prillalar | Anime fanfiction and regional language

Anime fanfiction and regional language

Thanks, everyone, for your input on the Very Important Tuque Question. I really like hearing about different regional expressions. Vide the "huck" question. (Hmm, all these questions seem to involve Kaidoh in some way.)

But now I'm wondering if the question is as Very Important as I first thought. If I use tuque instead of knit cap (or Pudelmütze), I'm sure it will be fairly obvious from the context that Kaidoh has some sort of winter hat on his head.

I do try to use language appropriate to the canon and genre when I write fanfic. When I write about shows that take place in the US, I try not to let my Canadianisms slip in. When I write Harry Potter, I try to use more English expressions. (Not sure how well I do, of course.) Et cetera.

But when I'm writing in anime fandoms, what's appropriate? The source material is in a different language, one I understand very little of. I suppose that in tenipuri fandom, at least, the English language fandom is primarily American, and so that's the accepted default for fanfic.

Once I did see Kaidoh (*koff*) doing maths instead of math and I remember how much it charmed me. And regardless of the source, I always use Canadian spelling in my fanfic and nobody has every complained to me about it.

I wouldn't put Daniel Jackson or Draco Malfoy in a tuque but I don't see why Kaidoh shouldn't have one. (Unless no one wears those kinds of hats in Japan.)

So, here are the questions:

* If you are an anglophone American (is there such a thing or is anglophone just a Canadian term?) or Canadian who reads anime fanfic, how would you respond to a fic written in, for example, UK English? Would it impair your enjoyment of the story?

* If you are a non-American anglophone who writes anime fanfic, do you Americanize your language when you write? Why or why not?

* Do your answers to the above differ depending on the particular anime fandom?

* Am I a freak who thinks too much? (And makes too many parenthetical asides?)

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Interesting questions!
* I'd thought anglophone was common enough, slightly academic talk, but Wikipedia seems to think that Canadians use it slightly differently from others: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglophone

* In anime, I do expect to see American spellings, but I generally write to amuse myself, so I go nuts with the colours, aesthetics licence and suchlike anyway, because it's more comfortable to my eye.

* Unless it is a mini-fandom where there are two likely readers, of which I am one and the second is American, in which case I try my best to do it the American Way and typo myself to death. :)

* If you are, then I hope there are many others like you. (However, that might make you not so much freakish and more of normal.)(Parenthetical asides are fun.) (Use more!)

Unless it is a mini-fandom where there are two likely readers, of which I am one and the second is American, in which case I try my best to do it the American Way and typo myself to death.

Hee! That's why I've never tried to change my spelling, regardless of the fandom. Word choice, though, is something I'm aware of as I write.

(And thanks for the reassurance. *g*)

As an anglophone American: Intellectually, it shouldn't bother me at all. After all, as you pointed out, American English isn't the original language of the canon, therefore 'maths' and 'math' should be equally legitimate. However, it would be mildly weird because, as an anglophone American, American English sounds natural to me while UK English make me think, "Brit!" Americanisms (excluding culture- or location- specific slang) wouldn't be weird, but UK words and phrases would still make me think, "Brit!" even in context of Tennis no Ojisama. While spelling doesn't read/sound odd (-ou versus -o, -re versus -er), turns of phrase and words (e.g. bollocks, arse, jumper versus sweater) do. Is Canadian English like American or British English?

My anime fandoms are all set in modern Japan or a fictional world, i.e. not the States. Thus, my answer above is the same for any of them.

While spelling doesn't read/sound odd (-ou versus -o, -re versus -er), turns of phrase and words (e.g. bollocks, arse, jumper versus sweater) do.

I think "bollocks" would stand out to me more than "arse" or "jumper". It seems much more colloquial. And dialogue that's too full of American slang also stands out to me in TnO fic. I try to be more neutral in dialogue, when I can. It's hard, though!

Is Canadian English like American or British English?

Word usage is more US and spelling is more UK. Just to be consistant. :)

The first question: I've seen anime fics that had UK-English spellings, and it threw me out of the story a bit. Part of that is because I'm used to subtitles in American English, but I think mostly it's that I'm assuming anime fics are auto-translated from Japanese to English, and it jars me to see the story "translated" into someone else's English.

I don't think that would change according to fandom, but I'm not sure because I've only seen it once or twice, and the fics were by the same author. And of course, all this is contingent upon my actually *noticing* the Brit- or Canadian-isms.

I think I haven't expressed myself very clearly; I blame that on the late hour and my not having my glasses on so the computer screen's kinda fuzzy.

It's interesting that the spelling jars you. Are you thrown off at all by different romaji versions of the characters names? For example, I use "Kaidoh" because it's what's used in the subs, so it got burned into my brain. But other people use "Kaidou" or "Kaido". I'm not sure you're into PoT, so then how about "Konrad" vs "Conrad"? (I'm not bothered by the variations on Kaidoh, but I can't abide "Conrad". Maybe I just like the letter K. *g*)

Not so much thrown off as irritated, and that's only when the spelling of the name has been standardized by DVD release. I can understand adding or dropping a U (I actually prefer Sesshoumaru and Kouga to Sesshomaru and Koga, which are what the Inuyasha dub is going with, but I'll accept either), or whatever, but - "Tooru"? That even *looks* wrong.

...Actually, that's about the only time I get nitpicky. As long as the name is spelled the same all the way through the story, and it's recognizable as being the character's name, I'm likely to just shrug and go with it. It's not worth it to not read an otherwise shiny fic over something as small as name variations.

As a non-mothertongue speaker, I do not americanise my English when I write anything. I learned my English in the States, and as soon as I got back home, had to switch to British spelling because that's what is taught in Europe. Since my interests at the time were all American, I got used to seeing all spellings and all styles, not much threw me.

Then, fandom happened, in the form of Harry Potter, where there is so much drivel that every marginally good fic author needs to at least have their Spelling and Grammar (SpaG) be correct. In the part of the HP fandom I hung out in, there was also an emphasis on brit-picking, which included British spelling. Thus, my writing became fully anglicanised, I even forswore the -ize and changed to -ise, much to my own chagrin. Seeing Harry graduate in a ceremony seems silly, to see Draco antagonize him instead of antagonise keeps my eye a split second longer than the other way around.

Long story short - when writing, I would never purposfully americanise my spelling unless it was for an American fandom. John Crichton does not British speak, and neither does Buffy or Jack.

But when writing anime, any anime, it's British SpaG unless my American slips in without me noticing.

When I read in anime, it doesn't matter to me which language they use as long as it's consistent and correct.

And no, you are not a freak for thinking about things this way - you are merely making sure the reader can read fic that flows well, instead of being thrown by wrong words, sentence structures, spelling. (Also, if you make too many parenthetical asides, I will die in parenthetical hell.)

Ah, -ise vs -ize. I always struggle with that one.

And I find it interesting that there's such an emphasis on UK *spelling* in HP fic. Certainly, making sure that terminology and facts are correct is important, but spelling just doesn't stand out to me, so long as it is, as you said, consistent and correct.

I used to think -ise looked horrible. My eyes adapted!

I guess there isn't, really, a huge emphasis on UK spelling in HP. But many authors still try to keep to it because they're trying to use other British terms, too, and in general to keep to JKR's style. My spoken English got a lot more English, too, because I was suddenly surrounded by so many BriTish (not Briddisch) fans.

I find JKR's style to be so transparant, I have trouble trying to adopt it. My HP fic is quite varied in style and tone. My LotR fic, not so much.

I do think there's an emphasis on spelling in HP fandom. And UK terminology and style. At least in the parts of fandom I'm in. I think it's good up to a point, but people can get really carried away.

I think I'd find it charming more than anything else.

I'm in a FMA RP right now, and almost all of our players are Americans, but we've just gotten one who's British, and his posts use British spelling. It's noticeable, but not unsettling.

But then, I did my fandom apprenticeship in HP, so UK English (or fannish approximation thereof) feels pretty normal to me anyway.

Also, yay for thinking too much. *waves little flag*

I think I'd find it charming more than anything else.

That's good to know.

But then, I did my fandom apprenticeship in HP

I wonder how many people did! Maybe there's a significant HP fandom "generation", just like the X-Files one.

Count me in as a Gen HP-er.
Characteristics: almost impossible to squick, terribly weary of wank, tendency to concentrate exclusively on either slash or het.

Doesn't anglophone just mean one who speaks English as a native language? I've certainly heard it used a lot by people of various nationalities. I use it.

I've read a grand total of one anime fanfic (and am rereading it now. Am so, so going to get fired) but I doubt Canadian as opposed to any other kind of English would bother me. The American English was the one used in translation in the canon, sure, but so what? It's not like it was even a good translation.

Canadian English isn't wildly different from US -- just the occasional "tuque" and "shitdisturber". *g*

And how will you know unless you read a whole lot *more* anime fanfic, eh?

Mainly because it irks me that American English should be the standard for anything non-American.

And believe me, I'll be reading more WK fics this week. "Girl" may have hit almost all my kinks, but Crawford didn't appear even once.

Mainly because it irks me that American English should be the standard for anything non-American.

It irks me too. Thus, my Japanese boys shall wear their tuques with pride! And when the tennis season is over, they shall play hockey! And say "eh" a lot.

I honestly don't tend to worry about it much... for one thing, some regionalisms are just so ingrained you don't realize they aren't universal until someone else points it out to you, so they're hard to avoid. The eternal debate between 'soda', 'pop', 'coke' and other variations comes to mind. ^_^

I admit I do tend to sneak in a few Britishisms when writing for Harry Potter, and I tend towards phrases that would be more likely to be said in Japanese when writing anime, but I've read fics from every fandom by people from lots of cultures, and I enjoy it when I see that person's culture show up in the fic. My favourite GW authors are in Australia, and all sorts of Aussie things crop up in their writing. Is it necessarily 'true' to GW? Probably not. But it's the way they write, and how they think, and trying to change that would make their writing seem less natural, I think.

I say write it how you know it, and don't worry about it. So long as you don't have things grossly out of place or out of character I think it all works out.

GW is one canon where I think anything goes. The characters are from all over the Earth and colonies and it's set in the future. So I feel really free with my language when I'm writing it. (This is why I love writing 1x2x1 sex so much. *g*)

Things like HP or PoT, where the characters are all in the same geographical location and mostly from the same culture, require more attention to detail. But I don't tend to freak out unless there's some egregious error.

I'm an American, and I have a favorite "Inuyasha" fanfiction comedy series that's written in distinctly Australian English, and that very much adds to its charm for me. For the most part, though (especially in stories that aren't meant to be comedic), I find that sort of thing faintly jarring. I'm translating the anime from Japanese into English for the purpose of the story as I read (the reason that poorly used "fangirl Japanese" also jars me--when I'm already translating out of Japanese into English, I have to stop and translate in my head back into Japanese and then back into English again!), so running into really foreign English phrasing makes me feel like I'm 'translating wrong'. Aaargh, this makes no sense.

(Hi! You are very funny and a great writer! I am stalking you a little bit! Yay anime and stuff! Hi again! I will back away slowly now!)

I think it makes sense. :) It's an interesting perspective! I wonder how people would write if a series were fansubbed in, say, Australian English. Would that flavour carry over into the fic of Americans?

Hmm, now we just need to get a research grant.

(And welcome aboard. Your username rocks. I'm playing the song right now.)

I would love to see Australian-flavoured anime! There must be many fansub groups that aren't primarily American (the later "Inuyasha" fansubs I watched had a very international staff, apparently), but I haven't noticed non-standard-American subtitling very much.

(Fruvous + Spidey = two great tastes that taste great together!)

I'm American, and it's a knit cap.

Icarus

Anglo-phonic 'Merkin here. If anything, I find regional linguistic variations in fic to be neat, and it can be fun to try to guess where a fic author is from and what kind of English he or she speaks. Then again, my stepmother's family were Anglophiles in the 'liking everything British' sense of the word, so I got used to hearing and reading other varieties of English from a young age. If I see an unfamiliar term, I just look it up, file it away for future referrence, and move on. A toque is a beanie where I'm from, and really, I'd be just as likely to assume that 'beanie' is a colloquialism, and 'toque' is what that kind of hat is actually called.

What I find much more jarring are Japanese cultural boo-boos. Not that they can ever be completely avoided, but still, they make me cringe. Occasionally I've run across an entire fandom that's making the same mistake over and over again, and it just gets silly. (Do you hear me, GetBackers fandom? I'm a' lookin' at *you*.)

What I find much more jarring are Japanese cultural boo-boos. Not that they can ever be completely avoided, but still, they make me cringe.

I live in fear of making some major blunder with my fic. I try to research, but sometimes it's hard to know just what to look up and where to find it. But I must say, I wish people would google "Christmas in Japan" before writing about it.

Occasionally I've run across an entire fandom that's making the same mistake over and over again, and it just gets silly.

Ooh, do tell.

Again, I'm wagging my finger at the GetBackers fandom here. It's mostly a problem of 'what's cheap in North America' vs. 'what's cheap in Japan'. The mains guys in GetBackers are living-in-their-car level broke, so naturally a lot of fic revolves around how these two manage to exist on 500 yen a day or less. People like to write about them eating a lot of pizza, because pizza is cheap food over here- but pizza in Japan is pretty damn expensive, not to mention the pies being much smaller. (We're talking 3000+ yen for what we would consider a medium-smallish pizza.) Also, the pizza they eat in fic has distinctly Western toppings- whereas Japanese pizza tends to have things like corn and mayonnaise and squid on it.

(There's a story about a friend of a friend who tried very hard to get a waiter over there to bring him a pizza with *gasp* just pepperoni- no corn, no mayo- and was told "I'm sorry, but we don't have the technology!")

I used to use canadian spelling because that was the default on my computer, being that it's Canadian and all, but I got so used to seeing everything without that extra U that I decided to hell with it, and americanized my spelling. It really doesn't make any difference, anyway.

As for language, I really don't know. Most of the time the people I'm writing about will speak as I do (or as I want them to). I'm guilty of using fangirl Japanese when nothing else seems to fit, though. I try to avoid making them say things like "Duh" and "Eh" because I hate those anyway, no matter what nationality the speaker is. XD Other than those kinds of words, I don't really care how a story is written. UK English is fun because they have great insults.

(and parentheses are addictive)

I decided to hell with it, and americanized my spelling

Eek! *swoons with shock* But how else can we separate ourselves from the US? And no "eh"? Next you'll be telling me you don't like Tim Hortons.

I have a companion post to make about fangirl Japanese, so that will be later on this week.

I don't need a rather useless U to tell me that I'm different from the States. XD I'm just not all that patriotic outwardly. I'd never want to live anywhere else.

I do like Tim Hortons, though. :D And other various canadian things. I could do without the Winnipeg weather though.

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Anime fanfiction and regional language

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your icon! oh, sad now.

What Icarus did with the remaining two minutes of internet access...

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