Here is a problem that I never imagined I would have in Taiwan, my plain old English name. I believe that my name is one of the most common names in the English speaking world (it’s biblical after all). However Taiwanese people have a real problem pronouncing it whether it’s written in English or Mandarin. (My name is the only thing I can write in Mandarin).
The problem is that people are breaking up the 2 syllables that form my name, missing out the “r” sound and making the end syllable too strong. The end result is usually a variation of “Ma…-K” instead of a smoother sounding “Mark”.
I never get annoyed or upset by this as I understand that most Chinese names use a clearly defined 2 syllables, for instance “Wan-Ting”. I was just considering if I should I adopt the same approach as many Chinese people do in the west but vice-versa.
Many application forms that I have come across here have the space for an English name and a Chinese name so why shouldn’t I have both?
Has anyone considered this or even adopted a Chinese name of their own? Or am I just being daft?
Mark’s one of the names with a ‘set’ Chinese transliteration: 馬克
If you want a Chinese ‘name’ (like a real one) you’ll have to come up with something that ‘means’ something.
I have a Chinese name because my name has three syllables, which Taiwanese people found really easy to forget for some reason. Also when I applied for school here they give you a Chinese name if you don’t have your own, and the one they gave me was uggggggggggly and about as foreign-sounding as you could get… so I sat down with an ABC friend and told him to help me pick a name that ‘suited’ me (like you can ‘look like a name’ in English?). He gave me a few characters which were common to names and which he thought suited me, and I picked from there based on the sounds.
I like my Chinese name and I use it more than my English name in Taiwan. (The funny thing is, most of my classmates found out my English name through facebook and now most of them use that O.o; ) My English name is my NAME, but my Chinese name is a really comfortable nickname for me
You will not regret picking a Chinese name. Chicks will dig it and it will leave the impression that you’re going to be here awhile and not just some tourist passing through.
At school they were going to give me a three syllable name that I didn’t like so I quickly decided to choose my own.
I was going to pick 機車 Ji Che (which means motorcycle) but my girlfriend said she would dump me if I did.
I finally came up with and settled on 雞排 Ji Pai (which means chicken steak). I could tell that she was much more pleased with that name as it made her laugh.
I have some really good ones left over from when I was trying to come up with mine. I can help you with some ideas if you want.
A nickname “JIpaI” or whatever is a different story. It’s not a Chinese name. It’s a nickname in Chinese. I think a “real” Chinese name comes with expectations of competence, both linguistic and cultural, to some degree. At least that has been my experience.
Okay, I admit I was only joking about picking Ji Pai as my Chinese name (although I was seriously considering it).
But, yes a Chinese name will help you here. For example, if you have to go to the hospital for any reason, they will want to do your paperwork with a Chinese name rather than a western name.
[quote=“petr0lb0mb”]Okay, I admit I was only joking about picking Ji Pai as my Chinese name (although I was seriously considering it).
But, yes a Chinese name will help you here. For example, if you have to go to the hospital for any reason, they will want to do your paperwork with a Chinese name rather than a western name.[/quote]
That was the exact experience!!
Good point. Maybe I should not be considering this until I have acquired at least some degree of competence in the language.
If you get a real Chinese name, as opposed to just the transliteration of your English name, be careful! Just like you meet Taiwanese with ridiculous English names that a native speaker gave them, the Taiwanese might also decide to have a bit of fun at your expense. My Korean boyfriend was convinced I was a redneck country bumpkin, so he gave me a name that sounded like that in Korean; another Korean friend named me after a well-known (and fat) comedian who he thought I resembled. In both cases other Koreans would burst out into gales of laughter upon hearing the names.
If you get a Chinese name, test it out on many different groups. Children are good for this - if your class of 12-year-olds breaks out into hysterical laughter at the sound of your Chinese name, choose another.
Anyway, get a (somewhat) proper Chinese name rather than either a direct translation of your English names or characters that sound vaguely (and vaguely is the word – when my in-laws try to pronounce my name, it’s pretty much unrecognisable) like your English name. My wife helped me choose mine because I needed one for when we got married. People variously find my Chinese name funny (mostly children) or they comment on it being a good name (government officials, my colleagues) because it has a second meaning.
[quote=“petr0lb0mb”]You will not regret picking a Chinese name. Chicks will dig it and it will leave the impression that you’re going to be here awhile and not just some tourist passing through.
At school they were going to give me a three syllable name that I didn’t like so I quickly decided to choose my own.
I was going to pick 機車 Ji Che (which means motorcycle) but my girlfriend said she would dump me if I did.
I finally came up with and settled on 雞排 Ji Pai (which means chicken steak). I could tell that she was much more pleased with that name as it made her laugh.
I have some really good ones left over from when I was trying to come up with mine. I can help you with some ideas if you want.
Get a Chinese Name… It will make life easier for you. Video Rental Stores, Hospitals and any public service just can’t handle the long names (especially last names). They get truncated in weird ways. Check and see if there is already a standard translation for your name. Mine is a biblical name and there is already a standard well know translation. Choose a nice standard last name. One you’d find in the phone book. Mine is based on the first syllable of my last name and it is a very common surname in Chinese.
Next, put it on your ARC, Buy a Chop with your name on it. You’d never have to sign it, write it or say it. Just stamp it and show it. But now you now have a standard Chinese name to do just about anything you want with.
Since my girlfriend/wife is traditional, we had the added step of taking it to a fortune teller for the throwing of turtle and they checked the Chinese “holy book” and other things to see if the name doesn’t have any bad connotations.
No my children bear my Chinese last name.
Recap… get a name. Make sure it is a standard name you’d find in the phone book and don’t try any cute variations.
