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A Nickname for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi? There’s No Short Answer A Nickname for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi? There’s No Short Answer
(about 7 hours later)
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She’s famous for a lifetime of campaigning for democracy in Myanmar, has been honored with a Nobel Peace Prize, and now, thanks to an electoral triumph, she is the leading political figure in her country.She’s famous for a lifetime of campaigning for democracy in Myanmar, has been honored with a Nobel Peace Prize, and now, thanks to an electoral triumph, she is the leading political figure in her country.
But for anyone who speaks or writes about her, she presents something of a quandary: What do you call Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for short?But for anyone who speaks or writes about her, she presents something of a quandary: What do you call Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for short?
Western notions of first and last names don’t really apply in Myanmar, formerly Burma. Burmese people generally don’t hand down family names from one generation to another, or change a birth name upon marriage. And there’s no particular pattern to the number of syllable elements, except that very short names like U Nu are becoming a bit less common.Western notions of first and last names don’t really apply in Myanmar, formerly Burma. Burmese people generally don’t hand down family names from one generation to another, or change a birth name upon marriage. And there’s no particular pattern to the number of syllable elements, except that very short names like U Nu are becoming a bit less common.
Burmese people use courtesy titles to convey social status, and consider them a more essential part of the name than Mr. or Ms. would be in English. Daw is one such prefix; it translates literally as “aunt” but means something more like “madame,” and denotes an older or married woman of substance. (U is the equivalent for a man.) When she was a girl, her name would have started with Ma instead of Daw.Burmese people use courtesy titles to convey social status, and consider them a more essential part of the name than Mr. or Ms. would be in English. Daw is one such prefix; it translates literally as “aunt” but means something more like “madame,” and denotes an older or married woman of substance. (U is the equivalent for a man.) When she was a girl, her name would have started with Ma instead of Daw.
Parents can draw elements of a child’s name from wherever they like, and in Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s case, hers came from theirs — her father was the independence leader Gen. Aung San and her mother the diplomat Khin Kyi — as well as from her grandmother’s (the Suu part, which also refers to the day of the week when she was born).Parents can draw elements of a child’s name from wherever they like, and in Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s case, hers came from theirs — her father was the independence leader Gen. Aung San and her mother the diplomat Khin Kyi — as well as from her grandmother’s (the Suu part, which also refers to the day of the week when she was born).
Her brothers’ names also start with Aung San, so that’s not ideal for a nickname. Instead, Burmese people tend to shorten her name using the Suu part, to Daw Suu or Amay Suu (Mother Suu) or to Dr. Suu Kyi (she has an honorary doctorate from Oxford).Her brothers’ names also start with Aung San, so that’s not ideal for a nickname. Instead, Burmese people tend to shorten her name using the Suu part, to Daw Suu or Amay Suu (Mother Suu) or to Dr. Suu Kyi (she has an honorary doctorate from Oxford).
That’s also the route Hillary Clinton followed when she was secretary of state: In 2012, for example, Mrs. Clinton referred to her familiarly as Suu Kyi.That’s also the route Hillary Clinton followed when she was secretary of state: In 2012, for example, Mrs. Clinton referred to her familiarly as Suu Kyi.
The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage, though, brooks no such familiarity: It advises that the second reference should be Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, which hardly helps in the “for short” quandary.The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage, though, brooks no such familiarity: It advises that the second reference should be Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, which hardly helps in the “for short” quandary.