From: "The Eternal Lost Lurker" <lurkerdrome@worldnet.att.net>
To: "David Johnston" <rgorman@telusplanet.net>
CC: <ffml@fanfic.com>
Subject: Re: [FFML] Japanese Nomenclature Refresher
Date: Sat, 17 Apr 1999 15:37:48 -0500
Just a few things to add, since this is one of my favorite topics...
-chan (sweetie/dear/baby): Very familiar. Appropriate for
addressing
children, teen-age girls you are friendly with, or your boyfriend or
girlfriend, or entertainers by their fans. Nabiki -chans Kuno
probably
to imply that she regards him as very immature. Ukyo -chans
everyone
because she's from the Japanese equivalent of California and
generally
California? No. She's from the Japanese equivalent of the South. The
Kansai
dialect in Japanese has, for all intents and purposes, the same
lingual and
cultural connotations as the Southern drawl does in the U.S.
maintains a very friendly demeanor. Ranma calls Ukyo "Ucchan" as a
holdover from childhood. Arnold Schwarzenegger is called "Arnold-
chan"
by his Japanese fans.
<tries to imagine ANYONE calling Schwarzenegger "Arnold-chan"...it
doesn't
parse. o.o>
-kun (pal/buddy): Less familiar. Appropriate for addressing
teenage
boys, adult male friends, students of either gender when you are a
teacher, professional subordinates. Yohko's teacher calls her
"Yohko-kun" to maintain an appropriate distance between them.
It's also often applied to girls by elders who are close family
friends, or
perhaps relatives...uncles, aunts, what-have-you...but who don't
feel the
familiar address appropriate for whatever reason.
An interesting case of this: Genma addresses Akane as 'Akane-kun'.
However,
he addresses Kasumi as 'Kasumi-chan'. Nabiki...I don't think he ever
addresses Nabiki directly, actually. I can't say I blame him. ^_^
-dono (Sir/Ma'am): Slightly deferential, a mark of respect. Washu
calls Tenchi by this title, perhaps because of his noble lineage,
or because she respects his power.
This honorific is actually more like 'Lord' or 'Lady', in the sense
that
it's an indication of higher societal status, but not necessarily an
indication of fealty. Certainly less an indication of such than '-
sama',
which, depending on its application (as it has a tendency to be
applied in
some...rather odd places), usually carries the connotation of 'Your
sword
may pass through me before it passes through <name>-sama, infidel.'
A '-sama' is usually someone whose life you'd put before your own in
importance. A '-dono' is someone you hold respect for, but if the
tihs hits
the fan, you could live with letting them cover their own rear. ^_^
I agree with pretty much all the specifics that Lurker's put up.
It's also interesting to note that (for fic writeers as well as
linguists) a lot of the honorifics are used as a sarcastic jibe -
just as most of the informal terms are applied to show disrespect.
In many cases elevated someone to a class above and beyond what they
are is used as a sarcastic or fairly satirical insult to someone's
position. It's the same kind of sarcasm used in Julius Caeser when
Mark Antony kept referring to Brutus as an 'honorable man.'
On the flip side of the coin, and just as applicable, is the use of
the informal with someone you don't know to lower their status or to
show disrespect. It's the same idea as if you walked up to a
complete stranger and saying, 'Hey baby, is that a mirror in your
pants, because I can see myself in them.' Or the equivalent for a
woman speaking to a man. It's rude and disrespectful, and in
Japanese society, it's Very Very Bad(tm).
So if you need an insult, Just misuse an honorific. It's easy, and
if people knwo what you're talking about, it'll -really- get the
point across.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
On a tangent, I should probably ask the list if there are many people
who read fics like the Ninja Scroll fics I've been posting. It's not
for polling purposes, and it's something I'd like to maintain
privately. I'll admit to using lots and lots of Japanese terminology
in the fics. I've gotten a few replies regarding the use of
terminology, but it's always people who know what I'm talking about.
I'd like to know if I need an appendix attachment to explain terms.
I could use english to describe it, but it'd take a paragraph to
explain how someone's kneeling in a particular fashion. It's easier
for me to simply say, 'tatehiza.'
Again, a digression, and one I'd like taken to private channels; and
I'd -really- like some replies to this one since I seem to have lost
a large number of people who read these kind of fics, and I'd like to
know why I haven't gotten any responses. o_o;
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