| Another point in answer to Chen's question is that Japanese and Korean names are easier to pronounce for English speakers. In order to pronounce Chinese names you must pronounce the tone, which most English speakers can't hear, and which isn't revealed in the Pinyin. Also, in reading a name written in Pinyin, you have to know how to pronounce zh, c, x and q, which are totally unrelated to their English pronunciation. Because I can speak some Chinese, I like to find out people's Chinese names, but because I am a native English speaker, I do tend to remember English names. Also, the distinguisher factor of Chinese names means that names do not fall within a set range like English (as mentioned by someone previously), so except for the major family names, every time you learn someone's name you are learning a new word! This value of distinguishing your name, and your name being able to be any word means that I have heard some hilarious English names in New Zealand: Green, Apple, Lion, River, Ocean, Lance (a girl), Hero, Love and so on. Has anyone else come across some funny names?
I love having a Chinese name, even if its not very distinguished. It really makes a difference relating to Chinese people both in and out of China as they feel confident in pronouncing my name correctly (kai Li, 凯丽). |
Why I Don't Have an English Name