On 7 Jun 2007 10:15:57 -0700, Banty wrote:

In article , toypup says...

SIL has a foreign name which sounds fine here. When she went to the
country from which it origniates, the natives were puzzled, because it
would not be something anyone there would want to name their own child.
IL's found it amusing, because they were trying to give her a name related
to her roots. SIL has never felt saddled with that name, neither as an
adult nor as a child.

But it's a smaller and smaller world. I don't think it's a good idea to plead
ignorance, even ignorance of most folks in one's locale, in using a name from a
different culture. Even one's own ancestral culture.

Well, sometimes people know how it's supposed to be done in another locale
but just don't care? Heck, they don't care when it's not done in their own
locale. Just look at all those unique apellings. Eventually, it becomes
more acceptable.


Although the case you mention sounds more like maybe it was a matter of using a
rather old-fasioned or outmoded name or version of it... ?? If not, (or even if
so) see, something was lost in her being able to connect to her country of
ancestral origin because of this. Knowledge is a good thing, y'know.

Banty

I think it was a name for a river or something and people there didn't name
themselves after rivers. Actually, the name is very common here in
America. You wouldn't think it's a foreign name. It just was strange in
the country from which everyone "knows" it originates.

So, Joe may one day become a commmon name in China and no one there will a
rat's *ss there that it's not done that way here. And I don't think we'd
care much if somemone from there came over here calling himself Joe,
either. Do you?