2. The use of English names by Chinese speakers
Simon Cotterill
Friday 5 April

3. ‘Chinese speakers’ = a form of Chinese is L1
‘English names’ = yingwen mingzi
Inc. Pedro, Yuki, Golf, Celery
Definitions

4. How names are used within Chinese culture
This session will briefly look at:
How names are used within Chinese culture
Past research into why English names are adopted
Past research on how English names are selected
Overview

5. Factors influencing whether an English name is adopted
This session will report on an investigation into:
Factors influencing whether an English name is adopted
Factors influencing which name is chosen
Experiences of the minority who do not adopt English names
330 Chinese-speaking students at UK HEIs surveyed
& 8 students not using an English name interviewed
Overview

6. How names are used within Chinese culture
Names in Chinese culture
- Two or three characters
e.g. 陳豪 Chen Hao
李雨庭 Li Yu Ting
How names are used within Chinese culture

7. How names are used within Chinese culture
Names in Chinese culture
Selection based on meaning, not association
e.g. 陳豪 Chen Hao (Hao = Brave)
李雨庭 Li Yu Ting (Yu = Rain, Ting = Courtyard)
- Freer choice of names
How names are used within Chinese culture

8. How names are used within Chinese culture
Names in Chinese culture
- Use of given names differs significantly to English
- Depends on relationship between two speakers
- Given names are rarely used without modification
e.g. Chen Hao  Xiao Hao (Lil’ Hao)
Li Yu Ting  Ting Ting, Ting Zai (Baby Ting)
How names are used within Chinese culture

9. How names are used within Chinese culture
Names in Chinese culture
- Professional titles often replace given names
e.g. Lao Ban (Boss) She Ji Shi (Designer)
Lao Shi (Teacher) Tong Xue (Student)
How names are used within Chinese culture

10. How names are used within Chinese culture
Names in Chinese culture
- Kinship terms often replace given names
e.g. meimei (Younger sister), shushu (Uncle)
How names are used within Chinese culture

11. Why English names are adopted
- Used in diasporic communities for many years
- Increasingly used as more Ch. speakers study overseas
- Strong association with classroom-based interaction
Why English names are adopted

12. Why English names are adopted
- English language teachers considered instrumental (Edwards, 2006)
- Evidence that Chinese speakers sometimes adopt English names reluctantly (Edwards, 2006; Li, 1997)
Why English names are adopted

13. Why English names are adopted
Students expect Chinese names are:
- Difficult to pronounce
(Ghosh and Wang, 2003; Gilks, 2014; McPherron, 2009)
Create psychological distance with teachers
(Sercombe et al., 2014)
Why English names are adopted

14. Why English names are adopted
Students expect English names allow:
- Easier classroom interaction (Li et al., 2007)
Projection of personal characteristics (Cheang, 2008)
Indication of English ability (Bloomaert & Backus, 2011)
Why English names are adopted

15. Which English names are adopted
- Choices can be surprising
e.g. Money, Medusa, Dragon
Should teachers advise against ‘inappropriate choices’?
Which English names are adopted

16. Research findings Inference:
At least 69,122 Chinese-speaking students in UK adopt English names
Based 95,090 Chinese students (HESA, 2018)
Research findings

17. Research findings

18. Inference:
At least 22,119 Chinese-speaking students currently using an English name would prefer not to
Research findings

19. Inference:
At least 12,974 Chinese-speaking students currently using an English name would prefer teachers to go by a Chinese name other than their given name
Research findings

20. Comments:
‘My mother chose it for me’; ‘A family member gave it to me’; ‘Picked from a dictionary myself’; ‘I chose it at language school when I was little’.
Research findings

21. 17,309 Chinese-speaking students in UK do not adopt English names
Inference:
17,309 Chinese-speaking students in UK do not adopt English names
Research findings

22. Comments:
‘I feel only Chinese name is my real name’; ‘The pronunciation of my Chinese name is easy for teachers’; ‘My English name is not on the paper of tutorials’.
Research findings

23. - Felt decision should be left to the individual
All 8 interviewees:
- Initial discomfort being in minority
- Did not reconsider decision not to use English name
- Felt decision should be left to the individual
Research findings

24. Interviewees’ experiences varied in relation to:
- Extent they felt expected to use an English name
- Comfort/Discomfort toward Chinese name being used
- Form of their Chinese name used
Research findings

25. Taking a presessional course influenced interviewees’ feeling that they were expected to use of English name
- 5 interviewees taking/taken presessional all felt they had to assert decision not to use an English name
- 2 interviewees who did not do presessional had never been asked for an English name
Research findings

26. Initial discomfort soon eased
Taking a presessional course influenced interviewees’ feeling that they were expected to use of English name
Yang:
I didn’t like being only one without an English name in my class at first.
…but everything was strange when I arrived. I got used to living in the UK and I became comfortable in my class quickly.
Zhou:
I was worried when my teacher asked us to give our English name one by one, six or seven others had given the teacher an English name, so I started to think I should make one up quickly, but I just said I don’t have one.
…I was happy when the teacher seemed not to mind.
Initial discomfort soon eased
Research findings

27. Some interviewees reported discomfort with Chinese given name being used
Li:
Most people did have difficulty in getting my Chinese name in the first place. However, they would totally accept it afterwards. I must add one point here: at first I felt a bit uncomfortable letting people call me my given-name. In China people always call me by my full name. Calling people by their first name, especially when it only has one character, sounds too intimate.
Research findings

28. Some interviewees reported comfort with Chinese given name being used
Chen:
My teachers say my name differently to the way my parents do, so it’s different. Not awkward.
Wang:
My teacher is the only person who calls by my given name. My parents use a nickname, like my friends.
Research findings

29. Some interviewees reported comfort with only part of Chinese given name being used
Xiuying:
My parents and friends call me like ‘Ying Ying’ or ‘sister Ying’, so it seems normal when my teachers here say ‘Ying’, though they pronounce it differently. It would be strange for people to call me ‘Xiuying’. No one calls me this really.
Research findings

30. Pronunciation may have been a factor in preference for part of name to be used
Xiuying:
My parents and friends call me like ‘Ying Ying’ or ‘sister Ying’, so it seems normal when my teachers here say ‘Ying’, though they pronounce it differently. It would be strange for people to call me ‘Xiuying’. No one calls me this really.
….saying ‘Xiuying’ would also probably be too difficult. Chinese names are very difficult for English people to say.
Research findings

31. Pronunciation = factor in comfort levels of 7 interviewees
Chen:
My teacher seemed quite happy when she read my name out. She could say it well. So I decided that I did not need to use an English name.
Zhou: My teachers sometimes seem uncomfortable when they try to read my name out. But when I say it to them, they seem happier. They are always happy to use it afterwards.
But Ss’ comfort relates to Ts’ comfort, not accuracy, in pronouncing
Research findings

32. Implications for practice
Ts dealing with Chinese-speaking students should be aware of significant role they play
Many students who adopt an English name would prefer to use a Chinese name
The Chinese name they would prefer used may not be given name
Implications for practice

33. Implications for practice
Benefit in giving Ss a chance to discuss name used
Benefit in giving Ss a chance to change name used
Implications for practice

34. Areas for future research
Impact of delivery mode on name used
Impact of changing trends in Chinese speaking world
Impact on Romanisation method
Areas for future research