In Spanish class, we get Spanish names and can choose what we’d like to be called from a list. I’m Francisca (or Paca) because it’s similar to Francesca, my online name.
In French class i chose “Guy” from the list because I thought it sounded cool, but then found out they pronounce it like “ghee” which didn’t sound as cool. Malheureusement.
I’ve never heard of someone getting a nickname in their language class. We used our real names (French class).
Is this some american thing? I’ve never heard of anyone having a different name for a language class, that just seems odd to me. Your name is your name, doesn’t matter what language you’re speaking.
My name is French, but my initials are close to an English name (and that’s my everyday nickname as well).
So it was easy to get an English nickname.
Back like 7 years ago, in my German classes, we were given a list of names to choose from. Don’t exactly remember what I chose, but I think it started with an F and was 5 letters long? Liked it quite a bit.
In the Japanese classes I took 2 years ago we were given the choice of picking a Japanese name, but most, including me, rolled with a transliteration of their own name.
We never had different names in language classes and the idea is so weird to me. My name is my name, I don’t introduce myself with a different name when I go to Italy or Spain.
Spanish speaker here, Franciscas most commonly are called Pancha instead of Paca
That must have been what I meant then, thanks!
We got to pick, though most people stuck with the closest version to their real name. I did.
But we could pick any name, if qe wanted, which was pretty cool
We just used our regular names!
At least in Brazil we use our names, sometimes with the pronunciation in the language we’re studying. No need to use a foreign name.
Spanish: we got to choose, most people chose something close to their real name
Mandarin: my teacher’s Taiwanese wife painstakingly came up with names for us that were close-sounding, or at the very least had the same first letters. It was very cool of her to do
That reminds me of my (Scottish) cousin’s marriage to his Korean wife. The place settings at the dinner had transliterated versions of our names in to Hangul. I’m sure it was largely done for the non-English speakers present but I thought it was a really nice touch.
It was really interesting to observe how some names could be approximated with a single character whilst others (including myself) had to be brute forced with 4+.
In all language classes I’ve been a part of we just used our names lol :3
We used our regular names.
Most people chose their name, sometimes choosing a name similar to their real name, sometimes choosing completely different names. The only time I saw someone assigned a name was when their name conflicted with another student’s.
Spanish: pick your own name
Japanese: must use the Japanese-ified version of your name, eg Smith -> Sumisu, and people will usually refer to you by last name.In retrospect, it was kinda strange to pick names in Spanish. It would be really strange / unacceptable to just pick a random Japanese name for yourself, and I’ve heard that it’s really rude to pick a name for yourself in American Sign Language. I wonder why it’s so widely accepted to do so for Spanish.
Why would it be rude? Who’s gate keeping the names?
You do not invent your own name sign. Name signs may only be given by a person in the Deaf community. Some hearing people (like interpreters and teachers) mistakenly give name signs without realizing they are in violation of Deaf culture traditions. However, a name sign cannot be assigned by a hearing person.
American Sign Language has deep cultural and linguistic significance. Typically, it is not until you are involved in the community that you are given a name sign. In fact, not everyone within the Deaf community has a name sign.
From article
It’s like a cultural thing. This still doesn’t really answer why it’s like that in the first place, but I think in general the reason it feels inappropriate to name yourself in another language is that it feels “cringe” for lack of a better word. Somebody picks a name that has all kinds of cultural and colloquial associations without understanding them at all.
That’s kinda my theory of cultural appropriation; it’s not wrong because of some deep ethical reason, but rather it’s just often uncool. People sending signals that they don’t understand themselves.
