ChenShaSha*

Many Chinese names are rather difficult to pronounce for most Westerners (as hard as I try, my students just about fall out of their desks laughing when I call on LiuTanQi, ShauTao, ChenJuYi, LinYuChao and FangWenYi). For this reason, students usually take an English name. Sometimes, their parents will give them the name, sometimes, their Chinese teacher, and, from time to time, their foreign English teacher.

In the past year, I've encountered more Sallys and Jacks than I can count on two hands. After that, Kitty (Hello Kitty!) and Lily (translation of LiLi) for girls and Harry (or, Herry, as my one kids will tell you) and Micheal/Mike for boys top the list. Students who tend to have less common English (Nellie, Hugo, Sophia, Eric, or Helen) tend to have English speaking parents who pay a lot of money for private English lessons for their son or daughter.

A favorite game of many foreign teachers is to compare the most absurd, ridiculous or embarrassingly bad names students have had. This year alone I have Potato (who both looks like a potato, likes to eat potatoes and has parents who speak English very well), Sheep, Tutankhamen, Israel, Cherub (she used to be Grace) and Cherrish (she used to be Linda).

I've heard of a Cabbage and a Hottie (apparently, she was a sour looking child) but the one that tops the list, is the poor child named Jizzle.


*my Chinese name