Names aren't supposed to be translated, but they are written differently in different languages all the time. That's why you see people write Luffy's name as Rufi or Ruffy or whatever.
I agree. It’s amusing how the transliterations may branch a name into several ones. I wonder if it happens when the first phonetic translation occurs or if it happens when you go "trans-transliteration". Meaning that a phonetic alphabet is written in language X and then reader of language Y reads again.
@CCC:
Oda writes all his names with katakana, the purely phonetic alphabet typically reserved for foreign words (Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru are written with kanji sometimes, but those are titles, not their given names). Even characters with clear "meanings" for their names (Kuma = bear, Jinbe = whale shark) don't get kanji. Wave would only be an appropriate, if goofy, translation for Nami if her name was written with kanji. You could argue that that's clearly the inspiration for her name, given that she's a navigator in an ocean-based water world, but her name is written phonetically and there's no other way to interpret it. This is not translation. It's transliteration.
This is a question of pronunciation. As I already said, I really have to imagine that the primary readers of an English translation will be speakers of English. That's my bias. This isn't a matter of "respecting the name." It will be once Oda releases a Romanization for this adorable curly-haired giant girl (at that point it would be "disrespectful" to ignore his choice), but until then, the only goal should be to get readers to pronounce the name correctly, however that can be achieved. Romanji holds a sad position in the lingual world, acting as a sort of crutch (or a bridge, if you like that better) to help people who don't speak Japanese at least be able to pronounce some of the words. When Oda sat down to create this character, I bet you that he didn't think, "Now how am I going to spell this name with the roman alphabet?" No. He thought about how he wanted her name to be pronounced and how to spell it in katakana (which are one and the same thing, given that Japanese is purely phonetic). The fact is, until Oda gives us an answer, there simply does not exist some sort of core, correct, essential way to write her name. It's not a "thing" until he decides it is.
As far as "making sense from the author's perspective," I mentioned that he might have taken her name from the Japanese word for "toy," as they only differ by a single syllable. But that still does very little to inform what the roman alphabet spelling should be.
CCC, many thanks for this post. It clarified to me the "phonetic alphabet "used by ODA when creating names and I stand corrected. As I dont possess a raw with me nor I have the ability to interpret one I didn
t have idea of this feature in writing.
In regards to your posit of "respecting a name". I wasnt aiming at ODA or this chapter directly, but instead I was sharing an idea that I
ve been brought up with ( Im a bias person as well :tongue:). I concur that since the name has not been Romanized by Oda there
s no point discussing it; nonetheless, its rather charming that people in charge of translation want us readers to read the name properly when the author hasnt Romanized the name yet. There are a lot of non-native English Speakers around. In fact there are more non-native English Speakers around the Globe than native English speakers, and as a consequence the way we perceive the language changes due to our background. Please, don´t misunderstand me, English is still English and its purity should be respected, but the background of the speaker whether native or not gives it an extra spice, twist or flavour. At this point English doesn
t pertain to a several group of countries but to the world, and that includes all its colours, yours, his, hers and theirs.
@Doke:
I always thought Nami comes from 並 which means average, ordinary or normal but 波 (wave) is a more logical choice for sure…
I wish I could see those characters in my PC; sadly they just appear as an empty box with the upper and lower sides bolded. :sad:
Yeah, but unfortunately names are often only partly transliterated although there are standards for widespread languages. Maybe that's why in Bulgaria wrong transliteration is punishable. O_o
Imho, the best way to scan-/translate Mocha would've been to use the standardized Romanization and add notes below then everyone were happy and you wouldn't produce multiple versions or her name that only confuses the reader. Sadly MP and MS failed to recognize the Italian/Arabic name of the popular coffee beverage and that as the prejudice says everyone living in an American city spends half a day in a Starbucks. (Yes, for foreigners the U.S. consists of New York and the rest is Texas) ^^
-Wow. I didn`t have idea that wrong transliteration in Bulgaria was punishable, that seems rather harsh.
-Translation notes seem like a sensible path to take when clarity wants to be achieved.
-Oh but please US foreigners usually know a bit more about the USA. Considering that we`ve got, internet, media, FB, twitter, books, films etc. There is really no excuse. The same could be applied to what US citizens know from the rest of the world.