North Texas Republican asks Asian-Americans to change their names

[AOII Angel]

I think my married name is one of the hardest names for people to pronounce since it's made up to try and fit a more "American" ideal. My father-in-law came over from Greece and changed his name from a Tz letter combination to a Dj letter combination thinking that people would be able to pronounce it better. Epic Fail! He should have just kept the original spelling...now it just looks made up!

My maiden name is actually no better. Fried. It's pronounced Freed not fried. Maybe people could figure that out if they'd left the "e" at the end like it was originally. Friede would probably make people think twice.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Bottom line the idea for such a bill is a total waste.

Poll workers are not paid enough to know how to pronounce someone's name.

Hell, most people can't even pronounce NOR spell my last name correctly, as long as they can match my ID up to my voting records should be sufficient.

I would be insulted as all hell if someone asked me to change my last name so THEY could understand it.

Yeah, the whole thing is pretty ridiculous. It's surprising the woman even felt it was OK to introduce the concept in public - even racists know that they're not supposed to be about that in public.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by KSig RC

Yeah, the whole thing is pretty ridiculous. It's surprising the woman even felt it was OK to introduce the concept in public - even racists know that they're not supposed to be about that in public.

Coincidentally her and Sheila Lee both rep Texas....LOL

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

I think my married name is one of the hardest names for people to pronounce since it's made up to try and fit a more "American" ideal. My father-in-law came over from Greece and changed his name from a Tz letter combination to a Dj letter combination thinking that people would be able to pronounce it better. Epic Fail! He should have just kept the original spelling...now it just looks made up!

My maiden name is actually no better. Fried. It's pronounced Freed not fried. Maybe people could figure that out if they'd left the "e" at the end like it was originally. Friede would probably make people think twice.

But then how many people would try to pronounce it as "Friday"?

[UGAalum94]

I don't think people should have to change their names, but it also seems like they could consistently use one legal spelling on all state documents. Did I misunderstand what the difference between their "legal transliterated names and the English name shown on their driver's licenses" meant?

[DaemonSeid]

I have another question...

Why is the bill only profiling Asians?

[PM_Mama00]

Originally Posted by LucyKKG

.....Who asks an entire culture to change their names? That's like when 19th C immigrants felt they had to change their names to assimilate...except in this case, an official asked them to do it. So backwards!!!....

Actually it was still happening in the 20th century when immigrants were come over. Officials at Ellis Island forced them to. It wasn't a matter of "Do you want to change it?" My family didn't have to change their names which surprises me, but my mother did change hers to the American version of her original name. A friend of mine, who's family also came from Italy, were forced to change their last name. The original was Romano... for some reason they thought that was too Italian so they changed it to something that still sounded Italian. That's how a lot of families had different last names from each other.

Obviously America (in general) is more accepting of different cultures moreso now than they were back then so yes a comment about Asians changing their names is ridiculous.

[DiamondAthena]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Coincidentally her and Sheila Lee both rep Texas....LOL

Damn not another dumb ass Texan!!

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what these poll workers have to do, but isn't it just a matter of typing the name verbatim as it is on the voter registration card?

But I do agree that everyone should be required to use the same name on all documentation, if you're going to assimilate, go all the way...

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

But then how many people would try to pronounce it as "Friday"?

I'd take it! Trust me, I've heard worse. One of the secretaries in my Gen Surgery program would type my name "Fired" on our weekly list of cases. I started to get a complex! I've answered to Fried Chicken my entire life so Friday would be a welcome change. Of course, I used to tell people I was going to marry someone named Rice so I could be Dr. Fried-Rice!

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

I don't think people should have to change their names, but it also seems like they could consistently use one legal spelling on all state documents. Did I misunderstand what the difference between their "legal transliterated names and the English name shown on their driver's licenses" meant?

This is what I was thinking, too. I run into this all the time, but not just with Asians...with Indians and Middle Easterners, too. Their born name may be Mohammad or Yuki, but they go by Mike or Suzy in this country because they think it's easier for Americans to understand. But I guess I'm wondering how someone could get any legal documents used for IDing at the polling place by using a made-up name. How is that even possible?

Or is this an issue where their Chinese name cannot possibly even be translated into English? After all, different languages have different letters in their alphabet, so I suppose it's possible that some names might not have a literal translation.

Or is it an issue of the first and last names being switched in order, as is the case in Chinese? Someone named Jack Johnson in this country would be referred to as Johnson Jack in China. Are some Chinese Americans signing their ballots with their last name first, which is perhaps not the way it's stated on their Driver's License?

On the other hand, if this is an issue where closed minded fools are unwilling to acommodate a "funny sounding" name, this woman should be ashamed of herself.

[LaneSig]

Originally Posted by PM_Mama00

Actually it was still happening in the 20th century when immigrants were come over. Officials at Ellis Island forced them to. It wasn't a matter of "Do you want to change it?" My family didn't have to change their names which surprises me, but my mother did change hers to the American version of her original name. A friend of mine, who's family also came from Italy, were forced to change their last name. The original was Romano... for some reason they thought that was too Italian so they changed it to something that still sounded Italian. That's how a lot of families had different last names from each other.

Obviously America (in general) is more accepting of different cultures moreso now than they were back then so yes a comment about Asians changing their names is ridiculous.

Quick History Lesson:

There were actually few cases at Ellis Island where new immigrants were forced to change their names. In most cases, many immigrants were unable to give the proper spelling of their names (due to lack of education, not stupidity). The officials at Ellis Island had to spell names phonetically or as close as they could to the original name. So, while some "Wallachinsky" families becames "Wallace" (as what happened to the ancestors of the author Irving Wallace), most name changes occured due to misunderstandings, not force.

[OtterXO]

Originally Posted by LaneSig

Quick History Lesson:

There were actually few cases at Ellis Island where new immigrants were forced to change their names. In most cases, many immigrants were unable to give the proper spelling of their names (due to lack of education, not stupidity). The officials at Ellis Island had to spell names phonetically or as close as they could to the original name. So, while some "Wallachinsky" families becames "Wallace" (as what happened to the ancestors of the author Irving Wallace), most name changes occured due to misunderstandings, not force.

From what I was told by my grandmother (her parents came to the US through Ellis Island) it wasn't misunderstandings or people not knowing how to properly spell their names, the workers just simply couldn't understand them because they spoke a different language. I don't think it had anything to do with education level unless you were talking about their lack of education in English.

[Little32]

Groan. Really. Oh no. :neutral: I am kinda of mad that he even dignified her questions with a response.

[SWTXBelle]

Reminds me of a friend whose Russian ancestors came through Ellis Island. The patriarch could only say "Good. Fine." in English, so when asked for his surname his reply meant the family became "Gorfine".

The early 1900s brought a lot of immigrants to Hawaii from Korea, Japan, China, the Philippines, and Portugal to work on plantations. Sugar was king then.

My friend's great-great-grandfather came over from Portugal. His last name was Miento. Upon arriving at the docks, he must have been greeted by some asshole worker, because this worker listed his last name as "Mento." Mento in local Hawaii slang means crazy (or insane). His last name was Mento for several years until he left the plantation and moved to Honolulu. It was then changed back to Miento.