Western
(American/European) Name Conversion to Kanji Character's
This
collection is being presented in the expectation of making the
conversion of Western names (sounds) being translated to Japanese
Katakana an easier process.This is most commonly done for the purpose of creating "seal stones" (names carved upon soft-stone seals, most commonly for validation purposes and are very popular for use upon "Martial Arts" certificates).
Though
(initially) not a particularly difficult task, if/when one wants to
then match similar sounding Kanji to that task, it can become
very time consuming (and often with numerous options being
presented). The purpose of this blog, is to (attempt to) make
that process easier (though probably not any simpler, LOL).
It
is our hope, that the user has the basic understanding that Japanese
kana (the “katakana” in this case) have only “1” way/manner
that they can each be pronounced (unlike English, which has
several for each). There are certain modifier's that can be
added to those kanji to produce “unusual” (at least to the
Japanese) sounds.
There
are 5 (basic) Japanese vowel sounds,
A
, which is the “Ah” sound as in fAther
I
, which produces the long “E” sound as in unIque
U
, which is “U” as when used in rUde
E
, which is the “A” sound in yEt
O
, which is the “Oh” sound in hOpe
Just
remember, “ah, ee, uo, aa, oh”. They won't change.
These
sounds are then combined with the other letters (except for “L”,
and “V”, the Japanese don't use them at all, or ever
in Japanese).
When
viewing the “Katakana Chart”, it's easy to see how their words
are structured.
A,
I, U, E, O.....
KA,
KI, KU, KE, KO,
SA,
SHI, SU, SE, SO
TA,
CHI, TSU, TE, TO
NA,
NI, NU, NE, NO, ...etc.
The
most common difficulty everyone has, is with the fact that they don't
have “CI” or “SI”, and they don't have “TU” or “HU”.
“CI” is replaced with “CHI” “SI” is replaced with “Shi”,
and “TU” is replaced with “TSU” and “HU” is replaced with
“FU”.
There
were several others that were eliminated years ago (as in many).
Hence
they're not used at all today, except in foreign (to Japan)
words. These were the WI, WU, WE combinations, as well as the YI and
YE sounds. When speaking English, it's easy to mistakenly
default to the CI, SI, TU and HU combinations, remember to not
use them, and change to the Japanese CHI, SHI, TSU and FU. TSU
and FU are also pronounced differently (than in English). TSU is
spoken as (if) you were to place the tip of the tongue to the roof of
the mouth (behind the teeth), then say “Sue”. FU is pronounced by
using only the lips (no teeth on the lower lip) as if/when blowing
air through a straw. This makes for some odd sounding
translations (initially), but a Japanese speaker would
recognize/understand them. Note also that “WO” is pronounced “O”
(when reading Japanese). The “W” is pretty much silent.
One
needs to keep in mind, that when writing someone's name in Japanese,
you do so with the intention that if/when someone who is
Japanese, will be able to read/translate it to sound correct
to you (when that person
reads it aloud).
The
most common mistake, is “assuming” that everyone's name is
written the same way (as in English). Depending on how the
individual person prefers their name to sound/be pronounced is
what will determine how it should be written (in katakana).
When
sounding out the person's name (for translation purposes), Speak the
name in the manner they wish it to sound. It can be a mistake
to (slowly) break the name into individual vowel sounds that are
slowly spoken. As example, I use my own name...”Tony”.
This is a simple (enough) name to say, and translate. It consists of
2 syllables (“To”, and “NI”), Yet when written/translated
into Japanese, most individual's (Japanese and American, both)
commonly screw it up. They
sound it out (aloud) and slowly
and think “Tooo”, and “NIIIIII”. This becomes written as
“ToooooNIIIIII” (this is not
how I say my name! LOL). My name is written as “TooNI” (with no
more elongation than
necessary).
When
converting a Western name to kana (katakana), there are often several
ways it can be written. There are NO (absolute) Right or Wrong ways
to do it. Just remember that it is based upon the “sound” of the
name. You (presumably) would prefer it to sound as close to how you
would say it as is possible. Naturally, for certain names that
contain sounds that the Japanese language doesn't utilize, this
becomes tricky (some compromises have to be accepted).
This
is hardly a Life or Death
issue, (but it distinguishes the professionals
from the amateurs as
well). I view it as if I wrote your name as “boob” (instead of
“bob”). It sounds “close”, so I don't know why you would mind
if I just called you “boob” all the time (would you?). And of
course anyone else
that was able to read
the katakana, would also
consider/call you “boob” as well (it's close enough,
right?).
When
translating a name to katakana, the sounds are usually (pretty)
straight forward (to match to the corresponding kana). It's only when
you encounter names that have sounds (within them) that are difficult
to simulate with the kana that the task becomes difficult.
If/When
converting a Western
name to kanji (for
use upon a name seal),
the task is (usually) more time consuming.
When
creating a name seal, it isn't necessary to include/utilize any of
the elongation “symbols” that are being used to brush the name
when writing in katakana (on the seal stone itself). This is
different than when
writing the name out in katakana. A name seal is usually “stamped”
directly upon, or immediately following the brushed katakana that is
used for the name (as “validation”).
*note,
Katakana is rarely (if ever)
used for making a “name” seal stone, it's considered "tacky" and amateur.
Once
the subjects name is written out phonetically,
you can then list (all of) the kanji that match each
of those vowel sounds. Some names can have pages
of options available, and some will only correspond to a few (those
are the more difficult to create).
Once
this is done, the “trick”, is to match the correct sounding kanji
(together) to sound similar
to a sentence, poem or Haiku. This can be descriptive of the
individual, or even of/for their desires or interests. The creation
of a name seal can be very “artistic” (or even sarcastic,
LOL). There are no “set rules” (when it comes to creating a
“name seal”). The more “individualistic”, the better.
Some like them to be simple, and some like them to be so
subtle that only a very few would even understand the
translation, it's up to that
person as to what it will be.
Examples
can become quite
elaborate, “Man who travels the world and carves Dragon
bones”, it obviously takes (a
Westerner, LOL) a fair amount of time to combine the correct kanji
(sounds) to create something like this, but if/when one has the time,
it can become quite entertaining.
Once
the acceptable kanji has been determined, you then need to establish
the Tensho version of
the chosen kanji (Tensho
is the standard style of kanji utilized for name seals). If/when the
seal is for a school/dojo, the task is usually simpler (simply look
up the desired Tensho
version of the kanji that are utilized in the name of the school).
Various Tensho
dictionary's are available for just this purpose.
With
this information, you can either carve the (reversed) Tensho
kanji onto the seal, or have it done for you (through numerous sites
on the internet that do so for a fee). The majority of sites also
sell the seal stones, which you will have to choose (size/shape is
only by personal preference, there is no set size. Shape, Style that
is mandated for any of the types of seals). Charges, are usually made
by number of kanji required (ie. long names can get very expensive,
LOL).
Blank
Seal stones can be purchased for varying amounts, and in (equally)
varying sizes. For a “name” seal stone, the size is usually kept
under 2” square (which is fairly large for a name seal). The more
common (in Japan) are under ¾” (square), they also tend to
have shorter names. There are varying rules depending upon the specific use, establishment and city that one will/can use a name seal. Theft of a (registered) seal is
roughly equivalent to stealing a credit card, though it
technically has no monetary value.
In
the West (U.S.A.), the use of a seal stone is more commonly (if not
“only”) seen upon “Martial Arts” certificates (in conjunction
with the instructors/presenter's name, also written in katakana).
It's really a matter of personal “taste”, but excessively large
Name seals give the appearance of (inflated) “ego”.
If/When
making a seal stone for a school or organization, this size
restriction doesn't really apply. Stamps are often used as validation
of a certificate and are commonly “over” sized (4” X 4” +).
When used for “Martial Arts” purposes, the association/school
seal provides validation that the certificate was issued by that
organization/school. There are commonly 3 (or more) “official”
seals that are utilized for this purpose.
