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From: deb5@ellis.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff)
Subject: Re: Pronouncing your name in another language
Message-ID: <1995Jan13.032854.3025@midway.uchicago.edu>
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Reply-To: deb5@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago
References: <J8yYBWU.padrote@delphi.com> <3f0lem$394@mercury.kingston.ac.uk> <5y4bpeR.padrote@delphi.com>
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 1995 03:28:54 GMT
Lines: 15

	My last name is a tricky one for speakers of lots of languages.
When I studied Korean, I adopted a Korean name to avoid the awkwardsness
of being "Puriguhobu-ssi." One of the coolest things about writing one's
name in characters is that it has a distinct pronuciation in each of
the East Asian languages that uses them.  In Mandarin, I'm Liang Dawen.  
In Cantonese, Leong Daai-man.  Japanese, Hashi Daimon, and so on.

	Like Jane/Jeanne said, it does take some doing to convince native 
speakers you really prefer the "nativised" version.  I'd much rather adopt 
a whole new name or nickname than have my original one deformed by the 
phonotactics of another language.  
-- 
	 Daniel "Da" von Brighoff    /\          Dilettanten
	(deb5@midway.uchicago.edu)  /__\         erhebt Euch
				   /____\      gegen die Kunst!
