what's in name relc workshop
DESCRIPTION
RELC WorkshopTRANSCRIPT
What's in a Name A Photostory Project on
Ethnic Names for EFL students
Aiden YehWenzao Ursuline College of Languages
Workshop Presented at the World Englishes II Seminar
RELC, SingaporeFebruary 2007
What’s it all about?- demonstrates a task-based photostory proj
ect aimed at helping EFL students reflect on the meanings of their ethnic/English names and the culturally-imposed roles associated with them.
- and student-produced photostory will be presented.
Why does a person’s name matter?
• How important is it?
• Why?
A person’s name is important because…
• It represents your – Identity– Ethnicity– Nationality– Gender
• It is easier to trace family history
• Naming is closely tied with power--whoever is in power gets to name things and people.
• taking a husband's name and dropping yours is closely tied to entering into his family history and losing yours. – Many Taiwanese married women choose to k
eep their maiden name
How about you?
• Female: Would you give up your name and take your husband-to-be’s name? Why?
• Male: Would you like your future wife to carry your name? Why?
Is your name prone to…
• Misspelling
• Mispronunciation
• Confusion
Who’s Hu?
• Before we watch this short video clip, let’s see how much you know who’s who in world politics?
Hu, Jintao (President of China)
George Bush (President of the U.S.)
Condoleeza Rice, Secretary of State, U.S.
Koffi Annan, United Nations Secretary General
Yasser Arafat, former President of the Palestinian National Authority (1929-2004)
Who’s Hu?
Let’s do a quick survey• Who gave you your ethnic name?• Do you know what your ethnic name
stands for?• Aside from your ethnic (Chinese,
Malaysian, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, etc.) names, how many of you carry/have English names?
• Who gave you your English name?• Do you know what your English name
means?
The truth of the matter is…• For many EFL students, choosing an English name
could be difficult. • It is sometimes left for teachers to decide. • English names are given based on factors such as:
the sound of students’ ethnic names, spelling, and character, etc.
• students choose their own English names based o
n personal whims, so names like Rabbit, Fish, Eeyore, Bunny, etc. have become common, especially for young adults.
Tiger?
• EFL students sometimes do
not realize the importance of one’s name and what it means to a person with
individual characteristics.
Onomastics
• the branch of lexicology that studies the forms and origins of proper name, and naming practices.
Crystal, D. 1999. A Dictionary of Language. 2nd Ed. P. 241 Chicago University Press
Greek Origins
• The word is derived from the Greek word ὄνομα (onoma), meaning name.
• Toponymy or toponomastics, the study of place names, is one of the principal branches of onomastics.
• Anthroponomastics is the study of personal names.
Crystal, D. 2003. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language 2nd Edition, p141
Name Order
• Most of Western culture uses the name order indicated by the common synonymous phrases "first name" for personal name and "last name" or "surname" for family name. However, this is inconsistent with traditional East Asian and Hungarian usages, which place the family name before the personal name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onomastics
Structure of Names
Henning, J. 2005. http://www.langmaker.com/ml0103a.htm
Structure of Names
Henning, J. 2005, http://www.langmaker.com/ml0103a.htm
History of Surnames
• In Europe, surnames began to be used in the 12th century, but it took several centuries before the majority of Europeans had one. The primary purpose of the surname was to further distinguish people from one another. In the 13th century about a third of the male population was named William, Richard or John .
Campbell, M. 2006. http://surnames.behindthename.com/intro.php
History of SurnamesTo uniquely identify them, people began
referring to different Williams as William the son of Andrew (leading to Anderson), William the cook (leading to Cook), William from the river (leading to Rivers), William the brown-haired (leading to Brown), and so on. Eventually these surnames became inherited, being passed from parents to children.
Campbell, M. 2006. http://surnames.behindthename.com/intro.php
Four Categories• Surnames derived from First Names include J
ohnson, Williams, and Thompson. Most often they are patronymic, referring to a male ancestor, but occasionally they are matronymic.
• Occupational surnames refer to the occupation of the bearer. Examples include Smith, Clark, and Wright.
• Locational or Topographic surnames are derived from the place that the bearer lived. Examples include Hill, Woods, and Ford.
• Surnames derived from Nicknames include White, Young, and Long.
In the Name of the Father
Robertson
Jefferyson/
Jefferson
Henning, J. 2005. http://www.langmaker.com/ml0103a.htm
Fitz
• Fitz- (as in Fitzgerald) is Old French for "son of", though it was typically used to mean "illegitimate son of".
• "son of a Fitz“ (?)
Henning, J. 2005, http://www.langmaker.com/ml0103a.htm
Your Turn• Share with us the etymology (meaning
and/or history) of your name– Ethnic name– English name
Get a Chinese Name, http://www.mandarintools.com/chinesename.html
Sydney Gonzales
Sydney Villegas
Photostory Project
• Each photostory is about 3-5 minutes long. The film contains a student's interpretation of his/her Chinese/English name, what it means (literally) and what it means to him/her and how it has affected his/her personality, character and well-being.
Learner Support
• Online links on using different media tools i.e. Powerpoint, MovieMaker posted on the class blog
http://lc2006.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html
Links:
http://lc2006.blogspot.com
http://lc2006.pbwiki.com
http://yehlanguageandculture.blogspot.com/