The Policies of Naming
So, who's excited for the new KH games? I know I am :D But that's not what I'm here to talk about today. Only it kind of is, but whatever.
Alright, I've been hearing a few gripes about the names of our three new heroes in Birth by Sleep; namely (haha) that their names aren't as original as Sora, Kairi and Riku. People seem to have problems with Aqua's name especially 'cause "duh, it just means water! How lame."
Uhm. I think someone missed the point here.
Ven, Terra and Aqua are supposed to match up to Sora, Riku and Kairi because their names mean the same kind of thing. By the logic that calls Aqua's name unoriginal, the same should be said of Kairi's.
It's really a matter of perspective; to the Western audience, whose languages are based in Latin, of course Ven, Terra and Aqua's names are going to be predictable. But to the Japanese audience, I'm betting their names sound a hell of a lot cooler. And on the flipside, Sora, Riku and Kairi sound unique and different to us while to the Japanese audience, their names are really pretty normal.
I mean, think about it. At least with it being in Latin we can pronounce their names. They could have been in like, Basque or something.
Alright, I've been hearing a few gripes about the names of our three new heroes in Birth by Sleep; namely (haha) that their names aren't as original as Sora, Kairi and Riku. People seem to have problems with Aqua's name especially 'cause "duh, it just means water! How lame."
Uhm. I think someone missed the point here.
Ven, Terra and Aqua are supposed to match up to Sora, Riku and Kairi because their names mean the same kind of thing. By the logic that calls Aqua's name unoriginal, the same should be said of Kairi's.
It's really a matter of perspective; to the Western audience, whose languages are based in Latin, of course Ven, Terra and Aqua's names are going to be predictable. But to the Japanese audience, I'm betting their names sound a hell of a lot cooler. And on the flipside, Sora, Riku and Kairi sound unique and different to us while to the Japanese audience, their names are really pretty normal.
I mean, think about it. At least with it being in Latin we can pronounce their names. They could have been in like, Basque or something.