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English names of Chinese people can throw you for a loop
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Photo by Jack Dorsey
CHINA – The next time you receive an email from a sender named M.C. Pacino you might be surprised to learn that it’s not spam, but rather a message from a top graduate of one of China's best universities currently working for an American software firm in Beijing. Likewise, the mental image you might draw from an Opal Zhang will shock you when you meet a beautiful young woman in her 20s. The English names that Chinese people choose for themselves are without a doubt unique and sometimes just plain confusing.
Some of the more interesting names from some of my friends and former colleagues in China:
Bank
Flex
Athena
Anti
Mars
Bebo
Eleven
Twaddle
As for M.C. Pacino, I should point out that Al Pacino is quite popular in China these days because many Chinese people love “The Godfather” movies. Unfortunately, Pacino is often pronounced as“Puh-sino.”
There's really no harm in these names. In fact, I've been surprised when some people told me they were actually assigned their English name by their foreign English teachers. And yet, a “Jupiter Wang” may find himself socially isolated when he goes overseas as an exchange student. Or “Titanic Li” may not understand why the HR department of that big American corporation doesn't call her for an interview.
It should also be noted that Chinese people having English names is not the result of some fascination with the West. It's essentially a practical decision that can impact business efficiency. It's not an exaggeration to say that millions of Chinese people share the exact same names. A Chinese friend of mine worked for a German company. Using the PinYin Romanization of his name, he discovered there were 32 other people in the firm with his name. It was quite common for emails to be misdirected as senders weren't sure if he was LiPeng16 or LiPeng28. Additionally, Chinese companies engaged in business with overseas firms know that many Westerners will botch the pronunciation of their Chinese names, so it's really a convenience for us to be able to call them the more familiar “David” or the less familiar “CiCi” – which is actually a man.
To be fair, Chinese people always laugh at the Chinese names of foreigners. For example, I am "Yang Kun" which is also the name of a popular singer from Inner Mongolia. Whenever I tell Chinese people my name they start hooping and asking, “Who gave you that name?!”
Some China watchers say the biggest threat to China's economic development is a lack of creativity and innovation. Based on some of these inventions, I would say that imagination and ingenuity are thriving in the Middle Kingdom.
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