There are a myriad of reasons why a name becomes a crucial identity for many people. It is because they believe that a name can give power, authority, allegiances, and other special values. In many African countries such as Ghana and Nigeria or Asian countries such as Myanmar, the naming ceremony for a newborn baby is very special for the baby and the family. Even the entire society may become involved in celebrating it. People believe a name will bring the prestigious culture values to the baby that will allow him or her to fit well in the society. A name can serve a variety of purposes. It allows many people to connect with their important culture heritage, and facilitate assimilation in the society; yet, for some people, certain issues such as social or political pressure can cause them to choose one over the other.
One can exploit a name in the assimilation to a new culture. For instance, English names are used as a tool to identify blacks as Americans. In Itabari Njeri’s essay “What’s in a Name,” she argues, “blacks [who achieved freedom] chose common English names such as Jones, Scott, and Johnson … they wanted names that would allow them to assimilate as easily as possible (50).” Through their new adopted English names, Black people show the society that English is their language and America is their home. The American society could no longer differentiate blacks just from the names. For these blacks, they abandon their cultural history over assimilation.
Nevertheless, unlike other blacks, Njeri changed her name from Jill Lord to Itabari Nijeri, a name that is connected to her African heritage. She suggests, “We [blacks who adopted English surnames] are the legal as well as ‘illegitimate’ heirs to the names Jefferson, ...
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...es may probably distinguish my cultural background from my name.
In conclusion, a name can portray one’s ties to a certain culture heritage as well as assist in better assimilation in the new culture and society. Both Njeri and Crasta believe that a name sends messages to the society about what kind of cultural values a person possesses. Certain political problems and social influences cause many people to be bewildered about whether to choose culture or assimilation. However, one has to choose a name that will balance both so that the society can understand his or her bond to the culture as well as the attempt to fit well in the society.
Works Cited
Crasta, Richard. “What’s In a Name?” The Politics of Language. Northampton: Davis, 2011. 53-54. Print.
Njeri, Itabari. “What’s In a Name?” The Politics of Language. Northampton: Davis, 2011. 50-52. Print.
...o assimilate into the society by entering school with a more acceptable name, but Gogol refuses. The acceptance of the society has pressured him to change his name in college, and to hide Gogol from the society. Till the day Gogol understands the reason why his father chose to name him Gogol instead of an Indian or American name, Gogol experienced a lot of changes, as a second generation American immigrant. Gogol has been assimilated to different culture than he ethnically is. At the end, through family, Gogol has come back to his roots. Gogol was not given an Indian name from his Indian family or an American name as he was born in America, to emphasize an individual try to assimilate into a different culture, but in the end, he is still bonded to his roots as the person he ethnically is.
There are many reasons why people may feel self-conscious; in which, others may or may not, be able to relate to. “My Name’’ is the fourth chapter in The House on Mango Street and in this chapter, Esperanza and I share some similarities. Being named after a relative, born in the Chinese year of the horse, and a dislike in our own name are similarities we share in this chapter. [Esperanza] “In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means to many letters’’(10). Esperanza expresses a dislike in her name due to the length stating, that her name it is too long. When I was younger, I felt the same as my parents placed upon me three middle names at birth. I to felt my name was too long. I would feel embarrassed when my family would address me by my full name although, they would only do so if I was
“Be who want to be,create a name for yourself”(Unknown). Being one is the greatest gift to society. Creating a name for one is important and key to striving in throughout society. A name will never define someone as a person. The person will define the name. The article “ ‘Black’ Names: A Resume Burden?” by Bootie Cosgrove- Mathers discusses, the burden many parents of color face when choosing their child 's name. The stereotypes set out throughout society on if a parent of color should name their children “black” sounding names is significant. Parents of color should name their children “black” sounding names to embrace their black identity, bring across equality, and end the negative stereotypes that come with “black” sounding names.
names are prevented from being able to reassimilate within society, they are the outcasts. It also
People from foreign ethnic group have names that is difficult to pronounce for native people. A typical response they get when they introduce themselves is a curious look and subsequently a question-- How do you pronounce your name again? The way a name is pronounced, it can shape how individuals see us and define our accomplishments. When an ethnic name is Americanized or changed or given nickname, it can change how people view his/her identity. Even in the job market, the employer is likely to hire candidate like them and sometime they judge a pool of potential candidates with the familiarity of name. As name can be connection to self identity and related to ancestry, people should not be biased based on name and how it is pronounced; people
Many people in America want to assimilate to the U.S. because they think that being American is a better option. People such as the Italians in the 1870s tried to assimilate in order to become an American to not become an enemy in the U.S. Also, the Mexicans today are constantly coming to the U.S. to have a better life because they know being American is the best solution for their problems at home. What assimilation mean is when a person leaves one’s own culture to join a different culture the person wants to be. For the purpose of this essay, an American is a person who has commitment to succeed in what one wants, able to speak english, to love the pop culture in the U.S. at the time one is living such as the hit songs, games, T.V. shows, etc. but not to other cultures, and be a citizen in America. People throughout history must assimilate to become a true American
One’s power and position in a society can give them the “right” or ability to name or un-name a person. Someone can gain this right by his or her status socially, financially, and even racially. If it’s their own child, of course, they have every right in the world to name him or her. But in some cultures, as is evident in “No Name Woman”, they have the right to take away someone’s name if they have disgraced their family and/or community. A name is very significant because it gives a person a sense of who they are, an identity. In “No Name Woman”, Kingston’s aunt had no identity except for the story her mother told her and in “Mary” Marguerite’s new boss, Mrs. Cullinan changed her name to Mary which then, in a way, removed Marguerite’s original identity and gave her a new one, one she didn’t want.
Developing a face within a new environment is challenging. Which in many cases can be a result in an identity crisis, which is defined to be, a period of uncertainty and confusion in which a person's sense of identity becomes insecure, typically due to a change in their expected aims or role in society. Although the move to America is for a positive gain there are also some negative effects inflicted upon the lives of immigrants. Being faced discrimination, possibilities of poverty and broken homes immigrants still make the decision to place themselves self in subsequent societies. Melissa L. Curtin stresses the sensitivities of “Coculturation: Toward A Critical Theoretical Framework of Cultural Adjustment” as well as highlighting the discourses of assimilation and theories of coculturation/acculturation.
“Choosing My Name” by Puanani Burgress is a poem that reflects Burgess idea of her identity and how it is related with her different names. Despite having three different names Chirstabella , Yoshie and Puanani, she particularly likes identifying herself as Puanani although it is not her “official name”. Strange as it sounds, I aslo have three different names: Basanta, Kancho, Xxxxxx. My third name Xxxxxx is my cultural name that I cannot disclose thus I have decided to write it Xxxxxx as it is made up of six letters. Xxxxxx is my favorite and preferred name because it connects me to my family, my culture and my land.
One’s identity is influenced by many things. It’s something that one has a choice of what he wants to become. One has a personal choice as to what identity he possesses; for instance, he can choose what he likes, who he wishes to be friends with, and what he wears. After all, “Fashion is an expression of personal identity” (Latterell 11). Queen Latifah states, “All things start inside your soul and work outward” meaning that it is one’s choice as to what he lets work its way out (Latifah 34). People have even made personal choices that affect their identity by changing their name. Just as Firoozeh Dumas describes in The “F Word”, “Thus I started sixth grade with my new, easy name and life became infinitely simpler” (Dumas 86). People made fun of Dumas’ name, Firoozeh, and thus made her want to change her name to fit in; she changed her identity. An identity is mainly comprised of personal choice.
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...of the United States not for the battles and politics, but for the transformation and complexity of language that occurred through the centuries. “I eulogize a literature that is suffused with brown, with allusion, irony, paradox-ha! -pleasure,” (Preface, xi).
In Johnson’s preface to A Dictionary of the English Language, Johnson argues the importance of preserving language. Other dialects had a produced their own dictionaries, such as the French and Italians. Various writers of the eighteenth century were alarmed at the fact that there was no standard for the English language, since there was no standard it could easily become extinct. Johnson explored many points, such as how and why languages change as well as how many words are formed.
I have read an account called " 'What's in a Name? " ", which is composed by Henry Louis Gates. This account demonstrates to us a youth experience of the creator that happened amid the mid-1950s. In the article, Gates alludes to an occurrence when a white man, Mr. Wilson, who was well disposed with his dad, called his dad "George", a name which was a prominent method for alluding to African Americans in those circumstances. In any case, Gates' dad needed to acknowledge this separation and couldn't make a move around then. By utilizing sentiment to bring out individuals' enthusiastic reaction, and utilizing suggestion, Gates effectively communicates his claim that name shapes individuals' discernments
The hardships to fit in America as an immigrant are possessed in The Namesake written by Jhumpa Lahiri. Gogol, the main character, struggles to uphold the traditions his parents expect him to follow. “Its not the type of thing Bengali wives do- a husband’s name is something intimate and therefore unspoken, cleverly patched over” states Ashima. (Lahiri 2) This statement made by Ashima exemplifies the importance of private life and feelings to Bengali families. In this culture family and close friends use a pet name then everyone else uses another name. Gogol is given an unusual pet name as his real name because his grandmother’s letter with his real name has not arrived. This is probably because it is a typical Indian name not an American name. He dislikes his current name and starts to reject the name in his teens. Later on, while in college he is only known as Nikhil, which is a more usual name. This puts him in an identity crisis. “Individual names are sacred, inviolable. They are not meant to be inherited or shared.” (Lahiri 28) Although this is true, Gogal and the children in America are embarrassed by their differences instead of appreciating them. In college, Gogol finds a girlfriend who is an American but his parents disapprove. They disapprove because she is not Indian. Gogal finds an American girlfriend because he wants to fit...