The Naruto Dub

[KitKat]

Come now gentlemen, let's not resort to trading petty insults. You both seem to be arguing in circles. You both have good evidence to support your points. We all know that when foreign words are imported to English, they will inevitably gain a different pronunciation, as we have seen happen here. Despite the large number of fans who watch fansubs and are aware of the original Japanese pronunciation, native English speakers will determine the pronunciation based on what seems intuitively right to them in the context of their own language. This wave of popular opinion can't be controlled with any predictable outcome. Languages change how they feel like. What we have here is a case of a new word being introduced into English. As such, there is no 'correct' pronunciation except for the pronunciation given to it by English speakers. Once it starts being used, it becomes a brand new English word, distinct from the original Japanese word. You may be unhappy with it, but you can't control it.

[JaySee]

Come now gentlemen, let's not resort to trading petty insults. You both seem to be arguing in circles. You both have good evidence to support your points. We all know that when foreign words are imported to English, they will inevitably gain a different pronunciation, as we have seen happen here. Despite the large number of fans who watch fansubs and are aware of the original Japanese pronunciation, native English speakers will determine the pronunciation based on what seems intuitively right to them in the context of their own language. This wave of popular opinion can't be controlled with any predictable outcome. Languages change how they feel like. What we have here is a case of a new word being introduced into English. As such, there is no 'correct' pronunciation except for the pronunciation given to it by English speakers. Once it starts being used, it becomes a brand new English word, distinct from the original Japanese word. You may be unhappy with it, but you can't control it.

That's pretty much what I've been saying all along. Even when a proper pronouncation is given and spelled out quite accurately, like the word "pokémon" (which is actually 2 English words combined and shortened), English speakers STILL find a way to destroy it.

And for the record, this "argument" and "name calling" wasn't instigated by yours truely. I like all these childish neg reps I've been getting through out this "argument." I even got a blank neg rep. =D

HAHA! I even got a neg rep saying "Don't complain about reps" when I said that I liked it.

[XanBcoo]

Come now gentlemen, let's not resort to trading petty insults. You both seem to be arguing in circles. You both have good evidence to support your points. We all know that when foreign words are imported to English, they will inevitably gain a different pronunciation, as we have seen happen here. Despite the large number of fans who watch fansubs and are aware of the original Japanese pronunciation, native English speakers will determine the pronunciation based on what seems intuitively right to them in the context of their own language. This wave of popular opinion can't be controlled with any predictable outcome. Languages change how they feel like. What we have here is a case of a new word being introduced into English. As such, there is no 'correct' pronunciation except for the pronunciation given to it by English speakers. Once it starts being used, it becomes a brand new English word, distinct from the original Japanese word. You may be unhappy with it, but you can't control it.

Ah well, however much I know that is true, my point originally was (and I know I kinda lost the plot for a bit) that the dub cast is actually taught the "correct" (that is to say...Japanese) pronounciation of Japanese terms and uses the closest pronounciation possible using English vowels. Hell, Sasuke's VA is even fluent in Japanese. I'm just defending the idea that the Naruto dub pronounces things wrong in...heh..."Lazy American".

I'm not about to say that when a word like "karaoke" is pronounced Kehreeohkee it's "wrong", because I know how languages borrow and change words, and like you said, might even develope a unique pronounciation of the given word. But that's not what's going on with any of the Japanese terms in the Naruto dub. The dub might cause these terms to come into popular use in the future, but I don't think it'll be responsible for radically changing these Japanese terms to American ones, especially since they're pronouncing it almost exactly as a Japanese speaker would. Or at least they're trying to.

Poketto Monsuta is Pocket Monster said with Japanese accent, not Japanese words.

It's not just accent. Similar words like Keiki, Aisu Kurimu, Senkyuu, or Konpyu-ta are loan words from English that have entered into regular Japanese use. I'd bet you can find any of them in a Japanese dictionary. They've just changed on account of Japanese's consonant-vowel-consonant structure. It's far past Japense speakers simply trying to pronounce English words.

Is this the Naruto dub discussion thread or the "let's argue over how things should be translated from Japanese to English" thread?

How the English voice actors pronounce certain names and phrases is pretty relevant to the quality of the dub. But I'm tired of this OT bullcrap.

Go Lee!

[darkmetal505]

Naruto 50 eng dub is here

Lee opens the 5th gate, but I could only find part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15aXGCRek6Y

[Mizuchi]

In the english dub, I noticed (and Im sure everyone else did too obviously), that the chakra gates had COMPLETELY different names. I kind of like some of the DB ones better and some Dub ones better.

Dub:

Open Gate
Rest Gate
Life Gate
Pain Gate
Closing Gate
Joy Gate
Shock Gate
Death Gate

Dattebayo:

Open Gate
Energy Gate
Life Gate
Wound Gate
Forest Gate
View Gate
Insanity Gate
Death Gate

Like where the dub would win is for example the 5th gate. Dub calls it Closing, DB calls it Forest. I have no idea why it would be called a Forest gate, seeing how it releases the limit on the amount of chakra released at one time. But I like how the 6th gate is called the View gate in DB, although I dont know what the 6th gate does, View just sounds a lot cooler than Joy.

[Necromas]

Ya, it was wierd seeing the gate names changed.

But one thing that really pissed me off was seeing Lee lose a fight he was winning so easily BECAUSE OF A FRIGGEN GOURD CUSHIONED HIS FALL.

I havent been this pissed since I saw the japanese version of the fight.

[Psyke]

Time for my 2 cents again

八門遁甲 The 8 Chakra Gates

The 門 character stands for door/entrance and in this case "gate" as it sounds better in English.

1. 開門 = Open Gate
2. 休門 = Rest Gate
3. 生門 = Life Gate
4. 傷門 = Wound/Hurt Gate
5. 杜門 = Stop Gate
6. 景門 = Scenery Gate
7. 憼門 = Caution Gate
8. 死門 = Death Gate

Please note that this is by no means official and is my interpretation of the kanji based on my current level of Japanese + Chinese kanji. If you would like to find out more, here is a good site to look up the meaning of kanji (not hira/kata).

http://www.jlpt-kanji.com/