When Japanese incorporates a Western word, especially English, often the spelling rather than the pronunciation is respected in the transcription, thus, ending up with a transcription that is not the closest possible within the limitation of Japanese phonology. And then, later on, on some occasions, (often young) people start to use a form that is closer to the original pronunciation, and there arise two forms. What examples can you think of for such cases?
Examples
Michael
マイケル (traditional)
マイコー(recent slang, especially referring to Michael Jackson)Volley ball
バレーボール (traditional)
バリボー (recent slang)People
ピープル (traditional)
ピーポー (recent slang, as in一般ピーポー)Apple
アップル (traditional)
アポー (recent slang, especially referring to Apple computer Inc.)
The following are examples of different forms both respecting the original pronunciation, and are not examples of what I am asking:
- Benjamin
ベンジャミン (as with the American president)
ベンヤミン (as with the German philosopher)
Answer
Actually, there are also examples of a different, almost opposite phenomenon. For example, ドル, which looks like it represents the sound as heard, and the modern form オイルダラー based on American English pronunciation. I'm also reminded of the story I heard once that the word カメヤ (I think) was current during the Meiji period as a word for 'dog'. It was based on 'Come here!', which would now be カムヒヤー (yuk!). Also ズロース for 'drawers' (clothing), which is a wonderful rendition of the actual English pronunciation, much closer than ドロアーズ would be.
No comments:
Post a Comment