Multicultural Names
At Globalise Consulting, we’ve been helping people navigate the use, pronunciation and administration of culturally diverse names for over twenty years.
We offer a number of options to support individuals and organisations with this important and challenging area.
“I have worked closely with Fiona for guidance on the correct pronunciation of names for the graduation celebrations at Melbourne Business School. She is always responsive, helpful, timely, and remarkably diligent, often going the extra mile to ensure that we have accurate transcriptions and voice recordings of the names. I recommend her without hesitation.”
Professor Andrew John
Associate Dean, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Melbourne
PRONUNCIATION SUPPORT FOR PRESENTERS AND MCs
Need to read out one or more culturally diverse names for an event or broadcast? We can help by providing one of more of the following:
- Audio recordings of the correct pronunciation (with or without the appropriate accent) that you can listen to and practise before your event, and/or
- Phonetic transcriptions of culturally diverse names designed for native English speakers (e.g. Zhang Aiqian Jaang Eye-CheeENN)
- One-on-one pronunciation coaching
“As a graduation ceremony reader, you are obliged to pronounce several hundred names perfectly, from countless linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The support Fiona Price provided in the lead up to each ceremony was invaluable, not only from a technical standpoint, but also her ability to work and empathise within my own sense of language to get things right.”
Professor Chris Thompson
Director of Education, Monash University
PROFESSIONAL NAME READING SERVICE
Holding an event where a range of culturally diverse names will be announced and want them to be pronounced correctly and confidently? Fiona regularly reads out names from twenty or thirty languages at graduation and convocation ceremonies and can provide a professional name reading service.
“We engaged Fiona to read the fabulously diverse student names at Melbourne Polytechnic’s Graduation Ceremonies, at the Melbourne Recital Centre, in 2022.
Both staff and students were thrilled with Fiona’s flawless pronunciation and engaging presentation style. She’s turned a traditional event ‘lowlight’ into a true highlight.”
Heather Clarke
Director of Allegro Black
TRAINING PROGRAMS
Are staff at your organisation struggling with names? We provide engaging, practical training on culturally diverse names that are tailored to our clients’ needs.
Our programs can be delivered as on-site workshops, webinars or as self-directed online courses, and can cover any of the following for names from the languages of your choice:
- Pronunciation (for common names or for specific names the clients need help with)
- Naming conventions and structure (the components the name contains and how they work)
- Use (addressing people formally and informally, personal name data entry, westernisation, etc.)
Below are examples of training programs on diverse names that we have run for our clients.
MULTICULTURAL NAMES AND KYC/CDD
(45min conference presentation delivered online)
- The design of forms, databases and identification documents in English-speaking countries
- Cultural differences in naming conventions
- Romanised names from other writing systems
- Real-life applications of naming conventions in financial investigations
- What you can do: data collection, learning about naming conventions
“I attended Fiona’s workshop on Asian and Middle Eastern naming conventions and found it to be thoroughly fascinating. I had no idea of the complexities and history of names and how they are used and changed. In a world where data is a new currency, Fiona’s expertise unlocks a vault of wealth. I am happy to recommend Fiona to anyone who works in financial or criminal intelligence. It will greatly improve your intelligence and investigative capabilities.”
Todd Harland
CEO AML Solutions International
NAVIGATING MULTICULTURAL NAMES
(3.5hr on-site workshop)
This workshop was delivered to members of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, and covered:
- Cultural differences in naming conventions
- The use, structure and pronunciation of:
- Mainland and Overseas Chinese names (Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien)
- Indian names (Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil)
- Sri Lankan names (Sinhalese)
- Saudi names (Arabic)
- South Sudanese names (Dinka)
- Spanish Latin American names
- Polish names
- Tips for navigating names
- At the service desk
- On the phone
- When entering personal name data
“The best workshop I have ever attended… the time flew by, and there was not a dull moment. I learnt a lot that I can use in my current role. I’m looking forward to doing a refresher in the future.”
Admission Officer
RMIT (attended ‘Working with Asian Names’)
UNDERSTANDING CHINESE NAMES
(50min webinar)
This session was delivered to a mixed audience of university staff and members of the general public, and covered:
- The three types of Chinese names we see in English-speaking countries
- How to address Chinese people in formal and informal contexts
- Chinese dialects: What they are and how they work
- How to pronounce names from China romanised in hanyu pinyin
- Understanding and using intonation in Chinese names
- How and why the Chinese westernise their names
“I attended Dr. Price’s webinar because Chinese names were always a mystery to me! She is a powerful storyteller, and did a great job of explaining how traditional and modern Chinese names work in an engaging and patient way.”
Michael Clancy
Principal Analyst – Wholesale Gas Market Systems at Australian Energy Market Operator