Westernizing Somali names as part of a new integration effort

[Jacaylbaro]

maxaad isla qarinaysaa bal sheeg magaca annagaa ku caawine ,,,,,,,,

[Blessed]

Mukurka day..

[Socod_badne]

Hershey for Xirsi

[Gediid]

Hershey wow never heard that but when I hear Hershey I cant seem to get over what a white coworker would add.......Alley....UUUUUF

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Ka warama kan la baxay O'Hirsi, ula jeedana Awxirsi? Irish baaba la aaday. Berina maxaa maqalnaa? McRaugh mid la baxay magaciis ah Macruuf?

 

Aan iska dhaafnee dad maqan boggaan ayaa noogu filan fiiriskiisa, inta 'magac' kala jaabo shisheeye la wato, badanaana ereyo Ingiriis qaabdaran ah. Kalsooni la'aan ereyada Soomaaliyeed heysato.

 

Keyga inkastoo sadex erey Carabi isku wada yahay, wali waa ereyo Afsoomaaliga la wadaago yahay, lana Soomaaliyeeye.

[Jacaylbaro]

McRaugh mid la baxay magaciis ah Macruuf

Haye ,,, ma imikaad isu bixinaysaa ,, ,, mise waabay kuugu yeedheen ?

[Legend of Zu]

I heard once of a dude who changed his name "Jimcaale" to Jim and his surname Wacays into Weis - Mr Jim Wies 'pronounced as wise" I mean the dude is creative.

 

Back to the topic tho, it is just human nature that the dominant culture always changes the names, pronounciation of names and the life styles of the minorities. name changing or simplifying name pronounciation is not something particular to Somalis. it happens to all ethnic minorities even to Indians & Chinese who are regarded some of the most cultured communities.

 

Imagine, how we used to change names of the movie stars back in Somalia - one of my favorites Liibaan Kaliif! Whadda? I mean the real name was Lee Van Cliff (sp) ...what do you reckon his name would have been if he was attending iskool Waaberi Cusub?

 

Cheers

[Jacaylbaro]

When i meet a foreigner and see he can't pronounce my name i just tell him/her to call me Rob.

 

 

Much much easier ........

 

 

But the problem was when i told this Chinesse lady to call me Rob and she asked me LOB ???

 

Ohhhh , damn it ,,,,,,,, i then realized they cann't pronounce R .........

[NGONGE]

Originally posted by Malika:

What is in a name? "A rose called by any other name would smell just as sweet" -- wrote Shakespeare in his immortal play Romeo-Juliet. How ever some of us are aware of our identity, hence the importance of our names.

 

I disagree with this new phenomenal to change ones name because Jane cant pronounce it, its time Jane learned every one in the world isn’t called Jane, Tom or Dick.

 

In general, names mean a lot. They define our identity; our place in the social order within the family; the community and even the circumstances of our birth.

 

So if a Ms Jones cant pronounce my name tough! Colonialism is over, changing peoples name just because they cant pronounce is purely ignorance. What about those pious names that makes us remember God Almight[Allah] every time we call our brothers/sisters through day and night. Wasn’t that the aim behind names like AbdiMalik,AbdiQadir etc? So to be called Mo instead of Mohamed one should be offended rather than feel accepted.

 

 

You're being ultra militant on what is an extremely trivial subject. Much ado about nothing, as the bard would have said.

 

Names are just names but you're attaching some great and undeserved significance to them there! Some people no matter how hard they tried will not be able to pronounce Somali names that have the letter 'X' (in Somali) in them. That's because many languages do not have that letter and that sound. If they *******ise your name a little, what's the harm? Poor Jane does not speak Somali and is not obliged to learn a new language in order to pronounce your difficult name. As long as she does not mean to offend, the way she pronounces the name should not be much of an issue.

 

The funny thing here is that most Somalis adopt Arabic names they themselves can't pronounce.

 

Abdullah becomes Abdullaahi! Fatima is turned into Fadumo (or some such madness)! In fact, half of the names that remind you of god (as you mentioned above) are shortened to the wretched Abdi (and some people have that in itself as a first name).

 

The list of Islamic names that have been ruined by Somalis is endless. However, it is done out of necessity and the inability, at times, to pronounce them correctly.

 

 

It really is a trivial issue and I suspect LST posted it with a playful intention.

 

Ps

Give your children easy and simple names or give them a complex; the choice is yours.

 

Pps

Ayeeyo, can you even pronounce your name correctly in Arabic?

[Jacaylbaro]

Is NGONGE a westernized name or it is Arabic horta ??

[NGONGE]

^^ No Rob, it's an African name.

[Jacaylbaro]

 

and what does it mean ??

[NGONGE]

No idea, Rob.

[N.O.R.F]

^^Don't you mean Robbie?

[Jacaylbaro]

looooooooool