tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post1894156228396720280..comments2024-03-28T07:58:41.643-04:00Comments on pancocojams: Fatima and Fatou-Problematic Names In The USA?Azizi Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-88090681700271101722016-01-08T08:38:00.548-05:002016-01-08T08:38:00.548-05:00Greetings, Fanta Ayodele.
Thanks for sharing info...Greetings, Fanta Ayodele.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing information about the name "Fanta". You wrote that "Fanta is a traditional African name out of guinea and it translates to "Beautiful Day". Which language is this?<br /><br />I recognize the name "Ayodele" as Yoruba. Is this your birth name and is it a last name (surname)? I ask because I wonder if Yoruba people and/or other African people you may be familiar are given traditional African birth names from more than one African ethnic group.<br /><br />I hope that you or someone else who can comment about this response to this question. I ask this with all due respect. <br /><br />Best wishes!Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-76983585458907867442016-01-08T06:42:44.546-05:002016-01-08T06:42:44.546-05:00Actually Fanta is a traditional African name out o...Actually Fanta is a traditional African name out of guinea and it translates to "Beautiful Day"Fanta Ayodelenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-7440687749318982922011-12-07T10:05:27.615-05:002011-12-07T10:05:27.615-05:00I want to emphasize that in writing this post on t...I want to emphasize that in writing this post on the names Fatou and Fatima (and their variant forms) I was not disparaging those names or the persons who are or were so named.<br /><br />As the history of the name Fatima attests, those names are quite honorable. Also, I just became acquainted with the Miss Africa USA Pagent*. The 2010 winner of that pagent was Fatoumata (Fifi) Soumah of Guinea, West Africa.<br />My concern was and is that people named Fatou, Fatima, or Fatoumata are likely to be teased by Americans who are unfamiliar with those names.<br /><br />*For more information on the Africa USA pagent visit <a href="http://www.missafricaunitedstates.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.missafricaunitedstates.com/</a>.azizihttp://www.cocojams.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-13772090103734742422011-09-14T16:35:52.231-04:002011-09-14T16:35:52.231-04:00Thanks for your comment luckyfatima! As you shared...Thanks for your comment luckyfatima! As you shared, there's a lot of baggage that comes with some names with are otherwise aesthetically pleasing and are rich in spiritual, social, and historical value.azizihttp://www.cocoojams.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-58701748066473327542011-09-14T10:48:15.670-04:002011-09-14T10:48:15.670-04:00I am a white convert to Islam and have legally cha...I am a white convert to Islam and have legally changed my name to Fatima. I come from Texas in an area with a very heavy Mexican and Mexican-American population, so I often hear my name pronounced in Spanish as Fátima. This Spanish pronunciation is close to the pronunciation used by South Asians, the stress is correct and only the /i/ is reduced a bit more in the South Asian version based on the Arabic spelling (my husband is Pakistan origin). I like this pronunciation better than the Arabic which has is more like Fawtma. I don't correct people when they say Fateeema. I do agree that kids/racists etc will focus on the Fat part. I had that happen to me online where someone called me 'Fats' or 'Fatty' in a retorting comment, which is really rude. So much baggage attached to all of this stuff. I love the name Fatimata/Fatoumata. I recognize it as West African, but don't know where the extra syllable or phonetic change from /i/ to /ou/ come from. In Arabic you can call Fatima Fatoum as a nickname. Anyway, interesting post, and very interesting to read about the name from a West African angle.luckyfatimahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09401964343346156712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-34238691472822256812011-09-09T20:33:31.552-04:002011-09-09T20:33:31.552-04:00Here are my responses to Afi Scruggs' comments...Here are my responses to Afi Scruggs' comments [posted as is under my facebook name cocojams jambalayah) <br /><br />The underlying reason for that post was to spark thought about the possible social consequences of personal names and the ways that culture influences which names people like or dislike. I'm okay with disagreements. Afi would you please post your comments on that blog or please give me permission to do so?<br /> <br />I'm aware that the pronunciation that is used for Fatima in the USA isn't the traditional pronunciation used in the Middle East, Africa, and some Muslim influenced parts of Europe such as Spain. With regard to that name and Fatou, I think its easy for kids, teens, and adults who are in to teasing/taunting to grap on to the English words "fat and "fat too" even though the fa element is supposed to be pronounced fah. And the pronunication Fah-tu or fah-Tu is easy to convert into "fat too". (Btw, I think the American way of pronouncing two syllable names is to place the emphasis on the first syllable).<br /> <br />Anyway, if an adult has a given name that other people don't like, they can say to hell with those people and keep on keepin on. But if they don't like their given name and/or think that their given name doesn't fit them, they can always informally or legally change their name. (That's what I did, inflormally, in part because I felt that name didn't fit me who I had become). But that's kind of hard to do as kids/teens except for nicknames.azizihttp://www.cocojams.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-84097640951788667882011-09-09T20:30:53.269-04:002011-09-09T20:30:53.269-04:00Note: The following comments are from a facebook f...Note: The following comments are from a facebook friend of my who gave me permission to repost them on this page along with her name.<br /><br /><br />I read your posting. I have to disagree and here's why: The name does exist in the west: Our Lady of Fatima in Spain. We just say Fateema because English pushes the accent to the second syllable.<br />-Afi Scruggs; 9/8/2011<br /><br />**<br /><br />And secondly, the pronunciation isn't "Fat-ou", it's Fah-tou, so the name doesn't sound like the word fat at all. If anything, we'd Anglicize the name by calling the person "fah-Tu" and accent the last syllable.<br />-Afi Scruggs; 9/8/2011azizihttp://www.cocojams.comnoreply@blogger.com