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Post by booley on Apr 11, 2009 10:08:25 GMT -5
What a xenopohobic waste of time.
I have known plenty of people with Asian names and I just asked how they pronounced it.
No big deal.
Hell my last name is a common ENGLISH name and people still have trouble pronouncing it. But I sure as hell ain't changing it.
So why should I expect people from Asia to do something I won't do?
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Post by Bluefinger on Apr 11, 2009 10:23:31 GMT -5
You're right. Maybe cowboy could put on his assless chaps, sit on the pommel, and go for a gallop. I KNEW we were gonna get to the chaps jokes eventually. It was a matter of time, really. Still, hilarious... As for names, Finger That is Blue would suit me fine, or just Blue Finger.
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Post by John E on Apr 11, 2009 13:01:32 GMT -5
Hell my last name is a common ENGLISH name and people still have trouble pronouncing it. But I sure as hell ain't changing it. So why should I expect people from Asia to do something I won't do? Heck, I've met (at least over the phone) people who've had trouble with Erickson. How sad is that? Plus, spell check doesn't recognize it.
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Post by Paradox on Apr 11, 2009 13:21:29 GMT -5
My last name is often mistaken for another, completely different last name that is much more common. It's Scottish.
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Post by Sigmaleph on Apr 11, 2009 15:49:12 GMT -5
My last name, while not common in itself, is the combination of two other common names. Yet people manage to screw it up all the time. Just ask my dad about every time they confused his first name and surname (Sort of like confusing John Erickson with Eric Johnson, to give an example)
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Post by schizophonic on Apr 11, 2009 16:32:13 GMT -5
My last name, while not common in itself, is the combination of two other common names. Yet people manage to screw it up all the time. Just ask my dad about every time they confused his first name and surname (Sort of like confusing John Erickson with Eric Johnson, to give an example) I generally use both my surname and my Mom's Maiden name when I address myself. I don't hyphenate, which has the added benefit of screwing up those automated e-mails and the like. But I occasionally get that. Doesn't hurt that all three names can technically be given names. One with little modification, the others are.
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Post by John E on Apr 11, 2009 18:29:05 GMT -5
My last name, while not common in itself, is the combination of two other common names. Yet people manage to screw it up all the time. Just ask my dad about every time they confused his first name and surname (Sort of like confusing John Erickson with Eric Johnson, to give an example) It's funny you should mention that. My last supervisor used to call me Eric all the time.
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Post by Green-Eyed Lilo on Apr 11, 2009 21:50:06 GMT -5
Another thing about my wife and I's decision to hyphenate--we were both afraid of changing our "perceived ethnicity." I like that it's real blatantly obvious that I'm Southern; she likes that it's real blatantly obvious that she's Russian. She said people would think she was African-American if she took my last name, "which would be wonderful if I were an African-American, but I'm not." For my part, I thought my first name combined with her last name looked Midwestern or something, which would be wonderful if I were a Midwesterner, but I'm not.
Of the two names, hers comes last. (We literally played Rock Paper Scissors all the way to the courthouse for it, and then we polled people in line and all the workers we encountered!) So now people try to call me by her last name and leave mine out. To quote the IT guy at my work, who was trying to change my work e-mail address, "It would just be easier for us."
"Well, as long as it's easier for *you*", I reply. I want to add, "Oh, and by the way, I've got some short and easy names for you! Wanna hear 'em?"
My redneck-girl cousin, who married my wife's Russian-Canadian boy cousin and hyphenated her last name, reports very similar experiences, too. But, you know, it's okay, since we all have light-colored skin and round eyes.
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Post by kiwimac on Apr 12, 2009 20:03:32 GMT -5
Hmm, I'm not American but I'd like 'Screams and Runs' please.
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Post by Napoleon the Clown on Apr 12, 2009 20:17:05 GMT -5
I can kind of understand where the lawmaker is coming from. The issue isn't that it "Sounds foreign" as much as it is the issues with transliteration. Romanizatons of Asian words and names can be rather tricky.
That being said, "Change your name" isn't exactly the best solution.
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funkenstein
New Member
The cool ghoul with the bump transplant
Posts: 27
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Post by funkenstein on Apr 12, 2009 20:21:25 GMT -5
I can kind of understand where the lawmaker is coming from. The issue isn't that it "Sounds foreign" as much as it is the issues with transliteration. Romanizatons of Asian words and names can be rather tricky. That being said, "Change your name" isn't exactly the best solution. Hungarian, Turkish and Greek names can be tricky as all get out, too, but she doesn't mention them.
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Post by Napoleon the Clown on Apr 12, 2009 21:18:42 GMT -5
If I read the story right, the discussion was on issues surrounding problems facing Asian immigrants specifically, and the problems involved in getting all the documentation in order to allow them to vote, get licenses, etc. So while other immigrants have the same kind of problem, they weren't the topic at-hand.
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