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HelpRe: favourite japanese names eta
in reply to a message by Constant
I think, as a white British person, I have no right to make the decision as to what is and what isn't appropriation and simply mentioned it as a caution.
ETA
Surely you realise that this is to make the lives of those people from different countries easier so they don't have to spend time explaining to westerners, who really, probably, don't give a damn, how to pronounce Ghoncheh or Reyhangul. It's also a matter of assimilation. It shouldn't be, but it is. It's the same for my Eastern European friends who Anglicise the pronunciation of their names (what's so difficult about Dawid and Filip?) so as not to confuse the English people who are permanently wearing cultural blinkers.
Not as a whole, but individuals have been and are treated badly on a day to day basis in the west. Additionally, Asia, as an entire continent, has been and is racially taunted. And appropriation doesn't only occur and isn't only harmful to those who have been oppressed. It is harmful and, from what I've seen, really very offensive to knowingly borrow something from another culture without being completely aware of its significance. The west has not treated the rest of the world well. We should probably start improving that by considering that aspects of other cultures, including names, are not necessarily ours to have at just because we are exposed to them.
Sure, not every person of a different ethnicity will agree with this, and maybe some will take issue with the fact that I attempted to represent or defend this viewpoint, but, like I say, I think it's better to be safe than sorry.
For what it's worth, I probably wouldn't use the Eastern European names I posted about below, either.
Also, I feel like you made a lot of assumptions about my own personal opinions here...
Ottilie
http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/116467
http://www.babynames.com/namelist/9808453
ETA
Surely you realise that this is to make the lives of those people from different countries easier so they don't have to spend time explaining to westerners, who really, probably, don't give a damn, how to pronounce Ghoncheh or Reyhangul. It's also a matter of assimilation. It shouldn't be, but it is. It's the same for my Eastern European friends who Anglicise the pronunciation of their names (what's so difficult about Dawid and Filip?) so as not to confuse the English people who are permanently wearing cultural blinkers.
Not as a whole, but individuals have been and are treated badly on a day to day basis in the west. Additionally, Asia, as an entire continent, has been and is racially taunted. And appropriation doesn't only occur and isn't only harmful to those who have been oppressed. It is harmful and, from what I've seen, really very offensive to knowingly borrow something from another culture without being completely aware of its significance. The west has not treated the rest of the world well. We should probably start improving that by considering that aspects of other cultures, including names, are not necessarily ours to have at just because we are exposed to them.
Sure, not every person of a different ethnicity will agree with this, and maybe some will take issue with the fact that I attempted to represent or defend this viewpoint, but, like I say, I think it's better to be safe than sorry.
For what it's worth, I probably wouldn't use the Eastern European names I posted about below, either.
Also, I feel like you made a lot of assumptions about my own personal opinions here...
http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/116467
http://www.babynames.com/namelist/9808453
This message was edited 5/23/2015, 6:23 AM
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