酷我-北美枫

[ericcoliu]

Reading and Writing: Life on the Page


Early this morning, I got an email from Mr. Ed Janzen, who is the editor and publisher of CANADIAN STORIES. It reads as follows:


Thank You Chen-ou.
I like your short story submission.
It's printed and accepted.
Ed Janzen.
PS Please help me learn to pronounce your name.

I was happy to know that my short story, My Mother’s Dream, was accepted and published, but, at the same time, I was disturbed (you could say I was too sensitive to this recurring issue – that is “how to pronounce your name,” which oftentimes is a coded phrase) by his request. How could I help him learn to pronounce my name? It prompted me to write the following poem, What’s Your Name?



What’s Your Name?


I

My name is Chen-ou.
Could you say that again?
Chen-ou.
Um … it isn’t that … different. Chan-now.
No, pronounced chen-oo.
Tell you what, let’s pretend we’re all Canadians.
So just ask me my name again.
Okay, what’s your name?


II

My name is Eric.
Although fond of the firmness of that first person possessive adjective,
I suspect that stout indicative of “be”
And concern myself with the uncertain i-n-g of "becoming."
Of course, my name was changed somewhere
While flying over the Pacific Ocean to Pearson International Airport.


III

My father named me Chen-ou,
Which means taking Europe by force.
Since I immigrated to Canada,
I’ve been forced to call myself Eric.
It’s a strange name,
Like someone beating a drum --
Hollow, a hard echo.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[[ericcoliu]]

Reading and Writing: Life on the Page


Early this morning, I got an email from Mr. Ed Janzen, who is the editor and publisher of CANADIAN STORIES. It reads as follows:


Thank You Chen-ou.
I like your short story submission.
It's printed and accepted.
Ed Janzen.
PS Please help me learn to pronounce your name.

I was happy to know that my short story, My Mother’s Dream, was accepted and published, but, at the same time, I was disturbed (you could say I was too sensitive to this recurring issue – that is “how to pronounce your name,” which oftentimes is a coded phrase) by his request. How could I help him learn to pronounce my name? It prompted me to write the following poem, What’s Your Name?



What’s Your Name?


I

My name is Chen-ou.
Could you say that again?
Chen-ou.
Um … it isn’t that … different. Chan-now.
No, pronounced chen-oo.
Tell you what, let’s pretend we’re all Canadians.
So just ask me my name again.
Okay, what’s your name?


II

My name is Eric.
Although fond of the firmness of that first person possessive adjective,
I suspect that stout indicative of “be”
And concern myself with the uncertain i-n-g of "becoming."
Of course, my name was changed somewhere
While flying over the Pacific Ocean to Pearson International Airport.


III

My father named me Chen-ou,
Which means taking Europe by force.
Since I immigrated to Canada,
I’ve been forced to call myself Eric.
It’s a strange name,
Like someone beating a drum --
Hollow, a hard echo.
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[ericcoliu]

The act of naming is the great and solemn consolation of mankind.

-- Elias Canetti, The Agony of Flies


Name Change

Why do some choose to change their name to fit into the dominant culture and what are the causes? The phenomenon of Anglicizing one’s name in the United States is common. Whether it is by choice or by some clerical mishap, there are many examples of immigrants Anglicizing their names. For example, the German surname Pfeifer was Anglicized as Piper; the Italian surname Recardi was anglicized to Richards (Fucilla, 1943); some migrants chose to completely change their name (Kang, 1971). As in the examples given previously, changing the pronunciation or having a nickname for American English-speaking ears can often ease social interactions.

-- L. Danyel Rios, Cultural Hybridity: Arab/Latino - A Reflexive Approach


Following the civil rights movement, Greek immigrants began changing their perception of themselves, or, more correctly, of their original Greekness. For example, where before, many Greek Americans would anglicize their names usually to find employment, in recent years they feel less pressure to change their names to "pass" as "true" American, or get a job, or, for that matter, run for political office.

Alexander Makedon, The Social Psychology of Immigration: The Greek-American Experience
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[[ericcoliu]]

The act of naming is the great and solemn consolation of mankind.

-- Elias Canetti, The Agony of Flies


Name Change

Why do some choose to change their name to fit into the dominant culture and what are the causes? The phenomenon of Anglicizing one’s name in the United States is common. Whether it is by choice or by some clerical mishap, there are many examples of immigrants Anglicizing their names. For example, the German surname Pfeifer was Anglicized as Piper; the Italian surname Recardi was anglicized to Richards (Fucilla, 1943); some migrants chose to completely change their name (Kang, 1971). As in the examples given previously, changing the pronunciation or having a nickname for American English-speaking ears can often ease social interactions.

-- L. Danyel Rios, Cultural Hybridity: Arab/Latino - A Reflexive Approach


Following the civil rights movement, Greek immigrants began changing their perception of themselves, or, more correctly, of their original Greekness. For example, where before, many Greek Americans would anglicize their names usually to find employment, in recent years they feel less pressure to change their names to "pass" as "true" American, or get a job, or, for that matter, run for political office.

Alexander Makedon, The Social Psychology of Immigration: The Greek-American Experience
_________________
Time is nothing but a disquiet of the soul

[Lake]

This is a universal topic.

Pronouncing your name wrong or not using your given name are equally annoying and embarrassing.

[[Lake]]

This is a universal topic.

Pronouncing your name wrong or not using your given name are equally annoying and embarrassing.

[ericcoliu]

[[ericcoliu]]

[christine]

[[christine]]

[christine]

[[christine]]

[ericcoliu]

[[ericcoliu]]

[温暖的水獸]

[[温暖的水獸]]

[ericcoliu]

[[ericcoliu]]

[东西]

[[东西]]

[ericcoliu]

[[ericcoliu]]