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HelpRe: Honest Question About Cultural Appropriation and Names, plus extra
in reply to a message by RuralRuna
I don't know how using one name, because you like it, amounts to stealing a whole culture. But the rightful owners of that culture have every right to their opinion. I think that if the prospective parents can find more people from that particular language group and ask them how they feel, they will get a clearer idea than if they just listen to one person about how their child will be treated, or just regarded, if they do use that name.
Before democratisation in 1990, people who supported basic human rights for all South Africans were highly likely to end up in prison. This included a white man with British parents and a sister. The parents, naturally, tried to get as much publicity as possible for him and his cause. They gave interviews to journalists, etc. In the course of this, they stated their own position - much like their son's but without actually stepping over the line - and this included saying that their daughter's name was Amandla, which means 'Power' in some local languages. (The speakers at illegal meetings would shout out "Amandla" and the crowd would respond "Awethu" which means 'To us!') In the end, the prisoner was released and sent back to England. However, on the daughter's passport application her name was given as the more usual, more likely but much less political Amanda. That is certainly an example of using a word from another language/culture for one's own purposes, and also of stretching the truth to breaking point.
Before democratisation in 1990, people who supported basic human rights for all South Africans were highly likely to end up in prison. This included a white man with British parents and a sister. The parents, naturally, tried to get as much publicity as possible for him and his cause. They gave interviews to journalists, etc. In the course of this, they stated their own position - much like their son's but without actually stepping over the line - and this included saying that their daughter's name was Amandla, which means 'Power' in some local languages. (The speakers at illegal meetings would shout out "Amandla" and the crowd would respond "Awethu" which means 'To us!') In the end, the prisoner was released and sent back to England. However, on the daughter's passport application her name was given as the more usual, more likely but much less political Amanda. That is certainly an example of using a word from another language/culture for one's own purposes, and also of stretching the truth to breaking point.
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