The other morning I did a quick check of Facebook to check on the latest news and saw an announcement that deeply saddened me. I thought about why I felt they way I did and gradually began to understand. Let me try to explain.
If you go to the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary and look up the definition for opportunity you will find that it means “a favorable juncture of circumstances” or “a good chance for advancement or progress.” For an English speaker there is more associated with that word than just a word definition. There may be experience that could include various forms of emotion and memory. When someone says “opportunity” something is brought to life concerning associations to the word.
In Facebook, Julia, a good friend of mine who I profiled last year in a blog entry, announced that she had changed her English name. At that moment I realized that I had nothing to identify with her new name. It was a word that when connected to her was empty. All that was associated with the name Julia did not transfer to the new name. In fact nothing transferred and I was left with the feeling that I had lost a dear friend. Others at the coffee shop felt the same way and that is when I realized why I find it so difficult switching from Emmy to Jiajing. Emmy and Jiajing are two words, two names that I will always associate with this one person. Just like I can never erase the meaning associated with the word “opportunity,” neither will I be able to transfer all that is associated with Emmy to Jiajing and cause Emmy to become empty of meaning. I just can’t do it because now both names have special memories to me.
As I thought more about this I realized something that Chinese don’t understand this when they adopt an English name. To them the English name means little and they might change it at will. Their Chinese name is what is important to them, and rightly so, but, to the ones they introduce themselves to with the English name, it becomes a word that will contain a living expression of the person to those who will use the name as an identifier of the person. Just as the Chinese name is important to the Chinese person, the English name becomes equally important to those who know the person and are told to call them by that name.
I shared this with Julia and the next day she changed her name back to Julia and I felt that I had my friend back. I am glad she changed her name because it allowed the opportunity to see that the English name does hold great value to those given the name as an identifier when being introduced. It is not just an empty label, but is a word that grows with fullness in the mind and heart of the one who uses it as an identifier as the relationship grows.
Understanding this gives me a fresh topic for discussion at the coffee shop. I can’t wait to see what the conversation will be like. How will other Chinese react when I talk about my reaction?
If you go to the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary and look up the definition for opportunity you will find that it means “a favorable juncture of circumstances” or “a good chance for advancement or progress.” For an English speaker there is more associated with that word than just a word definition. There may be experience that could include various forms of emotion and memory. When someone says “opportunity” something is brought to life concerning associations to the word.
In Facebook, Julia, a good friend of mine who I profiled last year in a blog entry, announced that she had changed her English name. At that moment I realized that I had nothing to identify with her new name. It was a word that when connected to her was empty. All that was associated with the name Julia did not transfer to the new name. In fact nothing transferred and I was left with the feeling that I had lost a dear friend. Others at the coffee shop felt the same way and that is when I realized why I find it so difficult switching from Emmy to Jiajing. Emmy and Jiajing are two words, two names that I will always associate with this one person. Just like I can never erase the meaning associated with the word “opportunity,” neither will I be able to transfer all that is associated with Emmy to Jiajing and cause Emmy to become empty of meaning. I just can’t do it because now both names have special memories to me.
As I thought more about this I realized something that Chinese don’t understand this when they adopt an English name. To them the English name means little and they might change it at will. Their Chinese name is what is important to them, and rightly so, but, to the ones they introduce themselves to with the English name, it becomes a word that will contain a living expression of the person to those who will use the name as an identifier of the person. Just as the Chinese name is important to the Chinese person, the English name becomes equally important to those who know the person and are told to call them by that name.
I shared this with Julia and the next day she changed her name back to Julia and I felt that I had my friend back. I am glad she changed her name because it allowed the opportunity to see that the English name does hold great value to those given the name as an identifier when being introduced. It is not just an empty label, but is a word that grows with fullness in the mind and heart of the one who uses it as an identifier as the relationship grows.
Understanding this gives me a fresh topic for discussion at the coffee shop. I can’t wait to see what the conversation will be like. How will other Chinese react when I talk about my reaction?
