r/tragedeigh • u/cutie_pookie_ • 2d ago
is it a tragedeigh? My own name
Idk if this is purely for english names only, but i'm sharing this anyways even though i'm not brittish nor american.
So i'm Javanese (from Indonesia, not Japan btw) and my name should be fine and all because it came from old leather-puppet theatre story, that lot's of people throughout time used the names there to name their children, probably equivalent of naming your child a character from Macbeth or something idk. But for some reason my parents decided to spell me using dutch colonial spelling which is how most language in indonesia uses during colonial time and has been removed and changed with a new standardised spelling since the 1960s.
The basic changes is (since most southeast asian languages are shallow orthography)
oe => oo => u
tj => c
dj => j
j => y
So since my name is Ruci Nur Supono, it got turned into Roetji Noor Soepono, which should be fine if i was born in 1955, but i was born in the year 2010, where most names are already in modern spelling. And they decided to name me that because it's "unique" and stuff, but it's basically ruining every single occasion where somebody else must input my names for me, like competition certificates, organisation, etc etc because everyone has basically forgotten how to spell in colonial spelling.
As you might know, most parents who named their kids weird unique names have something going on with their parenting. And my mom turned out to be mostly overprotective, strict, and paranoid about my safety. Oh well
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u/CormoranNeoTropical 1d ago
Wow this is an amazing example of a culturally localized tragedeigh.
Are there other people in your predicament in your community?
Also, I love your country and hope to return someday. I have the best memories of Java and Sulawesi in 1994! I’ve been back but only to super touristy places for short visits.
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u/cutie_pookie_ 1d ago
Yes, especially with the incoming trends of 'cute baby names' heck i had a classmate whose her name was Senandung (means humming). Or my cousin whose name is Devanya (it came from a somewhat common name (dewi, devi, devina kinds of name) but their parents chose that instead. It has been increasingly more common to use random latin name, i had a lot of friends both guys and girls whom their name is Oryza Sativa (latin for rice). Funnily enough im like the reverse of the trend cause everyone else uses "new" and "booming" spelling trend while i used a spelling from the 1950s. Theres also a lot of "unique" ish spelling trend but its not as bad as english cause our language is mostly phonetic. Like Zidane (from the name Zidan) or misspelling of english names like Endru, Hepi, etc, multiple variants of Muhammad, Aisha, Hairun, etc, names that looks like keyboard mash of languages put together (Teuku Eijaz Xavier Hariwanata for example)
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u/CormoranNeoTropical 1d ago
I guess you can become a regular contributor to this subreddit! Some of those names are really impressive.
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u/Imaginary_Neat_5673 1d ago
You know more than one person named Oryza Sativa! The idea of giving your kids Latin species names is a new one to me
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u/AsleepProfession1395 1d ago
Same with Singapore Malays. A friend of mine named her kids Abeel, Adeel, Aqeel. Normal enough but she insists they're pronounced Abel(like in the Bible), Adele, Akal(Malay for mind/intelligence). I said that spelling is meant to sound like see, bee not eh. But no, she insisted. For her fourth and fifth child, she removed the 2nd e for the eh pronounciation.
And the multiple names and long spellings! 😵💫 \ Another friend and her siblings(now in their 30s) were named with alternate spellings. A simple Siti was spelled Sithie.
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u/Poekienijn 1d ago
As a Dutch person I just want to say I’m sorry for what Dutch people did to your country and your ancestors. It was horrendous.
Is there a way to legally change your name once you turn 18? Just to standard spelling?
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u/cutie_pookie_ 1d ago
Yeah, thanks, you dont need to blame your ancestors since we live today and not in the past
There is a way actually, but for now i just write mine in standard spelling when i met people
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u/Poekienijn 1d ago
Thank you. I know I can’t change the past. But I do think it’s important to be aware of the terrible things that were done. I live in Den Haag where there’s a large Indonesian community and I feel it’s important to understand and know the history.
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u/Crafty-Site-502 1d ago
Only one thing to do! Move to the Netherlands or Belgium, we will spell your name correct! :p
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u/Sadwitchsea 1d ago
Side note. "i'm Javanese (from Indonesia, not Japan btw)" omg is this why Duolingo Indonesian is so determined to make you learn "I am not from Japan"?! I'm stupid.
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u/cutie_pookie_ 1d ago
I guess? But javanese and indonesian is very very different language wise, like comparing welsh to english
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u/delboy8888 1d ago
I don't think this is a tragedeigh. Embrace it. It's just the old spelling. Which I love.
Like the famous author, Pramoedya Ananta Toer.
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u/cutie_pookie_ 1d ago
Iya bang
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u/delboy8888 1h ago
Iya, bangga dengan nama sendiri.
In this case, definitely not a tragedeigh. I also just remembered Soekarno and Soeharto also in the old spelling.
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u/mentallysentimental 1d ago
fellow indonesian here. actually in the ocean of actual tragedeigh, your name sounds so fancy and cultured! i and my husband also agreed on giving our child java/sanskrit-derived names. so yay to your name!
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u/cutie_pookie_ 1d ago
Iya kak, makasih. Sebenernya nama sanskerta bagus-bagus aja, cuma ya itu tadi, mending ejaan nya standar biar ga jadi masalah kedepannya 😁
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u/tinykitchentyrant 2d ago
I married someone with a fairly uncomplicated surnane, but the potential for misspelling is massive. I've gotten in the habit of just handing over my ID so people can look at source material in order to spell it correctly.
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u/arcangelos 1d ago
As someone born in 2001 with a tj in my name, your name looks really cool. Miles better than Ruci Nur Supono, imo
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