Jennifer Rios Huebenthal

April 19, 2010

Americanizing Foreign Names

As the English language has become known as the “world language,” it has affected the dialect, writings, and ultimately the continuation of several global languages. Many believe that it has created a shift in our modern society’s communication. English has become the official language for the sciences, aerial communications, and the world Olympics. It has also become the most sought after foreign language in the world. As immigrants have inhabited the United States, whether by force or by choice, they have been subject to this almost mandatory language requirement in order to successfully integrate into American society. One victim of this cultural manipulation is as simple as a name. Names are meant to create an identity. An identity helps find our sense of self and make us a unique person in society while reflecting one’s culture and history. So I ask, how and why in America do names change?

I first had the idea to pursue this subject while I was reading Bless Me, Ultima. The cultural text represented the shift of multicultural society during the dialog between the main characters, Antonio Márez and his mother. His mother, María Luna (who I feel is one of the strongest characters and family influences on the importance of traditions and culture) is the first in the novel to refer to him as Tony. The author shows how his altered Americanized name was an acceptable change in their family culture. As the novel progresses, we see other family and community members are also comfortable in referring to him by this same Americanized name. The author continues to demonstrate the shift of culture by Americanizing other family members such Andrés to Andrew and Eugenio to Eugene/Gene. This is also shown through half of Antonio’s school yard friends whose names are not all mentioned but we can assume that Horse, Vitamin Kid, and Bones are not their given names.  I believe the novel is a reflection of the author himself and his comfort level (in his bilingual use) of American names, language, and its culture.

As a Hispanic, I am able to relate to the modification of names through verbal and written form. I have an uncle named José, who I grew up knowing as Joe. Because he was always referred to as Joe, I was unaware of his true birth name until I was an adolescent. His given name has been modified both in print and orally, enough to make his new English name his ‘true name’ to a stranger (or to a young family member, in this case). Family names such as Oralia, Rosendo, Juanita, and Pedro (the names of all my grandparents) have also lost their cultural sound as the continued American generations have grown and progressed. My maiden name has also been subjected to this modification (even by my own tongue). I grew up hearing my maiden name pronounced ‘Rios’ without a hint of a Spanish semi rolling ‘r’, a change that even I have become very comfortable with. When an individual has accepted (even without the conscious knowledge of it) the change in their own name, the blending of cultures has become apparent.

A more extreme example of Americanizing foreign names refers to my married name of Huebenthal, a name that originated from Germany. My husband’s family immigrated to the United States in 1866 in hopes for a new future. Unlike my family who was living in Texas before it became part of the United States, his family chose to move to a new country. They immigrated to the New Braunfels location where according to the City of New Braunfels website “is [a city] based on the migration of German merchants, tradesman, and farmers moving to the area under the direction and leadership of Prince Solms.  They came searching for economic opportunities, the opportunity to own land, and more personal freedom.  Problems in Germany, including employment and political insecurity, made the hazards of traveling to a new land not quite so daunting.”

The website included a link to a dissertation by a Doctorial student at the University of Texas in Austin, Ms. Judith Dykes-Hoffman. In her dissertation, she researches on The Urban and Cultural Development of New Braunfels and San Marcos during the 1845 – 1880. Her study began with the migration patterns and agenda of those who settled in the area. She also studied the local geography weather patterns, and plant and animal wildlife. She surveyed the ethnic make-up of those who had already inhabited the area as well as those who sought to inhabit the New Braunfels, San Marcos, and surrounding areas. In her later chapters, she researches the culture of the area development of the population. She explains the cultural behaviors and their assimilation to the American culture best in the quoted passage:

“Where people come from helps explain their cultural behavior. If one ethnic group dominates a town’s population for long periods of time and few other groups move in, there may be little cultural change for the community as the ethnic group’s culture takes hold. Instead of assimilating into the larger host culture, the ethnic group becomes insular. Numerical superiority allows these people to adjust to their new setting at a slower pace picking and choosing the cultural elements they wish to adopt from the host culture. It also allows them to maintain the simplified culture they brought with them without having the host culture thrust upon them. This is what took place with the Germans who founded New Braunfels.” (Dykes-Hoffmann 46-47)

As my husband’s great-great-great grandfather was applying for United States citizenship, his surname was altered to meet a more acceptable English spelling. When Mr. Heinrich Hübenthal moved to the United States, change and opportunities were welcomed and expected members of the family. I believe he strategically migrated to the New Braunfels area in hopes to make the transition easier from his home country to a well known United States German community. As previously mentioned in Dr. Dykes-Hoffman’s dissertation, the area was well documented and known for (and still known for) its heavy German influence.  When Heinrich married in the New Braunfels area, his marriage license from 1889 was written in German, twenty-three years after his immigration to the United States.  This is an example of how the local community valued the German culture, much like in the present day Houston area where they too have made an effort preserve the Latino and Asian cultures. But if you also review the copies of Heinrich’s petition for citizenship, you will be able to note that the documentation is written in the English language. This is where I believe that the family has the first copies of history in the making. If you look at the closer version of the same document, you will see a change in the spelling of his last name. This is where I can confirm is the first written document showing how an America county official altered his surname from Hübenthal to the present day spelling of Huebenthal.

In the following page, I included picture copies of the original documents kept by the Huebenthal family showing this change.

Comal County Petition for Citizenship, 1866                          Close up of the same citizenship application

Marriage Certificate in New Braunfels, TX 1889

As I was researching this topic, I came across several different factors that were able to provide additional insight to my question. First, just the general movement (immigration) into the United States makes one susceptible to any and all changes. Second, the basic integration of each new Americanized generation (i.e. third and fourth generations) begin to identify more with the country they grew up in rather than the country that their family originated from. And because of this American identification, they (and their children) become more accepting of their current local culture than in a past family culture that has become more and more foreign as the generations have grown. Lastly, the location of either their new settlement or where they grew up can also affect how slow or quick changes and integration may come.  I also stumbled upon other sources that have contributed to the shift in cultural integration. These sources explored the linguistics of the changes, how education and the government have played a part in the change, and how a lack of one’s knowledge of the English language makes them vulnerable to cultural changes.

Mexican American Literature: An Overview

In this primary literary source, I learned over time that not only did the average immigrant and their future generations struggle with a multicultural way of life, so did authors of Mexican-American literature. The article provided examples of Mexican-American writers of the nineteenth century demonstrating the importance of having a voice. The article also describes how in the beginning of the twentieth century, Mexican-American literature took the shape of hybrid writing showing the intense cultural conflict through the creation of bilingual pieces. The creation of bilingual pieces showed the acceptance of current culture. The merging of the American culture and the Mexican-American culture paved the way to change among the Hispanic communities. I felt there were additional elements of the article that could have gone more in depth with why new authors of the twentieth century felt the need to create bilingual pieces. As only one piece of this collection of research, the book this article was written in allowed for other Hispanic authors to critique and expand on Mexican-American literature.

Nationalism and Literary Production: The Hispanic and Chicano Experiences

This literary source was derived from the same book as the previous article. The author, Ramón Gutiérrez, provides a further description of the writing styles of Hispanic writers from 1836-1991. He was able to create heritage clusters, using the time frame previously mentioned, and categories them into four major time brackets. Each period was uniquely characterized by the political configuration of power.

1.      1836 – 1897: This bracket of history began with the 1836 Texas Revolution. Material during this time was largely autobiographical and the material focused on the major political and social events of the day.

2.      1898 – 1945: This period began with Spain’s loss of its last colonial outposts of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. This era had writings that highlighted Spain’s “golden” past.

3.      1946 – 1966: This period witnessed the development of Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban immigrant communities within the United States. Authors during this time wrote about the assimilation of their dual cultural experiences.

4.      1967 – 1991: The last era reviewed authors who wrote about the inequalities of life in the United States. This group of writers sought to be heard and acknowledged of the injustices they felt were placed on them.

I felt Gutiérrez identified each writing era of minority literature perfectly. And as I continue to read Hispanic literature, I will be able to relate his findings to past literature.

English as a Global Language

            As English has become the global language, author David Crystal sought to understand why. He explored the historical, cultural, and linguistic aspects of language, specifically the English language.

·       Historical: Historically, a language that has power (through its world leaders) controls the global language. America emerged as a leader because of its control of economics, science, space exploration, military power and war, as well as the new industrial electronic revolution. When the nation who controls the language falls, like the Roman Empire, so does their language control.

·       Cultural: The English language can relate to many other world languages such German. As English has spread across the world, each nation’s primary language has affected (even in a small way) the linguistics and vocabulary properties of English. The English vocabulary has grown and evolved in the last couple of centuries, and I truly believe it is because of the influence other cultures have on the English language.

·       Linguistics: Some argue that the English language has a logical structure. That it has less grammar than other languages and that it does not have a lot of endings, or gender requirements (i.e. masculine, feminine, and neutral tenses).

In any case, it is undeniable that the English language has infected most nations of the world. It is only fair to assume that those who reside in the United States, which are from other nations and cultures, are extremely influenced by the English language.

Hispanic Surnames and Family History

            The book researches the bibliography of family histories of Hispanic surnames in the United States. It touches on family surname topic such as histories, origins, and changes.

·       History: Thousands of years ago, surnames were unnecessary due to the small global population. Individuals were associated by a person, a place, or by their responsibility. An example of such are: Matthew son of Paul, Jesus of Nazareth, and John the Baptist. As the years went by a new identifying factor was adopted to better identify a person. This leads us to the origins of a surname.

·       Origins: In the beginning, Spanish surnames originated from several methods. The first was by a family name that included a short alteration such as Miguel son of León may have been renamed as Miguel DeLeón or Miguel Leónes.  Or they may have been named after a location or object such as Miguel Flores (flowers) or Miguel Iglesías (church). Surnames may have also collaborated terms using more than one method such as Miguel DeFlores.

·       Changes: Surnames of all nationalities are susceptible to changes or alterations. Surname over the centuries have been changed and some have even disappeared. Examples of an altered name of Rodríguez are: Rodig, Rodríquez, Rodriquiz, Rodrígquez, and etc.

The book also reviews the most common Hispanic surnames and a list of bibliographical sources to use when researching surnames. When exploring changes in a name, I believe it is important to investigate the historical and statistical aspects of the topic.

As a Cross-Cultural major, this subject intrigued me because of the many aspects that it crosses: race, culture, and history. Taking the time to research this multicultural topic has allowed me to discover more about myself. We go though everyday with heavy schedules, demands, responsibilities, and expectations that we can sometimes forget to stop and smell the roses. And it’s not just to stop and smell them, but to examine their beauty, biology, and history. We owe it to ourselves to learn more about our own beauty, biology, and history. Many of us go to the doctor once a year for a checkup, but do most of us make an effort to be proactive and learn more about our health and our bodies? Many of us wait until a “major body sensor” goes off and by then the condition may have worsen. Another major variable preventing us from “smelling the roses” is the media influencing how we see beauty. There are too many young ladies hiding and altering their natural beauty with the use of artificial tanning, heavy make-up, and surgeries. A neglected part of us that is sometimes overlooked is our family history. History, in general, provides us the opportunity to learn about the world we live in, ourselves, and everything in between.  We are able witness how a small idea can change the world.

               Americanizing Foreign Names provided me the opportunity to learn more about a piece of me that everyone I meet sees, my name. While reading Hispanic Surnames and Family Histories, I learn that my maiden name originally had an accent mark over ‘i’. No one in my family ever lead me to believe that we spelled our surname different than what it originally intended to be. It showed me that our surname was not wrong, only different. As I was reviewing other names in the book (surnames that have had major changes to the original spelling), a wave of emotion fell over me. I felt power (for those who chose to change their names), anger (for those who had no control over the change), adventure (for those who had a chance for a new beginning), and sadness (for those who felt they lost their history/identity). Our identity is a powerful tool over our world.

I reflected back to my husband’s surname and could see that the English modification was not a welcomed change. Heinrich Hübenthal chose an area of the United States in which he knew his culture, language, and way of life would have minimal change, yet he was forced to change his surname in order to apply for citizenship. As time progressed, Heinrich’s family line would soon begin to assimilate into the culture. The generations would later phase out the German language, marry out of their culture, and introduce the English and Spanish languages. Heinrich married a German immigrant woman and their son, John Herman Henry married a Mexican woman, and then their son, Michael married a Mexican-American woman, and then eventually their sons (my husband and his two brothers) married Hispanic women. Not only has the family’s German culture thinned out, it has almost become extinct.

The effect of Americanizing foreign names has impacted the local culture and community. It is a sign that a community, family, or individual has accepted the new culture. Accepting the changes associated with the assimilation of cultures allows foreign cultures to become vulnerable to the watering down of their own culture. This can become detrimental to a culture’s survival. On the other hand, the creation of hybrid cultures provides the new generations a chance to express their interests and creations. This change can be seen within minority literature. As mentioned in Nationalism and Literary Production: The Hispanic and Chicano Experiences, every selected era was able to be expressed by their political and social events of that time. In the period between 1946 and 1966, writers demonstrated the new hybrid culture by assimilating the American and Hispanic cultures. The writers, in turn, were able to relate to the individuals in the 3^rd and 4^th Hispanic generations. We can continue to witness the hybrid writing that went well into late twentieth century with the class novels Bless Me, Ultima and Woman Hollering Creek as well as the Mexican American poetry.

Of the many reasons listed earlier in the paper, I was unable to pinpoint to a single answer as to why and how names have become both altered verbally and in written form. As I researched this topic, the deeper I found myself in the different contributing factors.  Factors I did not take into account when I decided to pursue this topic. I learned that all of them made a significant impact in some form or fashion. I found that the migration, location, and speed of assimilation made a heavy impact on the shift in the cultural integration. I also found that the later generations became more susceptible to change and the American culture. Finally, I learned that linguistics, education, and the American government play a major part in impacting a cultural change.

I really enjoyed learning how literature (whether it is fiction or non-fiction) has a much larger impact on cultures and societies. The education of literature and use of literature in classrooms have a profound influence on all people of all cultures. If I were to pursue this subject further, I would purse the educational, linguistic, and historical aspects of cultural change. I found those three factors to be the most interesting, available, life changing subjects in the field of social and ethic change. I feel that learning your own culture and other cultures help you to become a positive influence in the social world. It also opens the doors for future generations to become better members of society.

Bibliography

    Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me, Ultima. New York, NY: Warner Books, Inc., 1972.

    Crystal, David. English as a Global Language. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

    Dykes-Hoffmann, Judith Lynn. "On the Edge of the Balcones Escarpment:The Urban and Cultural Development of New Braunfels and San Marcos, Texas 1845-1880." December 2003. The City of New Braunfels, TX. 14 April 2010 <http://www.ci.new-braunfels.tx.us/index.aspx?nid=823>.

“English language." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2010. 10 Apr. 2010 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/188048/English-language>.

Gutierrez, Ramon. "Nationalism and Literary Producation: The Hispanic and Chicano Experiences." Padilla, Genaro and Ramon Gutierrez. Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage. Houston, TX: Arte Publico Press, 1993. 241-250.

Paredes, Raymund A. "Mexican-American Literature: An Overview." Gutierrez, Ramon and Genaro Padilla. Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage. Houston, TX: Arte Publico Press, 1993. 31-51.

Platt, Lyman De. Hispanic Surnames and Family History. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Pub. Co, 1996.

The City of New Braunfels. The Official Website of the City of New Braunfels, TX. 2010. 15 April 2010 <http://www.ci.new-braunfels.tx.us/index.aspx?nid=823>.

Wikipedia contributors. "English language." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 2010. 10 Apr. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language>.