason here is the extreme difficulty most non-Chinese people have pronouncing, and remembering, Chinese names. Unless one writes them gown repeatedly, even with a facility for names, its quite a stretch to remember the accents and phrasing required to pronounce them correctly.
So, as a result, you have people named “Apollo Chen” and “Winston Wang” and “F1 Wu” helping us foreigners along with saying ‘Howdy F1! How’s it hangin’ ?’ rather than mumbling out a mangled greeting that does no one any good.
Just my thoughts.[/quote]
Your folks called you Brad? Jesus, no wonder you wanted to change it. Mien Bao? Hell, Baked Beans would be an improvement.
And the people who refused had English names like Puppy, Windex and Shoeleather, right?
And the people who refused had English names like Puppy, Windex and Shoeleather, right?[/quote]
Thats uncanny - you know shoeleather too? :roflmao:
For lots of strange “English names” generally not belonging to prominent people, see
[ul][li][url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/scooter-slogans/907/1 English names[/url][/li]
[li][url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/bizarre-english-names-part-2/11153/1 English names 2[/url][/li][/ul]
Lee-hom Wang was concerned before his first album came out that (non-Chinese) people wouldn’t be able to pronounce his name and considered using “Alex” as a stage name. Good for him that he didn’t.