frannyo 2 Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 I sometimes find it curious how sometimes Japanese people can't read place names and the like. You would think that if a place had an unusual name, they would put the furigana next to the name or something so that it was readable but there seems to be tons of instances when people don't know how to pronounce something. When they can't say something, where do they "find out"? Link to post Share on other sites
jgraves 0 Posted July 20, 2006 Share Posted July 20, 2006 Peoples' names and Place names are notorious for having multiple (and often anti-intuitive) readings. There are huge dictionaries dedicated to both (see one of the many "jinmei jiten" for people and "chimei jiten" for places) Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 But what do they do if they don't have these huge dictionaries with them? Just guess or ask someone or just continue not knowing? It must be frustrating. Link to post Share on other sites
tsondaboy 0 Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 There was a news caster just now in the news that was not able to read some kanji. The guy next to him had to read them for him to save his ass. Soooo funny Link to post Share on other sites
gerard 6 Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 It's kind of like English names and places. Some people might mispronounce 'Greenwich' ... or my last name for example, which is 'Zvdkghe'. Kanji tend to have multiple pronunciations and even using a dictionary won't necessarily tell you the right one. Usually of course, they CAN read places and names but it's sometimes confusing. First names can be particularely difficult since parents sometimes want to give their kids creative or unusual names. Link to post Share on other sites
misorano 1 Posted July 21, 2006 Share Posted July 21, 2006 How about Thai names? It's kind like throwing the alphabet magnets at the fridge and what sticks... Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted July 23, 2006 Share Posted July 23, 2006 Tell us more about those Thai names, sounds interesting! Link to post Share on other sites
cheeseman 1 Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 I find that lots of older Japanese have a real problem with all the foreign words coming into Japanese as katakana. Link to post Share on other sites
taguchi 0 Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 Not only older Japanese. Link to post Share on other sites
brit-gob 9 Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 The middle east languages and the way they look has always fascinated me. It all looks just so similar. Link to post Share on other sites
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