AniDB Definition:Romanisation
The information on this page is provided as guidelines on the use of romanised Japanese (rōmaji) in AniDB. Please be aware that this is not an exact science, there are many viable solutions to the same problem, though when submitting 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 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 three distinct scripts plus roman, a wide range of homophones, and typographic intricacies such as 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 transliteration of Japanese spelling. Though less so than English, Japanese pronunciation deviates somewhat from the 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 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 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 two other main romanisation schemes, it concentrates of representing Japanese phonology rather than the underlying spelling.
Table of kana romanisation
Each mora represented in the 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 hiragana is on the left, katakana is on the right.
Table adpated from 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 red.
| あ a ア | い i イ | う u ウ | え e エ | お o オ | (ya) | (yu) | (yo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| か ka カ | き ki キ | く ku く | け ke ケ | こ ko コ | きゃ kya キャ | きゅ kyu キュ | きょ kyo キョ |
| さ sa サ | し shi シ | す su ス | せ se セ | そ so ソ | しゃ sha シャ | しゅ shu シュ | しょ sho ショ |
| た ta タ | ち chi チ | つ tsu ツ | て te テ | と to ト | ちゃ cha チャ | ちゅ chu チュ | ちょ cho チョ |
| な na ナ | に ni ニ | ぬ nu ヌ | ね ne ネ | の no ノ | にゃ nya ニャ | にゅ nyu ニュ | にょ nyo ニョ |
| は ha ハ | ひ hi ヒ | ふ fu フ | へ he ヘ | ほ ho ホ | ひゃ hya ヒャ | ひゅ hyu ヒュ | ひょ hyo ヒョ |
| ま ma マ | み mi ミ | む mu ム | め me メ | も mo モ | みゃ mya ミャ | みゅ myu ミュ | みょ myo ミョ |
| や ya ヤ | ゆ yu ユ | よ yo ヨ | |||||
| ら ra ラ | り ri リ | る ru ル | れ re レ | ろ ro ロ | りゃ rya リャ | りゅ ryu リュ | りょ ryo リョ |
| わ wa ワ | ゐ wi ヰ | ゑ we ヱ | を wo ヲ | ||||
| ん n ン | |||||||
| が ga ガ | ぎ gi ギ | ぐ gu グ | げ ge ゲ | ご go ゴ | ぎゃ gya ギャ | ぎゅ gyu ギュ | ぎょ gyo ギョ |
| ざ za ザ | じ ji ジ | ず zu ズ | ぜ ze ゼ | ぞ zo ゾ | じゃ ja ジャ | じゅ ju ジュ | じょ jo ジョ |
| だ da ダ | ぢ (ji) ヂ | づ (zu) ヅ | で de デ | ど do ド | ぢゃ (ja) ヂャ | ぢゅ (ju) ヂュ | ぢょ (jo) ヂョ |
| ば ba バ | び bi ビ | ぶ bu ブ | べ be ベ | ぼ bo ボ | びゃ bya ビャ | びゅ byu ビュ | びょ byo ビョ |
| ぱ pa パ | ぴ pi ピ | ぷ pu プ | ぺ pe ペ | ぽ po ポ | ぴゃ pya ピャ | ぴゅ pyu ピュ | ぴょ pyo ピョ |
Possibly add modern katakana here as well
Special cases
Particle は as wa
Accepted.
Particle へ as e
Sometimes contested. Template:A2 also particularly resistant to using more sensible punctuation.
Particle を as o
Often contested.
っ when geminate consonant
Often contested.
Template:A2 spelling 'tamagocchi' not used. Template:A2 pun on たっちゃん Tat[suya]-chan
っ when exclamation
Accepted?
ん before vowels as n'
Accepted.
Deviations from Hepburn
Macron usage for long vowels
Accepted.
ん before labial consonants as m
Accepted.