14 October 2010

One is my name....

I always feel like a jerk when I comment on another person's story, and they use the English version "Yosuke" while I use the Japanese "Yousuke." I'm sorry, but I can't un-train myself to spell it that way. Right now, I had to go back three times and write it without the first "u".

As it states in the first chapter, and on every author's page/story intro page I've created for sharing "1 More Chance!", my story is taken from the Japanese version of the game. In that version, his name is spelled Hanamura Yousuke: 花村陽介. Even Kuma (Teddie) calls him Yo-suke ヨースケ, with a long "o" sound. If you play the Japanese version of the game, whenever Kuma calls him by name (which is a lot, especially when he's complaining about something), you will see "ヨースケ!" Or, sometimes, "ヨースケエエエエエエ!" when Kuma is being whiny. (I tried to hearken back to those moments a little bit in Chapter 54 ("In the Shadow of Destiny"), when Kuma calls to Yousuke for help.)

I know that Atlus USA translated his name as Yosuke. That's fine. To the average person's ear (and to the English-speaking person's ear especially), you don't really hear a difference. But Yosuke is not the same as Yousuke:
Write them out one at a time, and you get this:
Yosuke - よすけ becomes 世介。
Yousuke - ようすけ becomes 陽介。

On the series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the character of Data pronounced his name as "DAY-tuh". Doctor Pulaski attempts to call him "Deh-tuh", the other pronunciation of the word, data. When Data corrects her on the pronunciation, she asks him what difference it makes. Data the android replies, "One is my name, the other is not."

Okay, I know I'm starting to sound like a pompous ass about this, so let me be clear: I don't care that most people write his name as Yosuke; Atlus USA chose to translate his name that way, for whatever reason. That doesn't bother me. But I am not wrong when I write it as Yousuke.

So. Can't we just both be right in this case?

2 comments:

  1. Sorry to be off topic, but I wanted to let you know I just finished chapter 60 and it was, as always, worth the wait. Now waiting for the next one patiently... And please post those speaches you've cut at the Fic Dump (yeah, I read those as well...)

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  2. Thanks! I'm glad that you enjoyed it.

    I will consider posting the speeches...although I did take them out for a reason. The sappiness got a bit heavy-handed there, as it was! :D

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