For the tenth time this semester I've recieved a piece of C&C 
informing me that I've misspelled the name of everyone's 
favorite Lost Boy. This note was more forceful than the 
previous ones, stating that the spelling "Ryoga" is only used in 
"the sorry viz dubs probably overseen by Trish". In responce, 
and to air a few views of my own, this essay will examine the 
case of romanization and the use of "o" vs "ou".

   It should be noted from the outset that romanization is not a 
facet of Japanese culture. There is no tradition in Japan that 
states that things must be romanized a certain way; how could 
there be? Romanization is western culture attempting to 
render the Japanese language into it's own written alphabet. It 
also follows that there is no "traditionally correct" version of 
spelling.

    Let us first examine the aesthetic side. This is rather 
subjective, as many people have different views on what looks 
better, so bear with me.

   On the "ou" side, I personally feel that "Ryouga" and "Ukyou" 
look better than their u-less counterparts. From the majority 
of fanfics I've read, most people seem to share this view.

   On the flip side, I prefer Tendo and Kuno to Tendou and Kunou. 
Most fanfics are split half and half on this one, again from 
what I've seen.

   And now we get to the serious "ou" problems. Under this 
system, Akane's father is named "Souun", and he runs the 
"Tendou Doujou". I've only seen this spelling in Kun-chan's 
fanfics, _but_, if we hold that "Ryouga" is the proper 
romanization, the same grammatical laws say "Souun" is the 
correct spelling. Kun-chan is being consistent with the system.

   Well, mostly consistent. You see, the same "ou" romanization 
system calls for the capital of Japan to be spelled "Toukyou", 
which Kun-chan stops short of doing. And the city of Kyoto 
would likewise be spelled "Kyoutou".

   As for authorities' preference, I offer the following.

* Every atlas I've ever come across has used the "o" system.

* The AP uses the "o" system when romanizing place and 
person names.

* My Weatherhill Kana textbook uses the "o" system.

   I've never seen a official source using the "ou" system, 
though this may be due to a lack of looking on my part.

   In fact, I believe the "ou" version might be common in 
Australia due to their spelling of certain English-language 
words.

American         Australian

Honor                Honour

Color                Colour

Armor               Armour

   Thus, while the "ou" spelling may be correct if you're 
romanizing into Australian English, it would appear to be 
inncorrect for American English. Bear in mind that "correct" is 
a relative term.

   The bottom line is that there's evidence for using either the 
"o" or "ou" system. Most people, however, seem to use a 
mishmash of the two, which is grammatically incorrect by 
both systems. But hey, if it works for you...

   And there is no justification for spelling Miss Kuonji's name 
as "Ukkyo". Talk about lousy translations....

- Mike of No Particular Title or Handle
===/\=====+==================================================================
  /  \    l   Mike Loader - Lincolnite, Amberite, Illuminatus, Discordian,
 / () \   l      Journalist, Author, Traveler, Historian, Java Fiend.
/      \  l        Trier - LA - LV - Kiev - Reno - Hong Kong. Fnord.
--------  l                    mloader@scs.unr.edu
==========+==================================================================