[Fandom] Fandom language
In returning to and rereading Mended Wing and Ames Qui Dorment, I'm reminded of how much fangirl Japanese I used to use. It's definitely slipped out of my fanfiction vocabulary because I haven't written anime fanfiction in a very long time. About three years, but really more like five or more because three years ago was just the last time I updated MW, but I'd been ignoring it and anime fandom since way before.
Even more, though, it's slipped out of my every day usage, which is really a good thing considering I'm about as far from Japanese as it gets.
Point being, I'm having to make some interesting choices now.
If I were to write either of these fics today, as in if I were beginning them from scratch, I probably would use Japanese words very sparingly, if at all. Mostly when there isn't an easy English equivalent, such as youkai. (I really don't like the word "demon," which is what the English translations of the manga and anime use... it's not the right word at all, it has connotations to a mostly Christian, Western world that aren't exactly right... demons, for instance, are usually considered to be evil, bottom line, while youkai are generally regarded as anywhere from evil to merely mischeivous depending on the type of youkai, and at least in the Inuyasha world, some can even be good.) But I wouldn't use words like "okaa-san" and "otou-san" for mother and father, not only because I'm probably using them all wrong.
So, now that I'm writing these fics again with the intention of finishing them, the big question is: do I continue to use them for the sake of continuity? Especially because there are places where I actually used the common English translation for something when I didn't know the Japanese word, but I know the Japanese word now and I'd rather use it because it sounds WAY better than the English (I'm thinking of Miroku's kazaana, which has been translated in English as everything from "Air Rip!" to "Wind Tunnel!" and... yeah).
So far, I've continued to use Japanese words I've already used for continuity's sake (so that's my decision, then, I guess), but once these fics are finished, I'm really considering rewriting them, especially MW because the beginning chapters really suck. So, on a rewrite, what would I do then?
And if I take out Japanese words, how far do I take that? Suffixes, for example: in MW, I think I'd actually keep them, because in that particular crossover universe, the useage of suffixes is actually discussed amongst the characters. In Broken Wing, Usagi taught those pilots who didn't already have an understanding of Japanese (mostly Duo, as I think I came up with reasons why the others at least knew that much) how to properly address her. So in those fics, it actually makes sense to keep the suffixes in; the Senshi wuold use them when talking to anyone, the pilots would use them when talking to the Senshi or other past-native characters, but probably wouldn't when having a discussion amongst themselves when there were no Japanese-speakers present.
Even AQD has some argument for keeping certain things: while the vast majority of the characters are Japanese, the enemies aren't. I'm not saying more about that, but the point is that they have their own language, and while they... may or may not be speaking Japanese when talking to characters outside their own group... amongst each other they would be speaking their own language, which definitely does not include Japanese words and suffixes.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that while if I had to make the same choices today, I probably would lessen the fangirl Japanese some, but I wouldn't completely forego the use of Japanese depending on the situation and how it's being used. I'd think about the reasons for using the language rather than just slap some Japanese in there and calling it done.
Also, I was such an anime dork way back when, that I actually wrote a paper for History of the English language that was about "the dialect of the otaku" and I actually turned it in for a grade and everything. I got an A. :D
Even more, though, it's slipped out of my every day usage, which is really a good thing considering I'm about as far from Japanese as it gets.
Point being, I'm having to make some interesting choices now.
If I were to write either of these fics today, as in if I were beginning them from scratch, I probably would use Japanese words very sparingly, if at all. Mostly when there isn't an easy English equivalent, such as youkai. (I really don't like the word "demon," which is what the English translations of the manga and anime use... it's not the right word at all, it has connotations to a mostly Christian, Western world that aren't exactly right... demons, for instance, are usually considered to be evil, bottom line, while youkai are generally regarded as anywhere from evil to merely mischeivous depending on the type of youkai, and at least in the Inuyasha world, some can even be good.) But I wouldn't use words like "okaa-san" and "otou-san" for mother and father, not only because I'm probably using them all wrong.
So, now that I'm writing these fics again with the intention of finishing them, the big question is: do I continue to use them for the sake of continuity? Especially because there are places where I actually used the common English translation for something when I didn't know the Japanese word, but I know the Japanese word now and I'd rather use it because it sounds WAY better than the English (I'm thinking of Miroku's kazaana, which has been translated in English as everything from "Air Rip!" to "Wind Tunnel!" and... yeah).
So far, I've continued to use Japanese words I've already used for continuity's sake (so that's my decision, then, I guess), but once these fics are finished, I'm really considering rewriting them, especially MW because the beginning chapters really suck. So, on a rewrite, what would I do then?
And if I take out Japanese words, how far do I take that? Suffixes, for example: in MW, I think I'd actually keep them, because in that particular crossover universe, the useage of suffixes is actually discussed amongst the characters. In Broken Wing, Usagi taught those pilots who didn't already have an understanding of Japanese (mostly Duo, as I think I came up with reasons why the others at least knew that much) how to properly address her. So in those fics, it actually makes sense to keep the suffixes in; the Senshi wuold use them when talking to anyone, the pilots would use them when talking to the Senshi or other past-native characters, but probably wouldn't when having a discussion amongst themselves when there were no Japanese-speakers present.
Even AQD has some argument for keeping certain things: while the vast majority of the characters are Japanese, the enemies aren't. I'm not saying more about that, but the point is that they have their own language, and while they... may or may not be speaking Japanese when talking to characters outside their own group... amongst each other they would be speaking their own language, which definitely does not include Japanese words and suffixes.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that while if I had to make the same choices today, I probably would lessen the fangirl Japanese some, but I wouldn't completely forego the use of Japanese depending on the situation and how it's being used. I'd think about the reasons for using the language rather than just slap some Japanese in there and calling it done.
Also, I was such an anime dork way back when, that I actually wrote a paper for History of the English language that was about "the dialect of the otaku" and I actually turned it in for a grade and everything. I got an A. :D