[Reflection]
Ethnic naming and depiction.
Thinker
January - 2022
The fact that a society has a name for something indicates that it sees that something as marked, as different enough from the norm to need a name. This act of marking implicitly makes everything else unmarked or “normal.” Some sociolinguist have looked at how Whiteness is constructed as the absence of an ethnic identity, and how speakers of White varieties of English benefit from their unmarked nature – they are seen as “invisibly normal”. Other varieties thus can be cast as marked, divergent, or even deliberately deviant. White varieties are associated with the standard, and with education and power, as if such an association were natural, rather than the result of social, economic, and political forces that have often deliberately excluded speakers of ethnic varieties from access to that education and power.
This may lead to the possibility of underestimating or assigning negative intentions when the speakers bring different cultural expectations.
Several studies have played people recordings of speech, accompanied by photographs or descriptions of the speakers. Undergraduate students tended to rate the language of Asian-looking speakers as more highly accented than that of White speakers (Rubin 1992; Atagi 2003). And White schoolteachers rated the language of non-White children as less standard (Williams 1983). The catch in all three studies is that respondents were actually hearing the same recordings, accompanied by different photos or descriptions – in the words of Fought (2006), they “hallucinated” the accents, making assumptions based on the appearance of the supposed speakers. You can imagine the very real consequences of these assumptions – non-White students getting lower grades, or being streamed into lower-level classes, or non-White teaching assistants and professors getting worse evaluations from students.
The Pressure to “Belong” and the Choice of an English Name
The tendency for non-White or non-Western individuals to adopt English names can be seen as a response to this dynamic of marking and unmarking. An English name may serve as a tool for reducing the visibility of difference - a way to navigate spaces where ethnic or "foreign" names are marked as unusual or "other." For many, adopting an English name is a practical choice to avoid mispronunciation or bias. But as you suggest, it also reflects a deeper desire to be accepted, to blend into a society where Whiteness and its cultural markers (including language) are treated as the default.By using an English name, individuals may feel they are signaling that they are part of the community rather than outsiders. This reflects what sociolinguists call "passing" - the act of adopting behaviors, speech, or identifiers to align with a dominant group and avoid marginalization. At the same time, it highlights how cultural power works: those with marked identities must adapt to the norm, while those who fit the norm never have to think about it.
The Emotional and Identity Costs
While adopting an English name may bring practical benefits, it can also create a sense of fragmentation or loss. Names carry cultural and personal meaning, and giving up one’s original name may feel like giving up a piece of identity. At the same time, keeping a marked name can mean facing repeated microaggressions - mispronunciations, teasing, or assumptions of foreignness.Ultimately, both linguistic marking and the preference for English names reveal the unequal distribution of power in society. Those who are unmarked enjoy the privilege of being seen as neutral or normal, while those who are marked must constantly negotiate their difference. Your observation touches on an important truth: behind these everyday choices are the complex forces of inclusion, exclusion, and the human need to belong.