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 Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 12:52 pm
I was just wondering what people thought about intertwining languages inside of fanfiction.
A lot of the time while reading, the author uses phrases and words randomly inside their fanfiction. Why is this? Is there a point in doing this? Personally, I am not very into the whole "Japanese" scene and do not know even common phrases. When I see the author doing this, it often turns me away from their story.
What is wrong with simply sticking to English? I understand that maybe "hanyou" and "miko" are extremely common, but could it be just as easy to write "half-breed" or "priestess?" Maybe they are longer, but a lot of the time they are not.
As for myself, I refuse to use Japanese words or phrases. It does not do anything but perhaps confuse readers that do not know what they mean. Names are pretty much the only thing I do not translate, for everyone that likes the show keeps up with them, because they are not translated even in the dubbed anime.
So, for those who do intertwine languages, is there a reason for it?
Loitering on cliffs, thinking about stuff like screwing you on the beach at night
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Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 5:46 pm
B L ! S S I was just wondering what people thought about intertwining languages inside of fanfiction.
A lot of the time while reading, the author uses phrases and words randomly inside their fanfiction. Why is this? Is there a point in doing this? Personally, I am not very into the whole "Japanese" scene and do not know even common phrases. When I see the author doing this, it often turns me away from their story.
What is wrong with simply sticking to English? I understand that maybe "hanyou" and "miko" are extremely common, but could it be just as easy to write "half-breed" or "priestess?" Maybe they are longer, but a lot of the time they are not.
As for myself, I refuse to use Japanese words or phrases. It does not do anything but perhaps confuse readers that do not know what they mean. Names are pretty much the only thing I do not translate, for everyone that likes the show keeps up with them, because they are not translated even in the dubbed anime.
So, for those who do intertwine languages, is there a reason for it?
Loitering on cliffs, thinking about stuff like screwing you on the beach at night
Awesome topic, Bl!ss! The whole Japanese words and phrases in english fanfiction thing is a little overdone. Okay, so nowadays it's a LOT overdone, but it is something that most people new to fanfiction do. It's more up to someone's oppinion, but I usually stay away from fanfiction that insert Japanese words and phrases. Not to say I've never done it, because I sure as hell have (I have a large binder filled with all my old fanfiction. It's so embarrassing, but I have to look at it every now and then to remind myself that my writing actually IS getting better, lol), but it just doesn't... flow well to me. Of course, I'm going to be completely hypocritical here and say that some Japanese words such as Miko and hanyou are okay to use in my opinion. Because the closest thing we have to a 'Miko' in America is a priestess, and they are noting at all alike except that they're spiritual, I do use Miko in descriptions, as that word immediately shoots the image of a Japanese Priestess straight to my head. The same with hanyou. I don't know why, but the word stuck. It's a discription thing again, really. What I'm not okay with are when the characters speak Japanese, be it just 'hai' or 'konnichiwa' or something more complecated like "Daijoubu ka?" or "Hajimemashite, Watashi no namae wa Kagome-desu, dozo yoroshiku," it just doesn't flow. Especially for the longer sentances all in Japanese, mainly because most of the english-speaking population does not speak any Japanese at all. And no, translations at the end of a chapter don't help to lessen the annoyance, scrolling up and down the web page just to see what it is a character said is time-consuming and rediculous. I tend to give newbie Fanfiction writers the advice not to use Japanese words in dialogue. I think it just sounds unprofessional. We're all fans of the anime. We understand they speak Japanese. Just pretend you're writing us a dubbed version, okay? lol. The reason most people do it? Beause they're Japanese-wannabes and want people to think they're fluent in Japanese. That's not the reason all of them do it, but most of them, it's true. I know that when I first started writing, I'd write 'Aishiteru' everytime someone announced their love for another. God, that must have been so freaking annoying to anyone who read my story. How embarrassing.
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Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 10:05 pm
Hm... I sometimes do write things in Japanese, like many others, such as "miko" or "hanyou" or something along the lines on that. Sometimes though, I'll slip and write something more complex that no one knows. sweatdrop Sometimes I'll be reading over a chapter before posting it, and find a whole sentance or two in Japanese. o.0 Of course, I'll change it, but I swear I don't mean to do it sometimes. It annoys me to find my slip-ups such as those.
I'll agree, if there's something written in Japanese and you don't know what it is, it's highly annoying to have to scroll down and then back up. And what's even more annoying is that sometimes authors don't provide translations. And yeah, people do want to sound fluent in Japanese so they think that the simplest of things such as "Hai, soo desu" is something that people will be impressed by. And sometimes I'm sure people just think that it sounds cool to use Japanese instead of English.
What I don't agree with though is that it doesn't flow. Sure, if you don't know Japanese, it won't. My opinion is set on that because I know most of these phrases and such, so maybe I'm used to them; because I remember that when I first started reading and writing fan fiction, it made no sense to me to use Japanese phrases. Now though, as I've said, I'm probably just used to it.
One time when I asked this to someone, they said something like "It puts color into the boring scenes." But if that's the case, then why not simply add some type of descriptive detail or something along the lines of that? That's my question. Does anyone do that? Just add in Japanese to liven up a boring part of the story?
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Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 8:59 pm
♥♥♥ | Ooo...this is something I can agree on.
I made this same mistake when I started out...using way too much Japanese. It creeps me out when I go back and read those fan-fictions and see “Daijoubu ka?” “Gomen nasai, Kagome-chan!” “Arigatou gosaimasu!” “Moshi moshi konnichiwa!” and other stuff that I don’t even remember. stare It’s totally...weird.
Of course, I tend to keep things like the honorifics: -kun, -chan, -sama, -dono, -san...and I tend to keep nicknames: inukoro, bouzu...miko, hanyou, and youkai have also pretty much been adopted into my vocabulary because of their unique translation (miko: Shinto Priestess--youkai: good or evil magical creature), but those are the only exceptions I really make.
I know turtlequeen2 likes to put a lot of Japanese in her fan-fictions... (She should be sneezing about now... xd ) Sometimes I try to talk her out of it as her beta-reader since I know some people do find it annoying. Lol.
Since the fan-fiction is based off a Japanese manga/anime, it’s kind of refreshing for it to have some things that reflects its roots even though the majority of the readers aren’t going to be able to speak Japanese...let’s just not let it get too out of hand. sweatdrop The best fan-fictions are the ones that know how to balance it out. | ♥♥♥
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Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2007 6:53 am
Yeah...I admit, I do use a lot of Japanese words in my fanfics, especially my later ones, but that's simply because since the anime ended, I've been trying to catch up on the manga (still like 100 chaps behind though... xp ) and that's where I get a lot of mine from.
This is basically what I tend to use **POSSIBLE SPOILERS**:
Taijya = Demon Slayer/Exterminator (please feel free to correct my spelling if it's wrong on this...I see it several different ways....)
Bokuseno = ancient Magnolia tree whose wood was used to make Tetsusaiga’s sheath
Akai Tetsusaiga = Red Tetsusaiga
Hijingetsusou = Blades of Blood
Sankontessou = Iron Reaver Soul Stealer
Shakujou = Miroku’s Staff
Ofuda = sacred seals
Shinidama-chuu = soul-stealers/skimmers
Kaze-no-kizu = Wind Scar
Kitsune bi = Fox fire
Meidouzan-Getsuha = Dark Path of Dawn’s Moon (Tenseiga’s attack; literally sends enemies, or parts of enemies, straight to the afterlife)
Senki = wizard hermit powers
Saimyoushou = Naraku’s insects
Then of course, there's the typical miko, hanyou, neko, nezumi (rat), inu, bouzo, youkai, and a few others that I'm probably forgetting.
I haven't used all of those yet, but eventually, I probably will. As long as it's not anything longer than 'Aishiteru,' I don't really see a problem with it.
I do kinda get annoyed with the long phrases though...I don't find them in Inuyasha so much as others, i.e. RuroKen. I mean...not all of the long phrases are bad...some are simply new attacks or spells that are explained at the end. But I do see your point about overusing them.
Most of the words used are so commonly accepted - miko, hanyou, houshi (that's one I'm forgetting....), etc. - that they are practically part of our langauge now. I mean, look at Webster's Dictionary - in one of the newest additions, they added the word 'Muggle' to it! Something tells me it won't be too terribly long before our stuff starts to get added.... lol
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Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 1:58 pm
Personally I see no problem in saying miko and hanyou. I too don't like to have to translate a lot but I don't mind simple phrases. I like the Japanese phases personally because it shows the heritage of the anime. I mean do you seen ant American mangas and animes running around everywhere. The thing is anime is Japanese and to remind people of that fact why not put a simple Japanese phrase here or there. I don't like long drawout phrases but simple words the youkai or hanyou don't bug me. I understand what everyone says and where they're coming from. I agree with all of you and disagree at the same time. I'm not a fanfiction writer like any of you but I do read manga and watch anime a little much if I do say so myself. Well I've shared enough of my thoughts I just had to say that anime and manga came from Japan so why would they change them to all English. Something has to give the Japanese credit for their work. If that makes any sense.
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 10:55 pm
I think it is great ...I get to read many types like that!!!
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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 5:33 am
I guess people just think that they are closer to the "original" when they use all those Japanese terms and sentences?
I definitely think 'hanyou', 'miko', 'taijiya' etc are fine, but to use greetings in it...well, that's slightly overdone unless the author need to use it for a special purpose.
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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 9:41 am
♥ | I really don't like including Japanese into fan-fiction unless it's to reflect something about the culture or language that can't be explained any other way. Sometimes the Japanese have words for things that don't exist in the English language -- this is especially true in manga because the author will "create" unreal words for his series -- which is about the only time I take liberties with it. Names, honorifics, titles, career lines, species or races, techniques, and a few other miscellaneous things that I can assume people understand from reading / watching the series I will write into my fan-fiction if need be.
The thing that bugs me the most about including Japanese into a story is if the person does it inconsistently or incorrectly. For instance, in one sentence he will say "sakura" -- the next, "cherry blossom." Switching Japanese and English words around as if they are part of the same language is not cool. It's even worse when someone uses the romaji for a Japanese word that can have five different definitions depending on what kanji it is written with!
Basically, if people are going to write Japanese into their fan-fiction, they should at least study the language and make sure they are using it properly. Writing entire phrases, clauses, and sentences with romaji is just outrageous, though. | ♥
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 4:47 am
Yes, I have to agree a lot on mis-using the words. A lot of them are grammatically wrong and just hinder a reader from reading the fanfiction more smoothly.
What irks me most is that people still attempt to use all these Japanese words and sentences when they write AU fanfictions set in a Westernize background! I find it annoying that a high school Kagome should greet people in Japanese, or maybe a soccer team Miroku is still referred to as 'houshi' .___.
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 9:22 am
♥ | Those cases have to be the most comical misuse of Japanese, though! A Westernized AU fan-fiction using Japanese? rofl It can be covered up by saying that, despite being based in the West, the characters are still of Eastern origin, but still...some people need to do some work if they have athlete!Miroku being referred to as a monk or superstar!Sango a demon slayer. | ♥
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 8:44 pm
Well, some of the better ones actually said that the characters come from Eastern origin, but majority of them went totally off when they state that the cast was born in the Western countries sweatdrop
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 7:54 am
♥ | Well, yes... Unfortunately, that is something that bad-writers will do...
It's almost as bad as those people who have original characters come from the States who can magically speak Japanese and communicate with the characters! When you know that, in reality, it would have taken that person several years of practice and exposure to truly learn the language -- especially if he had no prior use for it (which, obviously, most average American high-school students wouldn't).
This is when I really think you should keep the Nihongo out of an English fic and save it for a Japanese one. Unless, you know, the geographical setting calls for it. confused | ♥
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 8:19 pm
It gets annoying after a while. I mean, who really uses those and KNOWS what they're talking about. Sometimes the translations are funny. Its not the best idea in my opinion... even though I do it myself.
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