The Good Family Guide To Baby Names and Naming Children Around The World
It is sometimes said that ‘a person’s name to them is the sweetest and most important sound in any language’. Usually the problem when a name is translated within those languages that use the romanised script is that of pronunciation.
A whole range of different problems arise when personal and family names are translated between languages using different alphabets and/or different scripts. Many countries and cultures practice a wide range of procedures and conventions to deal with this including romanisation of names and matters concerning sequence of names, for example given name first, followed by the family name. Other problems arise when a name is translated, or transposed or transliterated, perhaps using an onomatopoeic convention, since the newly translated or transposed name could
inadvertently mean something unlucky or disagreeable.
A Japanese visitor to Tanzania encountered considerable embarrassment since, when his name was transposed into Kiswahili, it was the same as the local slang for the male genetalia. As there is no typical alphabet in the Chinese language it uses characters that all mean something. People wishing to do business in China convert their name into Chinese use characters that either sound vaguely like their family name or have a impressive meaning. This can however create problems. During his earlier career a British governor-general in Hong Kong had chosen three
characters in Mandarin Chinese which were pronounced Wei Dewei.
When he moved to Hong Kong, where Chinese is spoken in the Cantonese Chinese dialect, the pronunciation of these characters was Ngai Tak-ngai. In Cantonese the first Ngai can mean false or counterfeit, and the second Ngai suggested a traditional unlucky tale which is an omen of extreme bad luck. Altogether it had most unfitting and unsuitable connotation. He therefore chose a new Chinese name Wai Yik-shun which in the local, Cantonese, dialect suggests — full of confidence and great faith. Chinese people often inspect a visitors business card to see if the Chinese name has a propitious meaning.
A good name can bring all manner of good luck, an inauspicious name the opposite. In Myanmar people do not have a family name. There a woman
retains her own name even after marriage. The basis for naming a child is usually the day of the week on which it was born. The name of persons in Korea has two parts, a family name and a given name. As there are only around 250 family or clan names, this creates problems. To overcome such problems they use titles connected with their profession, place of work and rank.
Women retain their names when they marry, but children take their father’s name. Koreans romanise their name in various ways. Some adhere to the original order or sequence of names, that is family name followed by given name, while others reverse them to match Western culture patters. The story is told of the British journalist Horatio Bottomley arriving at the home of Lord Cholmondley.
He said to the butler ‘I wish to speak to Lord Cholmondley’.
‘Lord Chumley, sir,’ the butler replied, correcting his pronunciation.
‘Oh, all right,’ said Horatio Bottomley.
‘Tell him that ‘Mr. Bumley’ would like to see him!’
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