On the night of Friday, May 6, students were invited to the Student Activities Center (SAC) to learn to write their names in a variety of languages from around the globe during an event organized by the Linguistics Club.
“I think Choate really focuses a lot on multiculturalism and international perspectives,” said President of Linguistics Club David Garsten ’23. “This event is a really good way for people to appreciate other cultures and learn about them.” The event was held in collaboration with many clubs representing diverse languages and cultural backgrounds. Africanah, Chinese Club, Choate Korea Friendship Association (CKFA), Hillel, Hispanic-Latinx Forum (HLF), Japanese Club, and Middle Eastern Northern African Club (MENA) all hosted tables at the event.
In proposing the event, Garsten was inspired by Harvest Fest back in October. He opted for a similar format for his club by creating an event that could be held in conjunction with other clubs. He noted, “We thought we should try to organize something like that huge event; it’d be really cool.”
Garsten hoped that those who attended the Calligraphy Night understood that “it’s not just transliterating your name, but that each culture has different naming customs.” Whether it’s the order of each of their names, or which parent’s last name is taken, he wanted students at the events to learn “different customs in addition to just different sounds and scripts.”
Katherine Chong ’25 and Fiona Fu ’25 manned the Chinese Club booth together. “[One thing] we as people just need to work on in general is being more open-minded and learning about other people’s cultures instead of being so focused on the monolith of our own culture,” said Fu. “Events like this [show] how people have been inspired to learn about other cultures.”
Chong added that despite the wide variety of cultural backgrounds represented at Choate, “[oftentimes,] we get simplified to stats on the website, and there isn’t a real representation of what that culture can entail inside our school. This is one of the times where we manifest as being more than a number.”
Chong also touched on the challenges of accuratly capturing the cultural significance of names in different languages. “When you try to translate a name, it’s hard to get both the meaning and the resemblance from the original culture.” This fact makes it difficult for the translator. “Directly translating someone’s name is not very simple,” said Fu. While translating into Chinese, she had to “try and take characters that don’t really have any specific meaning so that you’re not transferring [bad] energy into their name.” She hopes that having more events like this in the future will “open up more doors to communication and opportunities to share.”
While Keegan Hennessy ’25 enjoyed having her name written in various languages, she wished she could have had more opportunities to learn about the cultures represented. Olympia Wolff ’25, who attended the event, appreciated learning about different characteristics of various languages. She mentioned how Hebrew names include “son/daughter of,” suggesting familial importance. Wolff added that she “[hoped] to see this event in a more organized manner, with more space. It would be great if they’d include a table set up with artifacts and other objects to encourage and entice attendees.” Overall, however, she enjoyed the event. “The most fun part was seeing a colorful sheet of my name written in various languages and comparing it with others who also visited each station,” she said.
Calligraphy Night provided opportunities for students to learn about other cultures while also sharing their own with peers. In addition to making memories on the fun night, attendees experienced the exchanges of a diverse range of backgrounds and perspectives right on campus, helping to develop more awareness to the rich culture and community present at Choate.
