Recently, I read “At Some Point I Became Lorena” by fellow blogger Lauren Foukes, and her post brought my adopted nickname to my attention. I thought her post was very clever, and an example of how names are not always easily translatable.
I was always under the impression that I had an easy name to pronounce and spell, minus confusion with one, or two “t’s.” However, Spanish speakers think otherwise.
The name “Brett” creates an enormous amount of difficulty, especially when trying to distinguish between a “d” and “t” since each is nearly interchangeable within the Spanish language. More often than not, Brett turns into Bred, which transformed into my nickname: Pan. My name shrunk to an easier one-syllable word.
I doubt that the meaning for bread is a common nickname for many Spanish speakers. I suppose its similar to me yelling down the street to catch my best friend, Loaf, or rather, Bimbo’s attention. Somehow I just don’t think the translation is as catchy as many nicknames, but I’ve embraced the wheat, 9-grain and sourdough jokes. Sometimes I’m in a French type of mood, other days it is definitely rye.
Translated names, in any language, can create very interesting pronunciation difficulties. My friend Ginny morphed into Hinny (think clearing your throat to begin). Little to say, she quickly preferred to be called by her full name, Virginia. Less phlegm-y, I suppose.
What are some funny names you have been called? Has anyone adopted any interesting Spanish nicknames they would like to share? I look forward to hearing how Pete became Pita or Ross became Toast. Let the carbs unite.
Brett Veerhusen is currently living in Bluefields, Nicaragua as the Controller for the blueEnergy Group. Stay updated by following Brett on Twitter or La Vida Idealist on Twitter.
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As I mentioned on Lorena’s post, “Puente” was a much easier pronunciation of Bridget for Spanish speakers! Have you ever read The Golden Compass? “Pan” is the name of the little girl’s daemon. Don’t ask- fantasy audiobooks take up a lot of my down time without electricity.
Thanks for the shout out – Pan is a pretty funny nickname. I think that once you have a nickname you have been officially embraced by your new community. Kudos