View source for AniDB Definition:Romanisation

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The information on this page is provided as ''guidelines'' on the use of romanised Japanese (''rōmaji'') in [[AniDB:About|AniDB]]. Please be aware that this is not an exact science, there are many viable solutions to the same problem, though when submitting [[How_to_update_or_correct_existing_entries|change requests]] on romanised titles users are expected to adhere to the 'house style' of the database. When there is contention over a particular issue, this page will provide both alternatives. External links to Wikipedia are provided throughout for ideas and terms that might be unfamiliar.

== What romanised titles are for ==

*'''Primarily''', to provide a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcription_%28linguistics%29 transcription] of the Japanese title that is ''aurally recognisable'' and ''readable'' by a user with little or no knowledge of the language. In using roman script, this is obviously targeted at speakers of European languages, however as this consitutes a majority of the poulation of AniDB users, this is a fair restriction.

*''Secondary'' purposes include corresponding with other transcriptions, assisting novices in reading unfamiliar words, enabling rough pronunciation of titles, providing an alternative method of searching for a japanese title, and clarification of the reading of a particular word or phrase where it might be ambiguous.

== What romanised titles aren't for ==

*There is no requirement to be able to reconstruct the original title from romanised form. With [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_writing_system three distinct scripts plus roman], a wide range of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophone homophones], and typographic intricacies such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furigana furigana] usage, this is beyond the scope of a 26 letter alphabet. In all cases the Japanese title should be presented as well, a romanised form is in no way a replacement for this.
*Romanisation need not be a lossless [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transliteration transliteration] of Japanese spelling. Though less so than English, Japanese pronunciation deviates somewhat from the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoneme phonemic] spelling. As the aim is to provide an aurally recognisable transcription, it is more important to better reflect the sound than exact spelling.
*Romanised titles do not need to provide a basis for correct Japanese [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collation collation] of titles. This is a technical problem that would be better handled correctly through its own system, and would interfere with the primary purpose of the romanisation.

= Hepburn romanisation =

The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepburn Hepburn] romanisation system was devised for a Japanese–English dictionary, published in 1867. Despite having no official status, variations of it are used for a vast majority of transcriptions, both inside and outside Japan. Unlike the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C5%8Dmaji two other main romanisation schemes], it concentrates of representing Japanese phonology rather than the underlying spelling.

== Table of kana romanisation ==

Each [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mora_%28linguistics%29 mora] represented in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kana kana] spelling of a Japanese word can be transcribed into roman letters according to the table below, with a few special cases that are listed in the following sections. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiragana hiragana] is on the left, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katakana katakana] is on the right.

Table adpated from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepburn wikipedia article on Hepburn], ''doesn't place this page under GFDL, because facts are not copyrightable. Copyright only protects things that are creative, and this table isn't.''. Obsolete kana are shown in <font color=red>red</font>.

{{:AniDB Definition: Romanisation/Table}}

''Possibly add modern katakana here as well''

== Special cases ==

Hepburn also has a few extra rules to deal with particular cases, the ones below the AniDB house style adheres to.

The particle spelling rules exist to reflect modern japanese pronunciation, note there are other features that Hepburn does not attempt to reflect, for instance the frequent dropping of the vowel /u/ (です is only pronounced 'desu' by kids), largely because there's no easy rule that could always be applied. The 'small tsu' rules reflect the fact it used in two rather different ways, and the syllabic n case is to deal with the problem that transcription might be ambiguous in a few cases.

=== Particle は as ''wa'' ===

[http://www.guidetojapanese.org/particles.html#part2 Intro to は by Tae Kim]

This rule is basically accepted by everyone, generally only ignored in error.

''When used as a particle, transcribe は as 'wa' rather than 'ha'''
* Better represents the pronuciation
* Common practice everywhere

=== Particle へ as ''e'' ===

[http://www.guidetojapanese.org/particles2.html#part4 Intro to へ by Tae Kim]

Sometimes contested, as romanisations that ignore this rule are somewhat more common. Use 'e' in preference, but if adding an anime title where 'he' is sometimes used, add that alternative as a synonym.

''When used as a particle, transcribe へ as 'e' rather than 'he'''
* Better represents the pronunciation
* Established Hepburn rule, and widespead usage by those who follow transcription rules strictly
* Titles will save one character per へ particle

''Always transcribe へ as 'he', even when particle''
* Once less rule to remember
* Common practice amoungst fansubbers
* Some titles including the particle へ are generally called by names romanised with 'e' by fans
:{{a2|1321|Kita He. ~Diamond Dust Drops~|北へ。 ～Diamond Dust Drops～}} also particularly resistant to using more sensible [[AniDB_Definition:_Kanji_%26_Romaji#Punctuation|punctuation]].
* There's not ''much'' difference between pronunciation of /he/ and /e/

=== Particle を as ''o'' ===

[http://www.guidetojapanese.org/particles2.html#part2 Intro to を by Tae Kim]

Often contested, many romanisations in the wild will use 'wo'. Feel free to use either, but do not make change requests that just change the particle... If adding as an anime title, include a synonym with the alternative romanisation.

''When used as a particle, transcribe を as 'o' rather than 'wo'''
* Better represents the pronunciation
* Established Hepburn rule, and widespead usage by those who follow transcription rules strictly

''Always transcribe を as 'o', even when particle''
* Once less rule to remember
* Common practice amoungst fansubbers
* Many titles including the particle を are generally called by names romanised with 'wo' by fans
:{{a2|21|Full Moon wo Sagashite|満月(フルムーン)をさがして}}
:{{a2|336|Mimi wo Sumaseba|耳をすませば}}
:{{a2|1072|Ace wo Nerae!|エースをねらえ!}}

Discussion: [http://www.anidb.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2056 2004.06] / [http://www.anidb.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2063 2004.06] / [http://www.anidb.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4020 2005.07] (warning: profanity) <!-- Ehehehe, kidding rows. -->

=== っ when geminate consonant ===

Often contested.

''When part of a word, transcribe っ by doubling the following consonant, except っち as 'tchi' and similar''
* May better represent pronunciation
* Some common words are best known with a 'tch' transcription

''When part of a word, always transcribe っ by doubling the following consonant''
* Once less rule to remember
* Some common words are best known with a 'cch' transcription

{{a2|3083|Anime TV de Hakken! Tamagotchi|アニメ　ＴＶで発見!!　たまごっち}} spelling 'tamagocchi' not used.
{{a2|241|Touch ''(tatchi)''|タッチ}} pun on たっちゃん Tat[suya]-chan

{{a2|242|Futari Ecchi|ふたりエッチ}} (arguably just 'Futari H')

=== っ when exclamation ===

Accepted?

''Transcribe っ at the end of a word as '!', unless followed by one anyway, in which case drop''

{{a2|27|Aa! Megami-sama!|ああっ女神さまっ}}

=== ん before vowels as ''n''' ===

Accepted.

== Deviations from Hepburn ==

These are rules in Hepburn that the AniDB house style does not follow, for reasons given.

=== Macron usage for long vowels ===

Accepted.

=== ん before labial consonants as ''m'' ===

Accepted.

== Loanwords in Japanese ==

=== Spell in original language where possible ===

=== What to do with wasei eigo terms ===

=== What to do with names and invented terms ===

= Other orthography issues =

== Spacing ==

Separate each 単語 and 助詞.

== Capitalisation ==

Use an initial capital letter for 単語.

== Punctuation ==


= Practical guide =


[[Category:Guidelines]] [[Category:Definitions]]