Names

[Jim Harper]

I can see your point as far as business practices, but I find 'anglicized' names somewhat uncomfortable; rendering 'Joji' as 'George' (for example) seems to be a reminder of the days of colonialism, if that makes any sense.
 
Jim.
 
mark schilling <schill at gol.com> wrote:
The romanization of Japanese names has rules that I certainly try to follow
in my own writings, but in the real world, it may pay to violate them. If
you are doing business with Americans who can't remember "Kazuyoshi" to save
their lives, or even pronounce it for that matter, you may want to shorten
it to "Kaz" so your clients can call you something other than "you."

By the same token, "Issey" is more easily remembered by the Western (or at
least Anglo) eye than the more alien-looking "Issei," making it a better
choice for a fashion designer who wants to sell his clothes abroad.

For actors, image is another consideration. "Joe Shishido" has a rugged,
"borderless" image that fits Shishido's screen persona. (It also happens to
be the name he uses on his meishi.) "Jo Shishido" is the correct
romanization, but "Jo" is a woman's name in English-speaking countries -- 
creating the sort of confusion a movie tough guy doesn't need.

It works the same way for foreigners in Japan, doesn't it? I am perfectly
happy to be called "Maku-san" by strangers I am interviewing or otherwise
doing business with. I want them to remember and feel comfortable with me -- 
not writhe while I lecture them that the unwieldy "Shiringu" is the
"correct" way to address me.

Mark Schilling




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Aaron Gerow" 
To: 
Sent: Friday, October 07, 2005 4:06 AM
Subject: Re: Names


>
> On 2005.10.6, at 09:43 ¸áÁ°, Jason Gray wrote:
>
> > I think your last point unfairly places limits on Japanese
> > people in the name of film reference perfectionism.
>
> I don't think so. I just think people who make up such names for
> themselves should know the consequences. Most don't and I think they
> would think differently if they did. Maybe Markus doesn't mind having
> people refer to him by different names (I imagine he has been called
> "Abe"--as in Abe Lincoln--many a time), but I in general don't (several
> American libraries still refer to me as Aron Jero for my Japanese
> publications). Maybe it is the librarian in me, but not taking time to
> learn romanization rules when you are, for instance, working in a
> company selling Japanese films abroad is simply rude to your
> customers--and sometimes to the filmmakers too. I think this is an
> issue not of anal-retentive perfectionism, but common courtesy:
> speaking to people using the rules that the majority of the world uses.
>
> Aaron Gerow
> Assistant Professor
> Film Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
> Director of Undergraduate Studies, Film Studies Program
> Yale University
> 53 Wall Street, Room 316
> PO Box 208363
> New Haven, CT 06520-8363
> USA
> Phone: 1-203-432-7082
> Fax: 1-203-432-6764
> e-mail: aaron.gerow at yale.edu
>


		
---------------------------------
To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Yahoo! Security Centre.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/kinejapan/attachments/20051007/41058e1f/attachment.html