ONce again, I don't want my fellow fanfic-jin getting the wrong idea.
How can I say this? I know!
Why don't you go to Japan with YOUR roumaji knowledge, go up to a girl, and call
her "kawai" instead of "kawaii," if you're so sure about your abilities. I only
ask that once you do you show everyone on this list the palm-print on your face.
Correct roumaji spellings in all your Japanese studies are imperative, so you
can use the stories you write as good practice...Not to mention it will make you
all look much smarter in the ways of Nihongo.
Next question, please.
39
"Martin L. Metke" wrote:
Calm yourself, grasshopper. Both versions of "Ryoga" are correct, but how p
eople spell them often depends on which romanization standard they learned u
nder. There have been several different systems to (if you'll excuse CS-spe
ak) port a language that our character system is not intended for into roman
ized spelling. For instance: My Akira soundtrack is credited to "Yamashiro
gumi Geinoh", yet in the romanization system I learned in college, his name
would be written "Yama_si_rogumi Geino_u_" (underlines for emphasis), and ot
her systems would focus mainly on the sounds, rather than the length of the
vowels, making it "Yamashirogumi Geino"... and so on. Some systems allow th
e "Ch", as in "-chan", while in the system I learned, it's "tyan" to show th
e conjugation of "Ti" (chi) and "ya" to make the "cha" sound. The system I
learned was designed to more accurately reflect kana, and thus uses two-lett
er syllabic representation: "Ti", "Tu", "Si", for what sounds like "chi", "t
su", and "shi"; it also uses "zi" for "ji", showing that it is one of the "z
a-zi-zu-ze-zo" row. Other systems are designed to allow easier reading for
those unfamiliar with Japanese.
Can't we all just get along? :)
Sincerely,
Martin Metke
PS: Try to avoid re-posting entire 'fics in your reply... it just fills up m
y hard-drive and annoys the list. If people feel the need to read the origi
nal message, they can scroll back up. Domo arigatou, M.