Foreignnameaphobia

A peeve related to some of my earlier name complaints is expecting people with “foreign” names to Anglicize their names.

I once sat in on a class that had many Chinese students. The professor said to the Chinese people in the class that he would never be able to remember or pronounce their names, so if they didn’t already use an English name (as many of them do in fact do), they ought to pick one. I found that offensive. There were also Greek, French, Spanish, Polish, Russian, and other “foreign” people in that class, but somehow he could manage their names. I always make a point of asking Chinese people for their actual names and I call them that, unless they really insist that they prefer the English name, and many have said they appreciate that I give them the option of using their original names.

As someone who has repeatedly had my own name messed up by mispronunciations and/or nasty or teasing remarks, I have sympathy for people with “difficult” names. However, if we all had patience and made a little effort, we shouldn’t have to force people to use names that are not their own, even if they are easier.

--Curly

Can’t Eat That!

I have complained here before about people not understanding what vegetarians eat (or don’t eat, to be more precise). But now I want to complain about people making fun of what vegetarians eat.

Awhile back, I was in a small shop that specializes in fair trade and organic goods. While not all of their items are vegetarian, a significant portion is, and I was standing in the chilled foods section, studying such products, looking for something to eat for lunch. Along came some college-age guys and began mocking the vegetarian items, which they could clearly see that I was considering. “Vegetarian pie? Vegetarian “meat” pasty? Vegetarian Scotch egg? Who would eat this crap?” one wondered, touching the packages. “Disgusting!” another proclaimed. They looked at me curiously, as though trying to figure out what kind of a person would eat vegetarian goods.

Why criticize other people’s food choices or make them feel bad about it? What’s the point? If you don’t want to eat something, don’t. But let others decide without your commentary.

--Curly

Conference Paper Peeves

I suspect my comrade Curly will concur with at least some of the points made in this post that reveals what can tick certain people off when they attend academic conferences. I know they resonated for me!

--Prunella

Ugly Americans

As you may have noticed, Prunella's been somewhat AWOL lately. The truth is, she (I) went abroad, an experience which has provided ample posting potential!

Let's start with a couple of observations on etiquette. Or, to be more precise, LACK of etiquette, on the part of Americans visiting another country. Still wondering why people from other countries "hate us"? Maybe these two observations, made within five minutes in the lobby of a French hotel, will enlighten you.

First, as I listened to two American women (evidently waiting for a shuttle to pick them up to take them back to the airport), I was horrified to watch one of them remove her shoes and place her bare feet on the lobby sofa. Disgusting.

Then, I watched as an American college student arrived in the lobby, apparently straight from her flight across the Atlantic. What did she do once she set down her bags? She unzipped a compartment, removed some anti-perspirant/deodorant, and proceeded to apply said item to her armpits right at the main lobby desk!

Then again, I'm not sure why I should have expected any better, since the minute I stepped off the plane into the French airport the American woman walking directly behind me began complaining to her companion about "how ugly this airport is."

What an ironic choice of adjective!

--Prunella

;-)

Many of us use those silly little smiley faces in emails. Sometimes they are useful when you really want to make your emotions clear (for example, if you are teasing someone and don’t want him/her to take offense). But these expressions truly do not belong in professional emails. I believe they should be saved for emails between friends or relatives.

I have been surprised when people have, for example, written to accept an article I wrote or wanted to let me know about a conference, and then used a smiley face in that message. To be honest, it actually makes me respect the person a little less or not find him/her as professional as I would have otherwise. In my opinion, smiley faces should be kept in their informal, casual place.

--Curly

Pick a Nick

I have mentioned some of my name peeves earlier. Despite all the peeve stuff for my own name, I have to admit that I call some people by nicknames that they haven't chosen! They haven’t protested, but perhaps they just haven’t told me how they feel.

Shortening names and using nicknames – sure, this seems friendly and familiar, but it can be too much, especially if the person hasn’t agreed to the name. I am not saying you need to ask about every nickname, but if someone introduces himself as Jonathan or herself as Jennifer, you may not just want to assume that you can call them Jon and Jenny. Some people prefer their full names or find nicknames distancing rather than intimate.

--Curly

The United States of the Americas

I must admit that I find the name United States of America quite odd (wouldn’t just United States do as well?), as I also dislike the term of identification “American”. It is easy to forget that America is not just one country and that in fact there is North America, Central America, and South America. Aren’t Canadians, Mexicans, Peruvians, Columbians, Brazilians, and everyone else on the American continents also Americans? Why has the U.S. usurped the term?

This article discusses the name “America” but doesn’t address my peeve. I wish there were some better term to describe people from the U.S. Clearly, one can not go around and say “I am a United Statsian” or some equivalent of that. But there must be some way to refer to citizens of the U.S. without implicitly rejecting or excluding all the other people who are technically Americans, too.

--Curly