Comments on: What’s in a name?

By: salmat

salmat — Sun, 05 Nov 2017 08:16:00 +0000

I recently read an article which suggested that having a name suggestive of a non-native English speaking background made HR professionals more accommodating of grammatical errors in emails. They judged these errors as ‘less bothersome’ than those of writers with names suggesting an Anglo background. I thought this was a promising sign that maybe the tide is turning in recruitment circles … although there was no indication as to whether they would be as likely to offer them a role.

Reference: Wolfe, J., Shanmugaraj, N. & Sipe, J. (2016). Grammatical versus pragmatic error: Employer perceptions of nonnative and native english speakers. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 79, (4), 397 – 415.

By: Natalia/Natasha/Natalie, where is your accent from? | NATALIA BALYASNIKOVA

Natalia/Natasha/Natalie, where is your accent from? | NATALIA BALYASNIKOVA — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 07:03:56 +0000

[…] this attitude. People fight for their names to keep their culture, ethnic names stand in the way of getting a good job and children are made fun of in schools because of their names. I am lucky, my name is so […]

By: The language cringe of the the native speaker | Language on the Move

The language cringe of the the native speaker | Language on the Move — Tue, 09 Jun 2015 23:30:07 +0000

[…] surname we could read humorous disparagement of her ability to pronounce it in the Italian way; in Australia foreign names are usually anglicised or pronounced in an English way. Both his lack of educational opportunity to study Italian and his Anglicized pronunciation cause […]

By: sofi Bai

sofi Bai — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 02:59:45 +0000

It’s interesting, Ingrid
I observed a quite different phenomenon in naming the child in the east part of Inner Mongolia. In 1980s there are so many Mongolians gave their children Chinese names in east part. However, especially since the 2000s , the Inner Mongolian parents are giving their children Mongolian names. Now, the great figures’ names from Mongolian epics and history are becoming popular. (of course, they never used Gingkhis Khan’s name)
I think the trend is correlated with the greater contexts there. In recent years, the Inner Mongolians are increasingly observing the traditional rites ( for example, many photos of Fire Worshipping ritual on yesterday evening in my We Chat), large scale celebration of Gingkhis Khan’s birthday from the west to east part of Inner Mongolia, also among the Inner Mongolians in diverse countries around the world. In general, it seems there is a resurgence of ethnic culture. However, I’m not so optimistic towards the future of maintaing the Mongol culture in Inner Mongolia as some Mongolians did.
In fact, this ‘resurgence’ is the reaction to and sign of loss of their culture and traditional lifestyles.

By: Sophia Williams

Sophia Williams — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 01:35:26 +0000

I heard about a research study in France in which the same resumes with different names were sent to employers. People with certain names had a higher chance of hearing back.

By: Kerry Taylor-Leech

Kerry Taylor-Leech — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 06:44:45 +0000

Wonderful piece Ingrid. These Aussie ideoscapes are indeed interesting. We might think of all the chatter about Julia Gillard’s red hair. However, as one Queenslander who has been badly affected by the Newman government, I was not so much interested in her name as in as the fact that Anita led such an articulate and effective campaign against a male-dominated government with an arrogant, bullying style. Plenty of other Queenslanders thought so too. A woman also trounced the state premier, Campbell Newman in his own seat, and we look set to gain two Indigenous MPs. Reasons to be cheerful 1, 2, 3!
All the best, Kerry

By: Andrew Casey

Andrew Casey — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 05:36:31 +0000

Funny you used my tweet as part of this interesting discussion. My family arrived from Hungary in the 1950s and my parents chose to change our surname when we got naturalised – so we could fit in.