What's in a Name A Photostory Project on

Ethnic Names for EFL students

Aiden YehWenzao Ursuline College of Languages

Workshop Presented at the World Englishes II Seminar

RELC, SingaporeFebruary 2007

What’s it all about?- demonstrates a task-based photostory proj

ect aimed at helping EFL students reflect on the meanings of their ethnic/English names and the culturally-imposed roles associated with them.

- and student-produced photostory will be presented.

Let’s do a quick survey

• Aside from your ethnic (Chinese, Malaysian, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, etc.) names, how many of you carry/have English names?

• Do you know what your ethnic name stands for?

• Do you know what your English name means?

• Who gave you your ethnic name?• Who gave you your English name?

The truth of the matter is…• For many EFL students, choosing an English name

could be difficult. • It is sometimes left for teachers to decide. • English names are given based on factors such as:

the sound of students’ ethnic names, spelling, and character, etc.

• students choose their own English names based o

n personal whims, so names like Rabbit, Fish, Eeyore, Bunny, etc. have become common, especially for young adults.

Tiger?

• EFL students sometimes do

not realize the importance of one’s name and what it means to a person with

individual characteristics.

Onomastics

• the branch of lexicology that studies the forms and origins of proper name, and naming practices.

Crystal, D. 1999. A Dictionary of Language. 2nd Ed. P. 241 Chicago University Press

Greek Origins

• The word is derived from the Greek word ὄνομα (onoma), meaning name.

• Toponymy or toponomastics, the study of place names, is one of the principal branches of onomastics.

• Anthroponomastics is the study of personal names.

Crystal, D. 2003. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language 2nd Edition, p141

Name Order

• Most of Western culture uses the name order indicated by the common synonymous phrases "first name" for personal name and "last name" or "surname" for family name. However, this is inconsistent with traditional East Asian and Hungarian usages, which place the family name before the personal name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onomastics

Structure of Names

Henning, J. 2005. http://www.langmaker.com/ml0103a.htm

Structure of Names

Henning, J. 2005, http://www.langmaker.com/ml0103a.htm

History of Surnames

• In Europe, surnames began to be used in the 12th century, but it took several centuries before the majority of Europeans had one. The primary purpose of the surname was to further distinguish people from one another. In the 13th century about a third of the male population was named William, Richard or John .

Campbell, M. 2006. http://surnames.behindthename.com/intro.php

History of SurnamesTo uniquely identify them, people began

referring to different Williams as William the son of Andrew (leading to Anderson), William the cook (leading to Cook), William from the river (leading to Rivers), William the brown-haired (leading to Brown), and so on. Eventually these surnames became inherited, being passed from parents to children.

Campbell, M. 2006. http://surnames.behindthename.com/intro.php

Four Categories• Surnames derived from First Names include J

ohnson, Williams, and Thompson. Most often they are patronymic, referring to a male ancestor, but occasionally they are matronymic.

• Occupational surnames refer to the occupation of the bearer. Examples include Smith, Clark, and Wright.

• Locational or Topographic surnames are derived from the place that the bearer lived. Examples include Hill, Woods, and Ford.

• Surnames derived from Nicknames include White, Young, and Long.

In the Name of the Father

Robertson

Jefferyson/

Jefferson

Henning, J. 2005. http://www.langmaker.com/ml0103a.htm

Fitz

• Fitz- (as in Fitzgerald) is Old French for "son of", though it was typically used to mean "illegitimate son of".

• "son of a Fitz“ (?)

Henning, J. 2005, http://www.langmaker.com/ml0103a.htm

Your Turn• Share with us the etymology (meaning

and/or history) of your name– Ethnic name– English name

Campbell, M. 2006. http://surnames.behindthename.com/

Get a Chinese Name, http://www.mandarintools.com/chinesename.html

Photostory Project

• Each photostory is about 3-5 minutes long. The film contains a student's interpretation of his/her Chinese/English name, what it means (literally) and what it means to him/her and how it has affected his/her personality, character and well-being.

Learner Support

• Online links on using different media tools i.e. Powerpoint, MovieMaker posted on the class blog

http://lc2006.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html

Links:

http://lc2006.blogspot.com

http://lc2006.pbwiki.com

http://yehlanguageandculture.blogspot.com/