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sfried

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"Odd Questions thread: Original Japanese names" , posted Sat 14 May 15:40

Since I don't think there's an appropriate topic for such a small trivial question, but feel that the expertise in MM would be sufficient, I just wanted to ask something:

With regards to Japanese names, how do they come up with them without being accused for libel most of the time (and without having to always rely on the all persons ficticious disclaimer)? I mean, I know it's easier to just change a kanji or two to avoid the loophole, but still, it's not like there was Google back in the day.

Lets just say 原多真弓 can also be spelled 原多はらだ. Now I did a search on both, and the latter does appear as a used identity. It seems obvious to just keep the given name in kanji, but I've also had encountered exchange students who have their given names in katakana.

I also consulted my teacher once about kanji choice/meanings. He once gave me advice on certain names (いよみ), but I am not so well versed in a lot of kanji because I haven't been keeping up with my studies and I hardly had the time to memorize on'yomi of each character.

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chazumaru

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"Re(1):Odd Questions thread: Original Japanese" , posted Sun 15 May 22:01

I am not an expert of Japanese legal practices, but the very first thing you should check is the nature of Japanese law on such a topic. You seem to base your assumption on American law. I often assist the Legal Department of my company and one of our biggest headaches is that each European country has a slightly different interpretation of the same idea, at times contradicting the European law which should take precedence.

無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は

sfried

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"Re(2):Odd Questions thread: Original Japanese" , posted Sun 15 May 23:10

quote:
I am not an expert of Japanese legal practices, but the very first thing you should check is the nature of Japanese law on such a topic. You seem to base your assumption on American law. I often assist the Legal Department of my company and one of our biggest headaches is that each European country has a slightly different interpretation of the same idea, at times contradicting the European law which should take precedence.

Oh I'm not trying to make my assumptions on Japanese law or anything like that. I'm just wondering how some authors are able to name their characters without having them coincide with real-life people that happen to have very common family names coupled with a general given name. I know kanji is enough to make a difference, but I'm also curious as to the source for name choices (given that some authors like to laiden their works with Meaningful Names).

chazumaru

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"Re(3):Odd Questions thread: Original Japanese" , posted Mon 16 May 23:49

What I meant is that they might not even need to care. Given that ID homonyms are much more common in Japan (as you mentioned), the local law might be much more lenient on such issues.

無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は無限早見は

Professor

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"Re(3):Odd Questions thread: Original Japanese" , posted Tue 17 May 01:38

quote:
I know kanji is enough to make a difference, but I'm also curious as to the source for name choices (given that some authors like to laiden their works with Meaningful Names).

In general, they're fictional characters with fictional names. There's always the chance of someone named Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne existing in real life, but that never bothered comic makers. It's the same thing.

But that's probably not the kind of answer you're looking for, so here's a better one. Often times, Japanese characters have common first names, but their family names are made up. That makes them rarely coincide with actual people. Or it might be just the opposite with a common last name and made-up first name.

sfried

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"Re(4):Odd Questions thread: Disclaimer part" , posted Fri 3 Jun 16:41:

So I wrote something along the lines of 「キャラクタが表現したすべてが架空です。どんな類似性も暗合的です。」 (Okay, so I used excite Japan's translation). Am I safe?

Spoiler (Highlight to view) -
Edit: I think i should brush up on more Japanese before I even bother posting more stuff on my pixiv account. This is totally shameful and embarassing...

End of Spoiler

[this message was edited by sfried on Fri 3 Jun 16:47]

Professor

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MMCafe Owner

"Re(5):Odd Questions thread: Disclaimer part" , posted Fri 3 Jun 21:34

quote:
So I wrote something along the lines of 「キャラクタが表現したすべてが架空です。どんな類似性も暗合的です。」 (Okay, so I used excite Japan's translation). Am I safe?

Your sentence reads "Everything that has been expressed by the character is fictional.　Any similarities are cryptic."

I don't think you really need to have that kind of a note at Pixiv of all places. Most of the stuff there are creations to begin with. Maybe just write 『オリジナルキャラです』 or something, and that should be fine.

Moo
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"Re(6):Odd Questions thread: Disclaimer part" , posted Sat 4 Jun 03:07

quote:

I don't think you really need to have that kind of a note at Pixiv of all places. Most of the stuff there are creations to begin with. Maybe just write 『オリジナルキャラです』 or something, and that should be fine.

I agree. I was kind of wondering about this, actually. I've noticed that there's been an increase in English-speakers on Pixiv, and Pixiv itself now officially supports English. If that's the case, should artist comments still be in Japanese? It's preferred to do so for politeness sake and to avoid irritating Japanese viewers, right?

sfried

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"Re(7):Odd Questions thread: Disclaimer part" , posted Sat 4 Jun 05:55

quote:
I agree. I was kind of wondering about this, actually. I've noticed that there's been an increase in English-speakers on Pixiv, and Pixiv itself now officially supports English. If that's the case, should artist comments still be in Japanese? It's preferred to do so for politeness sake and to avoid irritating Japanese viewers, right?

This is the reason, too, why I still write stuff [in Japanese] even though it may contain mistakes. Although I might actually get negative comments because I say the wrong stuff, so I try to at least double check.

Man, I'm such a weeaboo.

Moo
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Rare Customer

"Re(8):Odd Questions thread: Disclaimer part" , posted Sat 4 Jun 18:14

Well, I wouldn't consider myself a weeaboo because I don't do anything like exclaim "KAWAII!". It's probably the same for you. I think there's always a stage of learning a language where you're not quite fluent but you still want to be able to convey a message. I'm sure I've been in your position before. I just avoid speaking in general so I don't make a fool of myself, even if my Japanese is adequate.

sfried

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"Re(9):Odd Questions thread: Disclaimer part" , posted Sun 5 Jun 12:11

quote:
Well, I wouldn't consider myself a weeaboo because I don't do anything like exclaim "KAWAII!". It's probably the same for you. I think there's always a stage of learning a language where you're not quite fluent but you still want to be able to convey a message. I'm sure I've been in your position before. I just avoid speaking in general so I don't make a fool of myself, even if my Japanese is adequate.

I think I'm become more and more inept at reading Japanese without having time to practice it.
Speaking of which, I just got a comment from my account that I'm unable to translate: 「よく顽张る好きではありません」 I'm not so sure what 顽张る means...