Finding Power In Reclaiming One's Name
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 23 April 2022
⏱️ 12 minutes
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Summary
For many people from immigrant communities, this has been a lifelong experience. And sometimes, it's about more than mispronunciation, it can signal exclusion and disrespect. Some people even change their names in order to fit in more easily and not be "othered."
For years, LA Times columnist, Jean Guerrero, let people say her name without rolling their r's, the way it would be said in Spanish. But after becoming the target of MAGA trolls online, she decided to reclaim the proper Spanish pronunciation.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Maybe you've had this experience. |
| 0:02.0 | You're introducing yourself to someone and they can't quite get your name right. |
| 0:07.0 | What do you do? |
| 0:08.0 | So then I got to come back at a certain point and I got to find the moment when I don't sound too jerky. |
| 0:13.0 | Right. |
| 0:14.0 | To go, listen man, not a big deal, but just, it's actually pronounced Maz. |
| 0:19.0 | And then I go through the whole thing. |
| 0:21.0 | I go, it's like Mazda, Mazelon, Mazerati, LaMaz. |
| 0:24.0 | Yup. |
| 0:25.0 | And I just hope it sticks. |
| 0:26.0 | That's comedian MazjoBroni. |
| 0:28.0 | Talking to our colleagues at Codes, which about how he deals with people who can't or maybe won't say his name correctly. |
| 0:35.0 | He's not alone. |
| 0:36.0 | It's an experience shared by many, especially people from immigrant backgrounds. |
| 0:40.0 | For some people having their name mispronounced is no big deal. |
| 0:43.0 | For others, depending on how it goes down, it stings. |
| 0:47.0 | It can signal criticism and exclusion. |
| 0:49.0 | Like being told, you're not part of this. |
| 0:51.0 | You don't have the right kind of name. |
| 0:53.0 | When friends lovey a jaihi Jones and Tiffany Alice were growing up, |
| 0:57.0 | it felt easier to just change their names completely. |
| 1:00.0 | They swapped stories for the NPR series where we come from. |
... |
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