“Esa no soy Yo”: Self-Image and Name Change from the Perspective of Female Immigrants

Abstract

The given name by which we call ourselves in our native language contains a series of phonetic, social, and cultural elements that determine its value in any given context. When people migrate, these elements change and, consequently, so does the individual’s self-perception. This research consists of an analysis of focused interviews with Peruvian and Chinese migrants carried out in Spanish and Italian. The most common phenomenon identified in the interviews was the use of names that do not correspond to birth names, either because they are not pronounced correctly or because—as in the case of most of the Chinese informants—the name was changed to adapt to Western standards. We attempt to categorize the nonconformity of the version of the name used by the host population and the emotional reactions that this provokes. The results demonstrate that there is a correlation between the desire to integrate into the host country and positive reactions to the image given to them by the foreign name.

Enduring Effects: Name Mispronunciation and/or Change in Early School Experiences

“…In response to pressures associated with assimilation, newcomer families are expected to consider negotiating their children's names when entering school, even if it sits in opposition to their belief system (Keller & Franzak, 2016;Souto-Manning, 2007). The driving forces behind this are often linguistic or phonetic challenges that typically arise when one's name is pronounced in postimmigration circumstances (Ainciburu & Buttazzi, 2019), a desire to assimilate with greater ease (Keller & Franzak, 2016), and avoidance of discrimination (Khosravi, 2012;Thompson, 2006). Marrun (2018) supposes that newcomers engage in this behaviour as a deliberate attempt to remove the cultural and linguistic significance behind their name(s) and to fit the mouths of the country in which they settle.…”

“…A person's name is tied directly to their identity and sense of self (Kohli & Solórzano, 2012). Each person's name defines their uniqueness and singularity (Ainciburu & Buttazzi, 2019) and is often reflective of gender, culture, religion, language, and heritage (Peterson et al, 2015). Problematic to this is that many chose to rename themselves and their children when immigrating to North American countries (Keller & Franzak, 2016;Thompson, 2006).…”