I Named Two Chinese Children
Kinda cool, right?
I decided the hangover would have recovered by 12 p.m. I’d be able to enjoy Friday and get myself to my Saturday classes in good enough condition.
The training centre I worked for had:
. The whole lesson was planned.
. The book to read together.
. The vocabulary.
. The songs.
I had to present the lesson and add a few games in the mix.
It went fine.
After my class, someone called me into another class.
She showed me two kids that I hadn’t taught yet who were like 3 years old.
“We don’t have English names for these children yet. Can you think of names for them, please?”
Wow.
A little background here for those who don’t know.
The Chinese children in bilingual schools get an English name.
The children sometimes decide themselves!
I’ve met a few ‘Elsa’s because of the Frozen film). I also met an ‘Ultraman’ (a shocking Japanese superhero that seems to be big with Chinese children).
I knew the assignment.
Gesturing towards the first child.
“What’s his Chinese name?”
“Haoyu” — ‘How-Yoo’
A name that means ‘vast universe’.
I decided against direct translation.
“ermmmm, Harry!”.
“you like Harry?”. The kid nodded,
“What about her Chinese name?”.
“Daiyu” — ‘Die-yoo’
A name meaning ‘black jade’.
“Daisy!”.
Done.
I had given two Chinese children their English names.
While I never knew these children or even met them again, I found this cool.
Think about it…
Those children will likely go by that English name.
Their parents are paying for extra classes, they will be in the bilingual system.
Their English names will feature as much, if not more, than their Chinese names.
Even more, though.
If they ever relocated out of China, they would actually go with the English name that I gave them.
Unless they change it themselves, of course.
This is a moment that stuck with me a little. It was over two years ago, and I’ve not forgotten it.
How would you go about naming a Chinese child if you had the chance?
