Tuesday, March 25, 2008

What's you name??(further clarified)

NP : Hong Kong people i just met me : me

NP : hi, nice to meet you.My name is blah blah blah (some christian name).
me: hi nice to meet you too...My name is weiqi.
np : wei???what's your name again???
me: weiqi.
np : ooooo..weiqi..do you have a english name??so its easier for me to remember your name.
me : no

i always fall into this kind of conversation since i came to Hong Kong. People here are so fond of getting people's english name.most of the people like people to address them by their "english name"

Some of them will then ask why i m not getting a english name for myself. ok, now i'll tell you.

1) I don't think there is a need to have a English name
wei qi is my given name since i was born. The name i use for almost 20 years. What for i need to change it to Katty or Betty or Jetty?? Wei qi is the name my parents gave me and even if i m going to have another name,i think i should have to let my parents know.

2) They are too many people with the same English name
i don't want to be the 2nd Sandy or 3rd Jeniffer in you phone book. Honestly, i know some friends with the same name. I have a few friends named Alex, Jeffery and Eric. then some of them have confusing name like Dickson or Jackson. then you'll have to differentiate them by the Fat Eric, the Short Jeffery or the Dark Alex..

3) People will remember you better
people will remember u better as the person without a christian name when everyone around you has one. I am the 1st person that my English instructor remember in class because everyone else in class have an English name. And i remember during the 1st lesson, she ask us to write our name on a piece of paper and make it stand on the table. Everyone,without hesitation,write their English name, except me. She ask me whether i have an English name, as if i don't know i suppose to write my English name rather than full name. But in the end, she remember my name 1st..
do not think non-chinese speaker cant remember you name. Actually they can, just give them some time. Us, Chinese speaker also have problem in calling other people's name. When i know the few guys from Sir Lanka and India, i too have problem calling their name. Its not Chinese nor English. Its their language where who never learn before. It takes me some time to remember theirs. But it's ok.

4) I can't find a name that suits me
Honestly, during my childhood days, i always wanted to have a English name. I think having a English name is very chio. I was looking names in books and even in dictionary. But i cant find any name that i think will fit me. I mean the look and character, a name where people will think of me when they heard of the name. Jessica was too feminine, Mandy and Sandy was too ah lian. In the end, weiqi is still the name i like best.

these are all the reason i do not have a English name. What's yours??Or why are you having one???

i think i'll have to clarify why am i writing this post. Not that i am against having a Christian name. What i am disagree is how the Hong Kong people mostly think that people should have a some sort of Christian name where it is not given. I still remember people asking me "Why don't you have a English name?" , and my 1st reaction was "Why do i need to?"
Maybe to them, having a English name is a must because their primary school English will made everyone of them to have English name??So, here comes another question..Why are the English teacher wants them to have English names??Don't they already have their own name??And is that this practice that makes them think everyone else must have a English name??
And something i want to add on more to this topic.actually not everyone that i know is using an English name. Some of them prefer to be called by nickname.And they have really cute names^^

4 comments:

  1. LOL...sot sot again liao...

    I neither agree nor disagree with this matter, it's a matter of taste and view.

    Yes, being proud of your own name is laubable, but i do not see the difference in having a Christian name. Names are there for people to remember and call u. Heck, usually people even make up things called nicknames just to remember u, so i don't see any difference in that...

    Yiyang has one that is exactly copied from a HK Star...i have one that originates from the King of Spain and the World's Greastest Conqueror's father...and also one of the most common ones i hear used in HK...not surprised when u say they have tons of it there, but Dickson and Jackson aren't confusing, just that dickson makes me called them a dickhead, (yes there is one called that here) and jackson makes me think that he will hold a baby over the balcony and do plastic surgery...urs isn't that better to me, just a letter difference and ur face would be beaten by me...lol

    I would question why people want to have a Christian name since they are not those who believe in Jesus? Personally i'm not, and that name was given by my godmother since i was born, i have no qualms using it. Though like u, i never converted mainly because i wanted to make people see that u don't have to be a Christian to speak good English (which i believe everyone thinks i am, until clarified). In fact i have been offered conversion so many times that i am now very very annoyed if anyone mentions that to me...the reason sounds pointless, but it's exactly the same situation as u had, so i understand.

    If u love your name, stick to it. It's better to have a nice name than have one that makes me laugh at u whenever i see u. If u change ur mind, u can always ask me. I know a few that sounds nice. But i believe that isn't anytime soon rite?^^

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  2. hehe i prefer calling u wei qi~ coz i oni got 1 fren's name which is call wei qi n obviouly tat is u!! keke.. stay cool~

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  3. i so so so agree with you. although right before i left for london i was given a christian name by the priest i never introduced myself to ANYONE here by that christian name. Although the angmohs here pronounce it in an embarassingly weird way, at least i dun need to feel ashamed when i tell the ENGLISH my ENGLISh name when i'm not even english. ok maybe thats just a personal sentiment. But i personally think it just shows you're not proud of your own culture and that you're just a wannabe.
    And i totally agree with you that once they get the hang of your name, they'll forever remember your name as opposed to the thousands of jane, jack and johns out there, cos WE'RE SPECIAL!
    you know just the other day some stupid Greek was making fun of my name saying it was impossible to pronounce. i was like " r u kidding me?" have you taken a look at greek names before??anything less than 4 syllables are not considered greek names.
    So he asked me why dont i adopt an english name. easier to pronounce.
    i said i was proud of my own name as it is. if he cant remember my name then i jolly well cant even be bothered to talk to him.
    then he said chinese names are stupid.
    so i asked him how many chinese names has he come across in his entire lifetime. Name all of them.
    And you know what he named???
    "Michelle, John, Jennifer, Ian, Lizzie, Michael......YOU ALL HAVE ENGLISH NAMES!!!!"
    i was embarassed like hell man...cos it just shows even the europeans realise we are ashamed of our own culture...and that is just so sad...

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  4. Eimun, apparently he has either very shallow knowledge of people's culture, or being either very drunk and talking crap with this conversation in a bar...if i were u this guy would've had his last conversation with me...

    Who cares if u should or should not have an english name? I have one and i would've rather used it if not for being clueless of how am i supposed to pronounce mine? (see? i myself dunno how to pronounce mine)...i dun think it's about being ashamed about our culture, it's abt giving others the convenience to call us...i knew a Sri Lankan and she was stubborn about this matter... she even explained to people what it meant and refused to answer unless u call her by her full name, which is incredibly long...she could do it, why couldn't you?

    I wonder what happened to the Greeks with all those brilliant scholars 2000 years ago...the Romans must have knocked them all flat and now they're so stupid...sigh...

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