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Re: USAGE: The name "Chiang Kai-shek"

From:Douglas Koller, Latin & French <latinfrench@...>
Date:Tuesday, December 3, 2002, 18:15
Florian wrote:

> >When Chinese women decide to take on an English name, it's either of >>the Playboy bunny school: "Hi, my name's Bunny, Brandy, Candy, >>Cherry, Lolly, Sissy, Chrissy, Ruby, etc....."; the Bewitched school: >>"Hi, my name's Esmerelda, Cassandra, Samantha, Endora, Cleopatra, >>Desdemona, etc..."; or the off-the-wall: "Hi, my name's Pallas, >>Ironing Board, Chrysanthemum, Anaconda, etc.....". >I know some : Daisy, Lily, Kathy, Becky, Conny, Diana, Jude, >Freya(?), Linda, Roy, Seaco(?), cookie(!). Some just make out an >englsih addaptation of their chinese name. To me it is often the >most successful : Canna, Lina
I forgot to mention a high school student who picked "Nonno" for herself, after a very popular Japanese young women's magazine. English speakers would inevitably double-take and grin since it most often came out in English as "Hi, my name is no-no." Thank goodness her favorite publication wasn't, say, the National Review. (Hi, my name's Field & Stream.)
> >Chinese guy anglo names are either monosyllabic football names: "Hi, >>my name's Dirk, Buck, Ted, Craig, Greg, Mack, etc.....; or >>off-the-wall: "Hi, my name's Anvil, Tether, Reach, Ballpeen, >>etc......" (I kid you not, I had a student named "Big Gun"). >Heward, Richard, James, Rocky, Kenny...
Ah yes, I'd overlooked the names-ending-in-y category. Danny, Billy, Lucky, Mickey, Teddy... Kou