Isn't it rude to change people's names and call them by their name equivalent in your mother tongue?

Question

Like if someone is named John and because you're French to call him Jean, or if you're Italian Giovanni?

Answer 1

Yes, it is. Given names are beautiful in their own respective mother tongues. Changing them is downright arrogant. In otherwords, one is telling the other person that their name does not suit their taste. Now, that's rude.

After knowing the person a bit longer, the polite thing to do is get his/her permission to call them by another name. Otherwise, one MUST continue with their original given names.

Abbreviating one's name is downright dangerous. For e.g., in muslims the first name I have come across is Fakruddin. Or a woman, Fakharia. How can one abbreviate that?

Answer 2

I'm not sure I would consider it "rude", but I have always thought that it was not a good idea to change someone's name for my convenience, if it's possible for me to pronounce the person's name.

I work in a profession where this happens all the time, actually, because I am a language teacher. My students come from many parts of the world to the U.S. to learn English, and some of them have "American" nicknames that they use. In some cases, these names have been basically assigned to them by other teachers in the past. However, in other cases, my students prefer these nicknames because they don't like how Americans mispronounce their names. So I usually ask people what they would like to be called and do my best to call them by that name. Many of my colleagues are non-native speakers who have Americanized their names in different ways to make them easier for Americans to pronounce also. But I personally would never tell my students that they had to use an American name.

My first name is actually very easy for people to pronounce with very minor modifications, and these modifications don't bother me much, generally. There is an "r" sound in my name, and although speakers of other languages don't usually pronounce this sound the same way that I would pronounce it, I find the result to be close enough that I don't mind it.

Answer 3

i see both sides of this issue. i think it has to do with how well you know the person and how close you are to that person.
for instance, i have a sister whose name is tina and my dad's family calls her 'tiner weiner' (they are from the north and cannot properly say tina. it comes out with an r sound on the end). no one else is allowed to call her 'tiner weiner' except dad's family. it's a pet name.
she's been 1/2 way around the world and heard someone yell 'tiner weiner' from across the way and KNEW it was meant for her. our cousin happened to be in the same place at the same time. now, had she heard her full name called out, she probably would have been totally deaf/blind to it.

Answer 4

It is definitely rude to assume and just call them by the equivallent name in your own language. However, if someone is trying to assimilate into another culture, and asks to be called by the equivallent in the country they are in, I find it to be perfectly acceptable. Also, if the person's name is difficult to pronounce in for you, I don't find anything rude with asking if they would mind be called by their equivallent, because I would feel very bad about knowing that I was constantly struggling to pronounce their name and probably frequently mispronouncing it.

Answer 5

It depends how familiar you are with the person. If they are saying it because they cant be bothered to say it your language then its rude, but if they say it once in a while as a little joke or something I find its alright. My name is Geneve....People assume im french and call me GENEVIEVE and that is not my name and to be honest that one always pisses me off.

Answer 6

It is only rude to insist on calling someone a name they have asked the other not to use. If they feel uncomfortable calling you by your original name try to find a compromise.

Answer 7

It depends on the person. I don't mind if you call me Pancho, but I used to know a guy whose name was Mars Allah or someting like that, and it means obedient to God. People called him Marshall, and he didn't like that at all. In the long run it didn't matter. He's dead now.

Answer 8

I do that to be sweet and endearing. I rename everyone I adore (kinda like pet-names).
I've had it done to me and I think it's cute. It's about the other persons comfort... if it's easier for them to say or remember, why not?
If they are intentionally being rude, you can say something, but I highly doubt it's intended to offend you.

Answer 9

Yes, it's rude.

The polite thing is to call you by the name you want to be called.

If someone has the urge to nickname you, s/he should ask you if it's OK before doing it.

Answer 10

The best thing to do is to ask the person.