Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a linguist!

[ciroccoj]

Dammit, people, it's JIM!! Simple. Easy. Anglo pronunciation. You do it automatically for millions of men named James, which doesn't even sound like it should devolve into Jim at all. Why the hell not do it for one woman named Jimena?

But no. Let's be culturally sensitive. Let's be multicultural and celebrate that one woman's heritage, and mangle her name beyond recognition whether she wants us to or not. Never mind that her cultural heritage mostly involves growing up in Nepean, Ontario.

Arg.

Back to class.

Comments

[ninja-kat.livejournal.com]

Breathe...breathe...:)

Maybe you should try telling them your full name....and see if that helps them remember good ol' single-syllable "Jim".

If it's any consolation...at least _your_ husband can pronounce your last name and make some semblance of attempting to speaking your 'mother tongue'. ;)

[leaper182.livejournal.com]

Oh! Jim is actually your real name! I didn't know that...

Yeah, that sounds a bit stupid, considering the fact that we've actually corresponded on emails a few times, and I've seen "Jim B." show up in my inbox, but the funny thing is, I've encountered (and been a part of) the phenomenon where female writers take male pseudonyms. I had just assumed "Jim" was short for "James", a male pseudonym for a female writer who usually lists Cirocco as her penname in the fics she writes...

Sorry!

::ears wilt, scampers away in embarrassment::

[ciroccoj.livejournal.com]

I had just assumed "Jim" was short for "James", a male pseudonym for a female writer who usually lists Cirocco as her penname in the fics she writes...

Doesn't seem stupid to me; actually it makes perfect sense.

It's just like Daniel being assumed to be a girl; I don't take offense, and neither does he, because it's pretty much a natural assumption. Kid with long hair = girl. Person with male name = male. In this case, woman with male-sounding writing pseudonym (Cirocco) = woman with male pseudonym (Jim).

An irony of my life is that both my real name and my online name sound male but are actually female. Jim is short for Jimena, and Cirocco is the name of a female character in John Varley's Titan-Wizard-Demon books.

[leaper182.livejournal.com]

Ohhh...

Then again, you come across morons in the South who think, whenever I have my hair cut short, that I look like a boy straight off because of facial features.

So, in an effort to clarify, I tell them my name is Bianca.

AND THEY LOOK *SORRY* FOR ME!

::facepaw::

LEAPER: "Um, I'm a GIRL."

And usually they're smart enough to feel embarrassed for their faux pas, and that makes me a little happier, and less like to string them up by their dangly bits.

[jenniferjames.livejournal.com]

::meep::

I must admit that if I had first met you in RL I would've pronounced your name He-me-na. I went to school with a couple of kids named Jimenez and that was the way they pronounced it; He-me-nez. I know it's probably small consolation for the fact that people are constantly mangling your name, but I can say with all sincerity that it probably *is* the result of people attempting to be culturally sensitive.

::scurries away::

[ciroccoj.livejournal.com]

I must admit that if I had first met you in RL I would've pronounced your name He-me-na.

And I would have thanked you for your effort to show respect for my cultural roots :)

I have no problem at all with the desire to be culturally sensitive, and I do appreciate it. What I don't appreciate is foisting cultural sensitivity onto somebody who has very, very clearly stated that they do not want it.

I always smile when Anglos attempt to say my name as it's supposed to be said, and tell them, "Thanks, but don't worry about it - I actually prefer to be called Jim." And most switch to Jim with relief, either immediately or after briefly asking, "You sure?"

What irks me is people who don't take the hint. Or the follow-up, "No, really, I prefer Jim. No, really. I grew up in Ottawa, even my mother calls/called me Jim." They assure me that they don't mind pronouncing my name "the proper way" and keep right on doing it. And, in the case of profs, they sometimes even gently chide others who disrespect me by calling me what I asked them to call me.

There's a big difference between being culturally sensitive and being culturally arrogant in that sensitivity, IMHO.

[jenniferjames.livejournal.com]

There's a big difference between being culturally sensitive and being culturally arrogant in that sensitivity, IMHO.

True that.

::blows big fat raspberry at your professor::

[daf9.livejournal.com]

That's just perverse. Speaking as one of those people who have great difficulty with non-English names, I'm always happy to oblige someone who would prefer to be called by a single syllabic English name.