Published 2018-01-02
Copyright (c) 2018 American Name Society
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
This study examines the naming practices of 423 American Chinese restaurants (ACR) in Los Angeles County. The results reveal that through the incorporation of region names, family names, and transliterated hanzi, ACR names not only serve as markers of restaurant type, they also showcase the diversity within the Chinese culinary tradition. As creations of immigrants, ACR names simultaneously reflect an embracing of cultural assimilation, through the adoption of English given names, collocation with terms that exude modern European sensibility, and the borrowing of American fast food (“express”) takeout concept. The results of this study can contribute to studies on naming practices of ethnic restaurants and, in general, to the field of food onomastics.
References
- Arellano, Gustavo. 2013. Taco USA: How Mexican food conquered America. New York, NY: Scribner.
- Chinese Restaurant News. 2008. Chinese Restaurants: Show Your Famous Dish. http://ezine.c-r-n.com/ezine.htm?log (accessed September 14, 2016).
- Coe, Andrew. 2009. Chop Suey: A cultural history of Chinese food in the United States. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Encyclopedia Britannica. 2016. Cathay: Medieval region, China. https://global.britannica.com/place/Cathay-medieval-region-China (accessed October 10, 2016).
- Fang, Xiaofeng. 2010. The great gardens of China: History, concepts, techniques. New York, NY: Monacelli Press.
- Lee, Jennifer B. 2009. The fortune cookie chronicles: Adventures in the world of Chinese food. Lebanon, IN: Twelve Books.
- Lombardi, Skip, and Holly Chase. 2012. Almost Italian: A cookbook & history of Italian food in America. Istanbul: Bosphorus Books.
- Louie, Emma Woo. 2006. Remarkable similarities between traditional Chinese and Anglo-Saxon England’s naming customs. Names 54, no. 3: 211–220.10.1179/nam.2006.54.3.211
- National Restaurant Association. 2015. Global palates: Ethnic cuisines and flavors in America. http://imis.restaurant.org/store/detail.aspx?id=ETHCUIS15 (accessed September 10, 2016).
- Nilsen, Alleen. 1995. From Aunt Chilada’s to Cactus Willy’s: Gender naming in the marketing of food in Arizona. Names 43, no. 1: 29–52.10.1179/nam.1995.43.1.29
- Nilsson, Magnus. 2015. The nordic cookbook. London: Phaidon Press.
- Ray, Krishnendu. 2016. The ethnic restaurateur. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
- Schiavelli, Vincent. 1998. America: Remembrances of Sicilian-American Brooklyn, told in stories and recipes. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
- Westney, Lynn. 2007. From courtesans to queens: Recipes named for women. Names 55, no. 3: 277–285.10.1179/nam.2007.55.3.277