"Kuno-each"

[Candy Kappa]

Originally Posted by Spirael

I remember Leo saying Onegaishimasu to Raph in the first episode, which is 'Please do'.

It's courtesy to say onegaishimasu before initiating a kata, and when it's done we bow and say arigato gozaimasu.

Unrelated, but when people add u's after o's I find it very distracting, like when people write arigato as "arigatou". I guess since the Norwegian å is very similar to the Japanese o, we don't need that extra added u.

[Ninjinister]

I have heard literally zero Japanese people drop the last i in kunoichi unless it came before a vowel. In fact I know someone in Japan who watched the English version and constantly made fun of it.

[victory_angel]

Originally Posted by Ninjinister

I have heard literally zero Japanese people drop the last i in kunoichi unless it came before a vowel. In fact I know someone in Japan who watched the English version and constantly made fun of it.

I'm a fan of anime, and I've seen some where a person is counting. And occasionally they say ichi Ni san...but other times the they would drop the i at the end of ichi.

Same thing when people are running or doing track, the people will occasionally chant Ichi Ni. And still drop the i at the end of ichi.

[Ninjinister]

Originally Posted by victory_angel

I'm a fan of anime, and I've seen some where a person is counting. And occasionally they say ichi Ni san...but other times the they would drop the i at the end of ichi.

Same thing when people are running or doing track, the people will occasionally chant Ichi Ni. And still drop the i at the end of ichi.

Hm you are right about that. I'd forgotten. Regardless, except for their vestigial U, I can't think of any case when a dropped/silent letter occurs outside of being situational to the sentence structure around it, or regional dialect

[ssjup81]

I give the show props for actually trying to pronounce it correctly, despite its sounding awkward. I don't get what the original poster had a problem with.

[ssjup81]

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

It's courtesy to say onegaishimasu before initiating a kata, and when it's done we bow and say arigato gozaimasu.

Unrelated, but when people add u's after o's I find it very distracting, like when people write arigato as "arigatou". I guess since the Norwegian å is very similar to the Japanese o, we don't need that extra added u.

Actually, this is helpful to me. I live near Oji station. The kanji reads 王子. Ok, fine, right? Well, the hiragana is written おうじ. Ouji...romanized Oji. It helps to know that the o sound isn't a short long vowel but a long one...if that makes sense. There are other words like this like くらげ (kurage) and 唐揚げ (karaage). They're both close in sound, the double a there helps. One means jellyfish while the other is a fried chicken dish.

[Ninjinister]

I still don't get the difference in pronunciation between rice wine and salmon.

[ssjup81]

Originally Posted by Ninjinister

I still don't get the difference in pronunciation between rice wine and salmon.

Actually, sake can refer to all alcohol in general. That aside, the pronunciations are the same, the kanji is just different. Some folks just say "salmon" in general.

[PangolinFeets]

It sounds fine.


Credentials for my assumption: Seen three seasons of Naruto. Best friend has been to Japan twice.

I'm totally practically an expert almost.

[PangolinFeets]

Originally Posted by ssjup81

I give the show props for actually trying to pronounce it correctly, despite its sounding awkward. I don't get what the original poster had a problem with.

Your opinion is about the only one I trust in this territory.

[senpai]

I wish the writers would put more Japanese words/phrases into the show. Since the turtles were raised by Splinter, whose first language is Japanese, it makes total sense that the turtles would learn how to speak it to an extent...

[ssjup81]

Originally Posted by PangolinFeets

Your opinion is about the only one I trust in this territory.

It still sounds awkward, though for a reason already mentioned. It sounds strange as a standalone word with the way April and the others say it. In an actual sentence being spoken in Japanese and the "i" in kunoichi not being strong is fine.

Originally Posted by senpai

I wish the writers would put more Japanese words/phrases into the show. Since the turtles were raised by Splinter, whose first language is Japanese, it makes total sense that the turtles would learn how to speak it to an extent...

Same here actually, given that they seem to be partially doing their homework. That was one of the reasons why the yokai ep bothered me. The ep as a whole bothered me, but most of my criticisms i give a pass to, as the show is aimed at kids. Oh, this is also one of the main reasons movie 3 bothered me as a kid. Not enough Japanese for my liking.

[Coola Yagami]

Yeah, that does irk me quite a bit every time they (mis)pronounce it. It's honestly the first time I ever heard it without the 'ee' sound at the end, and some much emphasis on the 'ch' sound.

I agree when talking fast in a middle of a sentence certain vowels are either dropped or not stressed as strongly, but April always seems to end her sentences with the word so it really stands out as jarring.

And people, stop dissing anime. This is about the Japanese language as a whole, not cartoons made there. That's like someone mispronuncing spanish words and whenever we bring it up someone starts complaining and saying 'I hate those old Chespirito shows and Cantiflas movies! Leave that in Mexico!'.

And what can we say, the show is about ninjas. Sais themselves were practically unknown until Raph came into the picture, with the exception of possibly Elektra, but only hardcore Marvel comic fans would know that back in the day. It doesn't matter if E&L didn't know squat about Japan when they made the series, if you make it about ninjas and throw people like Yoshi, Saki and Karai in it, sooner or later you're gonna have to start doing some research. It would be like me making a show about wrestling without ever having seen a match, and not knowing how to use the terms face, heel and kayfabe correctly.... and then having hardcore WWE fans chew me out on my BS.

That's why more and more modern interpretations have been emphasizing actual Japanese words and customs, cause it would make sense at least for Splinter, Shredder and Karai to know Japanese and act like they were actually born there. They're not Japanese-Americans as in, they grew up in the US in the states with Japanese parents or what-have-you.... they were actually born and raised there before fate brought them to New York.

The deal with anime, especially the more realistic splice of life type shows, is that they show more of the authentic customs and lifestyle over there, so when American shows get stuff wrong, we actually know about it and can call out the BS. It would be as if there was a bunch of new animated and live-action Mexican shows on prime time TV showing that not all of us are sleeping on the floor outside our little markets with giant sombreros covering our faces and a bottle of tequila in our hands, and that not all Mexican Americans talk with 'ese', 'vato' and 'homes'. After that, you'd look back at all the other shows that stereotyped Mexican character and would be able to call them on their bs too.

[srmff]

I don't know how to pronounce Kunoichi but if April's pronouncing it wrong, I don't have a problem with it because... she's not from Japan. In Karai's Vendetta, she also sounded really awkward trying to copy what Karai said in Japanese.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by srmff

I don't know how to pronounce Kunoichi but if April's pronouncing it wrong, I don't have a problem with it because... she's not from Japan. In Karai's Vendetta, she also sounded really awkward trying to copy what Karai said in Japanese.

April no... but Splinter...? Why would he teach her to pronounce it wrongly? Here, have a Mexican dish, it's meat on a tortilla, we call it Tackys. Yeah... that's right... we all pronounce it Tackys....

[Powder]

Again, she's not really pronouncing it wrong.

[ssjup81]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

April no... but Splinter...? Why would he teach her to pronounce it wrongly? Here, have a Mexican dish, it's meat on a tortilla, we call it Tackys. Yeah... that's right... we all pronounce it Tackys....

They're technically not pronouncing it wrong. The problem is that as a standalone word surrounded by English in a sentence it sounds awkward. If it was spoken in an actual Japanese sentence, it probably wouldn't sound so strange and awkward. It's like counting. The "i" in ichi isn't as strong as you get to the higher numbers.

[The Happy One]

Originally Posted by PangolinFeets

Your opinion is about the only one I trust in this territory.

I second that. We gotta give the guys some pats on the back for always researching and trying their best and beyond to satisfy us. So critiquing every little thing is a bit....well a bit much if you ask me.

[oldmanwinters]

To-mato Ta-mato

Has anybody here yet made the joke:
"Kuno each to his own" ?

[Ravenshell]

^ ;D oldmanwinters wins. We can all go home now.

Originally Posted by Spirael

Idetakimas = Itadakimasu Another silent vowel at the end. Closest meaning is 'Thanks for the food', but there isn't really an equivalent.

I remember Leo saying Onegaishimasu to Raph in the first episode, which is 'Please do'.

I hasten to add I am not Japanese nor fluent in the language. I did an evening course for two years, so I'm vaguely at stupid tourist level. ;D

My prof told us 'itedakimasu' means "I will partake." (I had 4 semesters, but have forgotten most of it due to lack of use... still have my books, though, and trying to translate doujinshi for a friend. (Kanji...ugh.))