In Malaysia, most Chinese people have an English name. For example, there’s a friend of mine whom I call Fiona. Her nickname makes me think of 4U2C’s song Fiona, and she’s indeed beautiful. (Her real name is Chew Shun Lin, though.)
Names are essential to a lot of things. Have you realised that almost everything in the world has a name? Not only humans but animals, trees and the stars also have a name we can call.
For humans, when we are born, our parents are the ones responsible for naming us. And we carry the name like an emblem of our personality and life.
If you have a Chinese friend and they have an English name, do you know why? Well, if you don’t, @lowsokying can help you out!
English names are easier to remember
According to Low Sok Ying, many people call her ‘amoi’, ‘amoi KL Gangster’, teacher, and cikgu, but no one has ever gotten her name right!
Additionally, when someone spells her name, there’ll be missing or additional alphabets. Somehow, this makes her a bit tired because many got her name wrong.
Therefore, it’s easier to remember the Chinese by their English name! Moreover, it’s easier to call them by their English names!
However, some Chinese have an English name because there are Christians. The name was given to them when they were baptised. So, if you look at their identity card, their English name will be in front of the family’s surname and their Chinese name.
Some focus more on the durian than the explanation
While Low is explaining, some of the comments said they are distracted by the durian she’s holding. Now we know who’s not focusing in class!
Some even joked around (and we love a good laugh!)
When we look at the younger generation these days, they have long names that are hard to remember and pronounce. And if we talk about foreign names like Chinese, Indian, Borneo, Indonesian, Russian or German, it’s even harder to recall! Thus, having an English name is definitely the best option! Today I learned!
Source: TikTok Low Sok Ying