This problem began 10 years ago. I remember, that year, having just arrived in
America, and enrolling in school. After entering the teacher asked me my name. At the
time my English was still quite rough, and there were many words I did not understand.
All I could do was to take out my admissions notice and hand it to him to see. Who knew
he would stare at it for half a day without a sound. I couldn't help feeling anxious.
Eventually, I unable to bear it, but using only the few English words I knew, I stammered
the question: “What?”
“Your name is You?”He asked, perplexed. Which, after hearing, I was unable to make
heads or tails of.
“Your name is You Hasu?” He asked again.
What? My name is Xu Youhua. According to the English language custom, the surname is
placed after the given name, so it is read Youhua Xu – YOUHUA XU. When he spoke, to my
surprise, it became “You Hasu!”
He also could probably see his own speech was incorrect, and he hurriedly, with much
politeness, asked me, “Excuse me, how do you pronounce your name?”
“Yòuhuá Xú,”I, using standard Mandarin, instructed to him a few times. Yet, he
still said “You Hasu.”I was forced to give up the matter.
However, the problem does not actually end here. Afterward, no matter where I went,
I had to register my surname. Americans are always baffled by it. The curious ones will
tell you to teach them once again. The ones, who would rather avoid trouble, will simply
call me “Miss You,”because the Chinese Pinyin [romanization] for the character“幼
(yòu)” is exactly the same as the English spelling for the word “You.”
Still, another incident is even more laughable. That year I was working in a
convalescent hospital for the elderly in Manhattan, New York. One day, while I was in the
ward, I, all of the sudden, hear someone calling, “Chan, Chan,”from a far distance and
coming nearer. I was perplexed by this because, on this floor of the building, besides
myself, there was not a single Asian person. Who was she calling for? I never thought the
calling would stop when it came to me. “Ha, so you are here. Why didn't you answer
me?”I raised my head to look, and saw only a beautiful black woman standing in front of
me. Smiling, she handed me a bunch of pink carnations. Holding them at my breast she
said, “today is mother's day, everyone gets some. Past present and future mothers are
all included.”
“But I am not Chan.”I believed she mistook me as another.
“Then what's your name?”
“My name is Xu.”