What's in a Name?

[Old Ape Face]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6365320.html

AUSTIN — A North Texas legislator during House testimony on voter identification legislation said Asian-descent voters should adopt names that are “easier for Americans to deal with.”

The comments caused the Texas Democratic Party on Wednesday to demand an apology from state Rep. Betty Brown, R-Terrell. But a spokesman for Brown said her comments were only an attempt to overcome problems with identifying Asian names for voting purposes.

The exchange occurred late Tuesday as the House Elections Committee heard testimony from Ramey Ko, a representative of the Organization of Chinese Americans.

Ko told the committee that people of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent often have problems voting and other forms of identification because they may have a legal transliterated name and then a common English name that is used on their driver’s license on school registrations.
Easier for voting?

Brown suggested that Asian-Americans should find a way to make their names more accessible.

“Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?” Brown said.

Brown later told Ko: “Can’t you see that this is something that would make it a lot easier for you and the people who are poll workers if you could adopt a name just for identification purposes that’s easier for Americans to deal with?”

Democratic Chairman Boyd Richie said Republicans are trying to suppress votes with a partisan identification bill and said Brown “is adding insult to injury with her disrespectful comments.”

Brown spokesman Jordan Berry said Brown was not making a racially motivated comment but was trying to resolve an identification problem.

Berry said Democrats are trying to blow Brown’s comments out of proportion because polls show most voters support requiring identification for voting. Berry said the Democrats are using racial rhetoric to inflame partisan feelings against the bill.

“They want this to just be about race,” Berry said.

I might have read this wrong or whatever, but this set me off a little bit.

A Congress Rep. from Texas, is suggesting that Asian-descents change their names so that they are easier to read on the voting pallet?

I'm not of Asian-Descent at all, but this pisses me off, I mean seriously, are they that big of *******s to force a culture to change so that our culture can understand better?

So they are basically saying we're both Ignorant and Self-centered?

[The Million Dollar Prons]

The problem with Chinese people is that they are born with a Chinese name, like Zhou Yang Li or Li Yu Chun or Xu Sheng Nan, and then later on in their life they want to adopt an English name, and they usually pick the most awkward and inconvenient names because they don't know any better. So Xu Sheng Nan became Zoe Xu, Chen Jing Bo became Betty Chen. But you also have some with really stupid names, I knew a guy who made his English name Helicopter Wang. I knew a girl named Snoopy Zhou. Snoopy had a nice ***. So I don't think the article is saying "Man asian people need to start naming themselves Suzie Wang because I can't make heads or tails of them," I think it's just pointing out it's getting confusing about how Chinese people have "Chinese names" and "English names."

Oh and of course there is the matter of formating. In Chinese formating the family name (Zhou, Zhang, Li , Huang) comes before the first name. It sounds really awkard when you say Chinese names (Fan Yan, for example) in English format (Yan Fan).

[lav2k4]

Chinese people are already naming themselves in games and lobbies with random numbers and/or letters. **** being able to identify them.

[Old Ape Face]

Me confused by Asians?

nevar!!!

I might not be able to pronounce some Asian names, but I don't look at names in the first place, I look at faces and expression.

It's the politics that are confused, which is totally disrespectful in my opinion, as well as it's not in my definition of being American.

We are a country built on immigration, it's only natural for our country to consist of names from every culture we adopt.

It's ignorant to say that it helps Americans to understand better, becuase the ones they are trying to change are American themselves.

[Soluzar]

A lot of British Asians adopt Anglicised names. I don't know if that's changing with the current generations, or not. I just know that one of my friends is called Jan Ming Li, but known as "Bob".

[KatayokuのTenshi]

I knew a guy who made his English name Helicopter Wang. I knew a girl named Snoopy Zhou.

Is that any worse than Brooklyn or Apple or Linux (a matter of time) or Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus
Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffvoral ternwarengewissenhaf
tschaferswesenchafewarenwholgepflegeunds orgfaltigkeitbeschut
zenvonangereifenduchihrraubgiriigfeindew elchevorralternzwolf
tausendjahresvorandieerscheinenbanderers teerdeemmeshedrraums
chiffgebrauchlichtalsseinursprungvonkraf tgestartseinlangefah
rthinzwischensternartigraumaufdersuchena chdiesternwelshegeha
btbewohnbarplanetenkreisedrehensichundwo hinderneurassevanver
standigmenshlichkeittkonntevortpflanzenu ndsicherfreunanleben
slamdlichfreudeundruhemitnichteinfurchtv orangreifenvonandere
rintlligentgeschopfsvonhinzwischensterna rtigraum
Senior? (parsed like that so the forum doesn't break)

Who also went by the name Hubert Blaine Wolfe+585, Senior for some reason

[Holy Knight]

^ I'll bet his friends nickname him "Joe".

I've heard of some similar discussion happening around here about a year ago, because Indian immigrants have these long, incomprehensible names like "Pragatheeba Rapanujan" or some such.

I say we should just learn to pronounce them correctly... but I might be biased since my own name is pronounceable in English, but not so much in French, and I don't mind correcting people.

[Soluzar]

Is that any worse than Brooklyn or Apple or Linux (a matter of time) or Adolph Blaine [...]
There are always some odd names. One of my friends went to a very posh school and encountered a chap whose given name was Frobisher. Apparently he was known by "Frob".

[superplough]

One of my friends is from the Phillipines, and he told me his "real" name once. It was long and complicated. Everyone calls him Sam, even his Filipino friends. I suppose they call each other by their Filipino names when they're not around us.

[KatayokuのTenshi]

When I said "worse" I meant more difficult, or unsual (that seems to be what they dislike) I like unsual names.

There are always some odd names. One of my friends went to a very posh school and encountered a chap whose given name was Frobisher. Apparently he was known by "Frob".

Yes but sadly those kind of names are becoming rarer and rarer. You only have to look at court cases throughout history to see that. You won't find a Tuberville v Savage these days. That's a slight exaggeration, we still see some good names crop up from time to time especially in the European Courts (ECJ and ECHR) things like Internationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH v Einfuhr- und Vorratsstelle für Getreide und Futtermittel. Or Brasserie du pêcheur and Factortame. But those are German, French and Spanish names (respectively) and might be quite normal when they're at home.

Awesome names make the world a more interesting place. It's a sad state of affairs when the Jones outnumber the Petits and their ilk. :( (Trade names like Smith and Taylor get a pass due to the history involved... although it'd be nice to see a Chandler (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chandler#Noun) once in a while.)

[Caster13]

I'm sure that Haro! has changed his name to something Apple (computer) related. I'm guessing Steve.

I knew a guy who made his English name Helicopter Wang.

Am I the only one who remembers that video?:lol:

[animeotaku99]

Chinese-American, African-America, Italian-American... When will America stop dividing itself and be just plain American.
anyways... The legislator should agologize

[goddessofanime]

Worst Name:

Pilot Inspector....or Audio Science.



Off topic: I'm sorry but I'm cracking up over these tags... for example this one reads: 'confused about asians', 'Yukimura-Sanada is'

[The Million Dollar Prons]

On the topic of chinese people and names, how about that chick from Jefferson Airplane who named her daughter Chinese moon?


Or a better-known route, Moon Base Zappa.

[Old Ape Face]

Worst Name:

Pilot Inspector....or Audio Science.



Off topic: I'm sorry but I'm cracking up over these tags... for example this one reads: 'confused about asians', 'Yukimura-Sanada is'

Asian Culture is one that names people by what their job is, if you've ever read the book Shogun, they name Jack Blackthorn, something in Japanese that means Boat Pilot

[Soluzar]

On the topic of chinese people and names, how about that chick from Jefferson Airplane who named her daughter Chinese moon?


Or a better-known route, Moon Base Zappa.
Isn't it Moon Unit Zappa?

[Old Ape Face]

Isn't it Moon Unit Zappa?

Moon isn't even Chinese, so that eliminates that conclusion.

[Leader Desslock]

Asian Culture is one that names people by what their job is...
Um... Yukimura, this is one of those times you just need to stop and think before posting.

What's the most popular name in the US?

Smith.

That's a vocational name. So were most of the last names of my classmates, growing up. Smith, Miller, Taylor, Cooper, Wright, Baker, Turner, Cook, Bailey... these are all vocational names.

Even the French names were vocational: Letourneau, Landry, Chiasson, etc.

Vocational naming is not an Asian thing. This is very much a European thing as well. Think, Yuki.

[Old Ape Face]

Um... Yukimura, this is one of those times you just need to stop and think before posting.

What's the most popular name in the US?

Smith.

That's a vocational name. So were most of the last names of my classmates, growing up. Smith, Miller, Taylor, Cooper, Wright, Baker, Turner, Cook, Bailey... these are all vocational names.

Even the French names were vocational: Letourneau, Landry, Chiasson, etc.

Vocational naming is not an Asian thing. This is very much a European thing as well. Think, Yuki.

Ah yes I know, however some vocabulary translations from the Japanese context and English can get quite confusing.

My point is that I wouldn't be suprised to find an Asian person with a random job related title like Pilot Inspector as their personal name if that's what their job actually was.

in Japan it would be the Japanese version of Inspector Pilot.

[Victory]

>Letourneau, Landry, Chiasson, etc.
Well I looked these up out of curiosity and they're not jobs, but there are French surnames based on jobs.
Brasserie du pécheur seems to be a brewery name (Fisherman's brewery).
I wouldn't like to be called Chiasson. It sounds like ****. That is to say, what a ****** surname.

[fujyoshi]

why would they change there name just to be like everyone else O-o

[Jia]

There's nothing wrong with having an anglicized alias. They should classify such people under 2 names therefore it ends confusion provided they keep their surname the same have forms that have Birth Name then Also Known As.

[Old Ape Face]

There's nothing wrong with having an anglicized alias. They should classify such people under 2 names therefore it ends confusion provided they keep their surname the same have forms that have Birth Name then Also Known As.

I agree with that, having a usable name and then have their family name, but I think the Asian public are already doing this.

It seems like this is a say do away with your family name completely, which makes no bit of sence at all becuase they're not using their family name to enter the ballet in the first place.

[Jia]

Yeah but I meant on a form for electoral rolls. Because when I go to one of those election things they ask for you name in a big book. If you have 2 then it would help

Eg: Mr A A A / Mr A B A


Maybe you guys don't have to officially get marked off the role over there.

[KatayokuのTenshi]

Brasserie du pécheur seems to be a brewery name (Fisherman's brewery).
I wouldn't like to be called Chiasson. It sounds like ****. That is to say, what a ****** surname.

That was two cases joined together Brasserie du Pêcheur v Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany) and The Queen v Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte: Factortame that were heard by the European Court of Justice at the same time.

It was a brewery, still is as far as I know. The case involved a German law regarding the "purity" of beer. Basically this boiled down to requiring any beer that was to be sold in Germany to have only four ingredients namely water, barley, hops and yeast. No extra ingredients were allowed and that included preservatives. Brasserie du pécheur made a lot of their money exporting beer to Germany, however without the preservatives the beer would spoil en route. In fact it meant that no beer could be imported into Germany, and would force everyone to buy locally produced beer.

The German law therefore had a "direct or indirect, actual or potential" effect on inter-state trade. Since the free movement of goods was one of the main reasons that the EC was created in the first place this was thought to be a bad thing. :lol: It went contrary to Article 28 of the European Economic Community Treaty and so the German 'Biersteuergesetz' legislation was void. Factortame was about the same thing but in regards to Article 43 of the same treaty and the Merchant Shipping Act 1988. ...At least I think it was. There were like six Factortame cases all on different points of law. I can't recall just now which one this was.

tl;dr nothing to do with anything.

[Leader Desslock]

>Letourneau, Landry, Chiasson, etc.
Well I looked these up out of curiosity and they're not jobs, but there are French surnames based on jobs.

Letourneau = One who fashions objects on a lathe.

Landry = French corruption of either: a) an old Germanic term for 'landlord', or b) a launderer, or one who does laundry. I tend to believe the latter. That's half my family tree, so I can assure you with reasonable authority that it's a vocational name.

Chiasson = Variant of Chasseur, which would be the equivalent to "Hunter".

These might not show up in Le Petit Larousse, but they're common enough in the Quebecois/English dialect in which I was raised.

I wouldn't like to be called Chiasson. It sounds like ****. That is to say, what a ****** surname.
The English folks back home pronounce that one with a hard 'ch' and rhyming with 'Jason', so it's not so bad as it looks in print. :lol: