Do the Turtles know Japanese?

[Logan]

This is something that's been nagging me for the past few weeks and I've been hesitant to start a thread on it, but I decided to go ahead and do it.

It seems reasonable to assume, being ninja, that they would be familiar with language. Especially when you consider that Splinter came from Japan. But (to my knowledge) it's never really been addressed. I think it would be kind of cool if they spoke Japanese at home, while English when they're just hanging out or speaking to those unfamiliar with the language.

[ssjup81]

I wondered this when older. For the old toon show, they joked about how you had all these Japanese characters speaking English. Thank you Raph. :tlol:

But that aside, seems they would know something or Splinter (Yoshi for the OT/Archie series) would've taught them something or used certain phrases with them. In the Archie comics when they had that arc where they traveled to Japan, none of the turtles seemed to speak Japanese or even reference it. I don't even think Splinter did. They lucked out and ended up around English speakers (like the dreadful movie 3).

[pannoni1]

Except for a few crossover words such as Sushi, Clan, and Ninjitsu, I honestly don't see the turtles, except for perhaps Leonardo knowing Japanese. It is more important to communicate with the vernacular since the turtles aren't in Japan for the most part. Still, it is important for the turtles to understand what Splinter has been through while he was in Japan in order to simply be a Ninja Master. Now Leonardo may enjoying reading Japanese books and may know some of it when he's talking to Japanese, and perhaps Donatello in order to understand how the Japanese language works, but Raphael and especially Michelangelo just don't see a purpose for communicating in Japanese as necessary unless is Splinter disciplines them.

[Leonardo Mystic]

The 4Kids' series throughout was peppered with Japanese phrases and words, including Asian-inspired music for Splinter's and Saki's themes and others used in Usagi's episodes, the Ancient One and much of the Ninja Tribunal season.

I do believe all the turtles and Splinter can speak Japanese, but the ones who use it most would be Splinter, of course, and Leonardo. Don too probably, but to a lesser degree. Raph and Mikey, unless Splinter addressed them in Japanese, would rarely speak it.

[Kendamu]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Turtles knew Japanese in that, "I took a semester in college," sense. They know a little bit and could probably get around were they normal people, but they couldn't have casual conversations with people outside of a few very limited subjects.

[BubblyShell22]

Yes, I would think they'd know Japanese to some extent. Perhaps Splinter/Yoshi taught then when they were younger, and they just learned it then. But as they grew older, they decided not to use it, except for Leo who would probably use it more often than the others.

[HotJuicyBurgers]

If we are talking about the IDW turtles I would think yes. I mean, it makes less sense for them to even know english in this case.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Splinter should teach them becoming billunguial from early years.

[Drose18]

In one episode of 2k3 The ancient one said Leonardo San Remember your japanese studys what does tengu mean?
Or something like that.

[Mr.Turtle]

i think leo and don do but not raph or mikey for sure.

[Machias Banshee]

Ooh, I like this question...

My personal thought was that if we use the Mutation version where they actually 'grew up' (Mirage and 2K3), Splinter (previously a pet rat) could have demonstrated a sort of basic Japanese, maybe mixed in with some animalistic body postures, churrs, and various growls and whatnot... kind of a stunted Japanese.

As they aged, Splinter would recall and teach them more proper Japanese, and the boys would also learn English as they became exposed to more human culture, tv, reading materials. Then they would be bilingual by learning from each other. And as teenagers now, I imagine they speak mostly English, except for certain situations with Splinter (training, private talks, catching hell for whatever reason).

Now, if you go the other route, say... Old toon. Splinter's formerly Yoshi, and the turtles become teenagers immediately. Splinter will know Japanese, and teach some to the turtles, but their knowledge is going to be somewhat basic. The older you get, the harder it is to learn...

Yet if you go Archies, where Splinter was Human AND the boys grew up, it'll be more like the Mirage theory, but with more refined Japanese language.

[Jester]

Except for a few crossover words such as... Clan... I honestly don't see the turtles... knowing Japanese.
Learn something new everyday. "Clan" is a Japanese word.

[Sage Ninja]

Now, if you go the other route, say... Old toon. Splinter's formerly Yoshi, and the turtles become teenagers immediately.

where do you get this from? With the exception of the very first episode that shows them mutating (which I chalk uip to an animation direction error), there is evidence though out the series that support that the turtles had childhoods and grew up into teenagers. Off the top of my head, the first Mondo Gecko episode implies that years past between the turtles mutation and the turtles present age.

[Machias Banshee]

In my use of 'immediately', I guess I should clarify that it may have been a couple years since the mutation, not a full 15, 16 years... I honestly never had that image that there was Any kind of 'youth' for the OT turtles. :tconfuse:

[Cryomancer]

The root question is probably really if Splinter knew English. Assuming they grow up in the US together, it's quite likely that Splinter taught them Japanese and they then learned English together. That'd be a neat angle to work in a future version.

It may or may not be relevant to the conversation that the Japanese TMNT manga was full of Japanese stereotypes and caricatures, despite being made by a Japanese person for the Japanese market. Most notoriously: http://puu.sh/1cdE (don't click if you are going to be offended by this sort of thing)

[Type 97 Chi-ha]

As was mentioned before, in the OT the Turtles make comments about Japanese people speaking English (Usagi Yojimbo being one example), and in the "Goodbye Lotus Blossom" episode they ask why an ancient Japanese is speaking English, and the reply is that they couldn't afford subtitles. So I get the impression they would know Japanese. Why shouldn't they when their sensei and their nemesis both do?

[Stingray69]

I would have to say yes, I can see splinter teaching them it.

[ssjup81]

In my use of 'immediately', I guess I should clarify that it may have been a couple years since the mutation, not a full 15, 16 years... I honestly never had that image that there was Any kind of 'youth' for the OT turtles. :tconfuse:They probably did what they did in the first episode to just show how the mutation worked. I was always under the impression that they would've had "childhoods", especially given that they had birthday eps. They even complained that Raph seemed to act nastier and grumpier on his birthday every year it comes up.

[Sage Ninja]

They probably did what they did in the first episode to just show how the mutation worked. I was always under the impression that they would've had "childhoods", especially given that they had birthday eps. They even complained that Raph seemed to act nastier and grumpier on his birthday every year it comes up.

thankyou. I remember this as well.

[Galactus]

I think only Raphael in Image was ever shown to speak Japanese with any expertise and even then I could be remembering that wrong.

They probably did what they did in the first episode to just show how the mutation worked. I was always under the impression that they would've had "childhoods", especially given that they had birthday eps. They even complained that Raph seemed to act nastier and grumpier on his birthday every year it comes up.

That would work if ever other instance of animals mutating in the series didn't show it to be instantaneous. Slash never had a childhood or Groundchuck and Dirtbag or Tokka and Rahzar.

[Type 97 Chi-ha]

I think only Raphael in Image was ever shown to speak Japanese with any expertise and even then I could be remembering that wrong.



That would work if ever other instance of animals mutating in the series didn't show it to be instantaneous. Slash never had a childhood or Groundchuck and Dirtbag or Tokka and Rahzar.

How about the Punk Frogs or Leatherhead? (And for that matter, where did Leatherhead learn to cook?)

[DonatelloDomeHead31]

I seem to recall Donatello learning how to say "Hello, Mustard" in Ninja Turtles III. He admits his Japanese was a little off. :D

A little joke there, but still, in my opinion, Leo would know the most Japanese as he always made his training stronger...

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

The root question is probably really if Splinter knew English. Assuming they grow up in the US together, it's quite likely that Splinter taught them Japanese and they then learned English together. That'd be a neat angle to work in a future version.

It may or may not be relevant to the conversation that the Japanese TMNT manga was full of Japanese stereotypes and caricatures, despite being made by a Japanese person for the Japanese market. Most notoriously: http://puu.sh/1cdE (don't click if you are going to be offended by this sort of thing)

I thought English was taught at school in Japan, so in TMNT version were Splinter is Hamato Yoshi, he would know. Same with Shredder.

[ssjup81]

That would work if ever other instance of animals mutating in the series didn't show it to be instantaneous. Slash never had a childhood or Groundchuck and Dirtbag or Tokka and Rahzar.We never saw Tokka and Rahzaa's mutation in the show. They just showed up one day (only referring to the OT). As for Slash, I'll give you that one. ^^

As for Groundchuck and Dirtbag, maybe they were an "adult" animals. :tlol:How about the Punk Frogs or Leatherhead? (And for that matter, where did Leatherhead learn to cook?)Well, I would say that the frogs were already "adult" since you know, a baby frog is a tadpole.

[Type 97 Chi-ha]

I thought English was taught at school in Japan, so in TMNT version were Splinter is Hamato Yoshi, he would know. Same with Shredder.

I heard that it was taught, but even after school the Japanese never actually learn it until they interact with native speakers, for which there are few opportunities for most people.

[Galactus]

How about the Punk Frogs or Leatherhead? (And for that matter, where did Leatherhead learn to cook?)

Indeed.

We never saw Tokka and Rahzaa's mutation in the show. They just showed up one day (only referring to the OT). As for Slash, I'll give you that one. ^^

True but didn't that episode rationalise their existence as being from when Shredder played around with mutagen in the zoo. A veiled reference to Planet of The Turtleoids perhaps? Unless they grew up really fast it's unlikely Tokka and Rahzar had a childhood.

As for Groundchuck and Dirtbag, maybe they were an "adult" animals. :tlol:Well, I would say that the frogs were already "adult" since you know, a baby frog is a tadpole.

Good point but you'd think that they'd be some kind of period of adjustment instead of them instantly mastering english or Groundchuck developing his cowboy lingo etc. I'm not criticising the show for this, it's a fun cartoon that we're just supposed to accept that animals exposed to mutagen instantly mutate and know all their is to know about the world around them.

Something like this however I felt was more of a problem with Secret of the Ooze were despite their baby quality Tokka and Rahzar were still too fully developed and especialy in the IDW series.

[Cryomancer]

I thought English was taught at school in Japan, so in TMNT version were Splinter is Hamato Yoshi, he would know. Same with Shredder.

Maybe, I was thinking more of the pet rat background though. There's also time considerations there (when did teaching English become commonplace? Would Yoshi have been in school before or after that point?), and even if he did grow up with a Japanese education in English, that level of speech wouldn't be quite where we see the TMNT at (with their heavy use of slang and so on).

I'm sure it would be a complex and over-time kind of deal no matter what the scenario of course.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Indeed.



True but didn't that episode rationalise their existence as being from when Shredder played around with mutagen in the zoo. A veiled reference to Planet of The Turtleoids perhaps? Unless they grew up really fast it's unlikely Tokka and Rahzar had a childhood.



Good point but you'd think that they'd be some kind of period of adjustment instead of them instantly mastering english or Groundchuck developing his cowboy lingo etc. I'm not criticising the show for this, it's a fun cartoon that we're just supposed to accept that animals exposed to mutagen instantly mutate and know all their is to know about the world around them.

Something like this however I felt was more of a problem with Secret of the Ooze were despite their baby quality Tokka and Rahzar were still too fully developed and especialy in the IDW series.

Tokka and Rahzar are cooler in the 1987 show ("Dirk Savage, Mutant Hunter").

[ssjup81]

I thought English was taught at school in Japan, so in TMNT version were Splinter is Hamato Yoshi, he would know. Same with Shredder.Yeah. They're forced to take 6 years of English, but with the way it's taught, it doesn't really stick for a good chunk of them. It mostly consists of a lot of translation so the actual communication skills aren't very good. Ironically, to get into Japanese universities, you have to take entrance exams (like high school and private junior high schools) and there's an English section to it.

The ones who actually do better when it comes to English language learning are probably those who go to eikaiwa (English Conversation Schools [where I work]) after school or eitther a juku (cram school). In public schools, seems they focus more on passing exams as opposed to learning the the language. Yes, there are more ALTs in some public schools, but the system here is still pretty broken. When I was an ALT, I had mixed feelings about it and how it differs from place to place.True but didn't that episode rationalise their existence as being from when Shredder played around with mutagen in the zoo. A veiled reference to Planet of The Turtleoids perhaps? Unless they grew up really fast it's unlikely Tokka and Rahzar had a childhood.
To be honest, I don't remember. ^^;Good point but you'd think that they'd be some kind of period of adjustment instead of them instantly mastering english or Groundchuck developing his cowboy lingo etc. I'm not criticising the show for this, it's a fun cartoon that we're just supposed to accept that animals exposed to mutagen instantly mutate and know all their is to know about the world around them. Crap, I didn't even think of that. lolSomething like this however I felt was more of a problem with Secret of the Ooze were despite their baby quality Tokka and Rahzar were still too fully developed and especialy in the IDW series.I didn't even think of that either. ><

Gotta love the inconsistency of the OT series. :tlol:

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Yeah. They're forced to take 6 years of English, but with the way it's taught, it doesn't really stick for a good chunk of them. It mostly consists of a lot of translation so the actual communication skills aren't very good. Ironically, to get into Japanese universities, you have to take entrance exams (like high school and private junior high schools) and there's an English section to it.

The ones who actually do better when it comes to English language learning are probably those who go to eikaiwa (English Conversation Schools [where I work]) after school or eitther a juku (cram school). In public schools, seems they focus more on passing exams as opposed to learning the the language. Yes, there are more ALTs in some public schools, but the system here is still pretty broken. When I was an ALT, I had mixed feelings about it and how it differs from place to place.
To be honest, I don't remember. ^^;Crap, I didn't even think of that. lolI didn't even think of that either. ><

Gotta love the inconsistency of the OT series. :tlol:

Before you create a fictional story.
Rule 1. You spend years reading everything about a country's education system.
:)

[Lordmylar06]

I think this subject is a part of the oversight of having them speak english from the beginning. I'm sure if Eastman and Laird had thought that they would be as successful as they had been with the first issue and beyond they would have written more of an explanation.
That being said, I think the possible explanation has to do with the mutation itself. If they're the "ultimate form" of a turtle or rat, or whatever animal was mutated, then perhaps this was part of it, absorption of language through observation...
Sure it's a longshot, but other than that, you gotta wonder how they knew english in the first place, unless Hamato Yoshi spoke it constantly in front of his pet rat... and that his pet rat's feeble unmutated brain somehow locked those conversations in his feeble unmutated memory, and he later knew exactly how to teach his pupils language. Big ol' run on thought there...

[Donnie]

Don apparently knows some French for some reason in IDW, so I would imagine he might know some Japanese. Leo would study it more traditionally probably, and as has been said Mikey and Raph wouldn't bother unless Splinter instructed.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Don apparently knows some French for some reason in IDW, so I would imagine he might know some Japanese. Leo would study it more traditionally probably, and as has been said Mikey and Raph wouldn't bother unless Splinter instructed.

Doesn't he know that in "Rust Never Sleeps" in the 1987 show too? Pig or something?

[Mr.Turtle]

i think don knos all kinds of languages... leo knos japanese a lil too but mikey n raph... only english.

[thelouisguy]

Except for a few crossover words such as... Clan... I honestly don't see the turtles... knowing Japanese.Learn something new everyday. "Clan" is a Japanese word.This is the best!

[Mr.Turtle]

im thinking abt the ninja tribunal season. remember the guys were 1st assigned to read in the library? since they were in japan, wut language do u think it is in those books? i remember donnie went thru the books pretty easily and leo asked him abt some parts he didn't understand. so it's very likely that they both knos japanese.

[Galactus]

im thinking abt the ninja tribunal season. remember the guys were 1st assigned to read in the library? since they were in japan, wut language do u think it is in those books? i remember donnie went thru the books pretty easily and leo asked him abt some parts he didn't understand. so it's very likely that they both knos japanese.

Good point. I'd say it's safe to say the 4kids turtles have a fair knowledge of Japanese.

[Mr.Turtle]

not mikey or raph tho.

[Donnie]

i think don knos all kinds of languages... leo knos japanese a lil too but mikey n raph... only english.

I doubt Don knows "all kinds" of language. He probably knows a little bit of some select languages, but seriously he can't be that smart. He's never been a linguist. He's already surpassed a normal IQ in almost all iterations, save maybe Mirage.

not mikey or raph tho.

Dude, chill, we know, you think Mikey and Raph don't know any Japanese. We get it.

[Machias Banshee]

Well, Don's knowledge of languages can depend on what kind of education Yoshi's had. If he's been taught several languages (which is possible if he's from from a well-off clan), it could be very possible that he'd teach Donnie several languages. With such a fertile mind, Donnie could really go anywhere in their "homeschooling".

I could see Donnie getting interested in understanding the history of languages...

[Bauer536]

Okay, depending on how the turtles are in any incarnation, it should be obvious that since Leo is close to Splinter and dedicated to the arts of ninjutsu, he is likely to know Japanese. Donnie could do it to, but he may have no interest in using that language in any case even if it's possible he can speak it. Mikey and Raph may not really care about the Japanese language that much, but soon may learn it as a requirement for Splinter.

[Donnie]

I could see Donnie getting interested in understanding the history of languages...

I can totally see that as well. The history of languages, absolutely. I just don't know if he'd be a scholar, so to say, in any foreign language because he's never overtly been labeled a linguist. That's not to say that he couldn't be fluent or even an expert in a different language, because he's obviously brilliant.

[Jester]

I flipped through Tales Vol 2 #19 after reading Doc Spengler's review, and I think it points to Mirage Leo not speaking or understanding Japanese.

[Cryomancer]

Peter Laird is/was (as of this posting) doing another round of blog questions so I asked about this.

http://peterlairdstmntblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/ask-pl-9.html

PL August 10, 2012 7:19 PM

While we never specifically addressed it, as far as I can remember, my gut feeling is that they could all speak (and write and read) English and Japanese. I suspect Don might have known some additional languages. -- PL

[Panda_Kahn_fan]

Not to dig up an old thread, but the word 'clan' isn't japanese, it's celtic. The Japanese word for clan would be 'shi', hence the foot clan would actually be called the "Ahsi-shi".

[ToTheNines]

Raph could speak fluent Japanese in the Image books.