Re: Foreign Names (Was: Re: Spousal names)

On Fri, 27 Oct 2000, H. S. Teoh wrote:

> On Fri, Oct 27, 2000 at 05:07:08PM -0400, Yoon Ha Lee wrote:
> > :-)  While I think the Korean "share-a-syllable-out-of-two" tradition is
> > poetic, sharing the *first* syllable confuses lots of Americans.  I'm
> > thinking the 2nd syllable wouldn't.  =^)
> [snip]
>
> It's not just a Korean thing... happens with Chinese names too. I know a
> friend whose name is Kin Leong, and we call him Kin for short.
> Unfortunately, his sister's name also starts with Kin, and she's also
> called by "Kin" for short... and their younger sister is also Kin, and so
> are all his 1st cousin... Imagine the confusion when you go to one of
> their family gatherings and call out "Kin!" ... "Which Kin??" "Uh... um...
> that guy..." "Which guy??" :-P
Well, Korean names are "Chinese" names, so I'm somehow not surprised.  At
least with my sister there's only two of us!  And Koreans call each other
by the two-syllable given names (or some longer diminutive thereof), so
it's not a problem, but when you bring in Americans who think we have
"first" and "middle" names (and who's to blame them)....

YHL