He took interest in it, he repeated it, he asked about the origin and meaning. But the fact that he was the first person to ever validate my name is absolutely tattooed in my mind. I wish I could remember more about this gentleman, but I only have a dream-like memory of him. For once in my life, having this name made me feel special and unique, not ashamed and embarrassed with a sense of dread as to how I was going to explain it yet again. “Thank you,” I responded elated that he was so interested in my name and couldn’t have cared less about Mary Margaret’s or Anna’s. “It was the name of an ancient Persian queen,” which was the simplified version I had been told at that tender age. “Um, Iranian.” I didn’t even try to sugarcoat it by calling it Persian. I was so taken aback by his response, that I was at a loss for words. “Pontia… wow, that is a beautiful name! What’s the origin of that?” Instead, I was met with sparkling eyes and a look of intrigue.
“I’m Pontia,” I said shyly, expecting nothing more than a smile and a nod. For Westerns, Iranian and Arab was like, eh, potato, potah-to. It was the perfect plan! Except what my parents didn’t realize was that this fun fact was only obvious to Iranians. My parents figured that if their children had names that started with a P, no one would make such a mistake because- HELLO!- the Arabic alphabet doesn’t have a P! So obviously we weren’t Arab. Why? Because in the West, Iranians are always mistaken for being Arab. My parents named my siblings and me names that start with a ‘P’. Pon-tuh (using the Americanized pronunciation, anyway). So is it Pon-tee-uh? Actually, it’s two syllables and a silent “i”: Pon (like “ponder”) tuh (like “tummy”). How the heck do you say Pontia? I know what you’re thinking- it looks like “Pontiac” without the “c”.
#Panthea meaning how to
One that you’re probably not too sure how to pronounce (unless maybe you’ve read my About page, but even then…). Some of you know me personally, some of you I’ve met in Tehran (which is always cool), but to most of you, I’m just a name. And if so, please do share your experiences below- especially if you happen to be another Pontia/Pantea out there! 🙂 And even though it’s about my personal experiences, I have a feeling that the overall issue is something that many of you, Iranian or not, will be able to relate to. It’s something I’ve written some form of in my newsletter and on Instagram, but I decided to gather all these thoughts dancing around in my head in one post and share them with you. Today’s post is more of a personal essay.
0 kommentar(er)
