Empirical Study on Chinese Students' Names Written in Kanji and Katakana : The View of an International Student Advisor

It is well-known that there are three types of Kanji used respectively in Japan, China and Taiwan/Hong Kong. Chinese students studying at Okayama University are required to use Japanese style Kanji on campus. This rule causes problems when they write their names in that style. This is because young Chinese do not know either Japanese style Kanji or old style Kanji. On the other hand, teachers and administrators in charge of international students tend to lack knowledge of simplified Chinese style Kanji. As a result, many unnecessary mistakes cause misunderstandings among them. For example, "龙" (dragon) was once mistaken for "犬" (dog) because its fourth stroke was ignored and omitted carelessly. The author reviews earlier studies, and gives a brief overview how different types of Kanji came into use, then shows problems seen in the list of international students of the university. The author concludes that three-step measures should be taken in order to get rid of those mistakes in the list. That is, to check names written in 1) application forms before entry, 2) papers for admission at the time of entry, 3) enrollment sheets of campus life orientation for new international students after entry