Damn it, it really bugs me when people misspell my name
So, I have a name which is pretty common in Japanese. My last name, Itoh, is like the Smith or Jones of Japanese. My first name, Makiko, is not that unusual.
I know that the name is not that easy for non-Japanese people. Especially English speakers. Still, it really bugs me when people misspell it. If they mispronounce it I can correct them on the spot (a common one is MaKAAAko, which sounds like kaka, or something). When they misspell it I try to correct them. Sometimes they correct it. sometimes they don't.
For instance, this weekend a post I wrote on my food blog about bunny bao got linked to a lot. Some of those mention my name and it's mispelled over and over. The abbreviated version of my first name is only 4 frigging letters, but it's still misspelled - over the years I've seen Mako, Miko, Miki, Maka and Mike (wtf?)
And as for my last name, I spell it Itoh with an H. That's what it says on my passport and my credit cards. That's how my father spells his last name. I know some 伊藤s or 伊東s (I am an 伊藤) spell it without an H, e.g. Joi Ito. Some others, like the electronics company C. Itoh, spell it with an H. I spell it with H and I would like it spelled with an H.
But people write Ito, and don't even bother to correct when I ask them to all the time.
Like, Mr. Jones, what if I spell your name Goanez just for the heck of it?
I see that as a form of cultural insensitivity. Really. Just because my name is hard for you, doesn't give you the right to mangle it at will. And I see it mostly (or even exclusively) with English (American) speakers.
Comments
I'm past the point of caring for the most part. Those who know me, will learn my name. Those who won't won't. I know I've mispronounced many names myself, so I sort of chalk it up to the cost of communication.