Multi-lingual-istic Ramblings...

[tj_dragonblade]

I have yet another Japanese question...can anyone tell me if there's a word for 'puppet'? Or something along those lines? (Looks hopefully at Sycho) I'm pondering fic titles for a Kou-POV work-in-progress and it would just fit the flow of what I've done with him so far and another piece that's trying to come together in my head if the title is Japanese. Otherwise it'll probably just be called 'Puppet'; and that somehow sounds a little plain.

Also, while I'm at it...what can y'all tell me about 'anou' and 'aa'? They keep trying to worm their way into Hakkai's speech, and I need to have a better understanding of what they mean before I decide to either kick them back out or let them stay. I have the impression that 'Aa' may just be a sound, or it could be an actual word--but it seems to get used in much the same way that 'Ah', 'Oh', and even 'Hn' appear in English. Sort of...a non-committal sound to indicate understanding or just paying attention. And 'anou'...it usually seems a polite way of saying something along the lines of 'Umm...' or 'Ahhh...' (shrugs)

If all else fails, does anyone have any site recs for researching these sorts of questions myself? Though I still find that a person with knowledge is generally more helpful than an automated translation device for languages like Japanese and Mandarin...which reminds me that I never did verify if using xin ai as a term of endearment was acceptable or not...whoops.

And, as an aside: Steph, thanks to you, every time U2's 'Vertigo' comes on the radio I'm hearing 'Uno! Dos! Tres! Battosai!' instead of 'catorce'...or is it quatorce? Quatorze--no wait, that's French...I think. >_< My semester of seventh-grade Spanish was a *very* long time ago...I'm afraid I don't remember the proper spelling for 'fourteen'.

Nonetheless, the idea of Bono as a Kenshin fan amuses me. ^_^

Comments

[deathlike.livejournal.com]

Puppet: Ayatsuriningyo

[deathlike.livejournal.com]

Aa = ah, oh
Anou = that, those, umm

[sychogrl.livejournal.com]

Hehehe. I happen to know that a common Japanese word for "puppet" is "ningyou." However, there are at least two other words for "puppet" in my online dictionary; one might assume that the others are given to slightly different connotations. Sort of the difference between a doll and a marionette, and perhaps the abstraction of a person being treated as a puppet? I dunno quite for sure. But "ningyou" would probably do. Also, make sure to leave the final "u" in there, because a "ningyo" is a mermaid! XD

Regarding "anou" and "aa": "anou" is a polite interjection. English equivalents are: "ummm," "well," "errr," etc. So you were right about that. As for "aa," I think it has more than one meaning. It's not in my dictionary, but from what I know it can either be an informal "yeah" (Sanzo uses it quite a bit), or used to strongly agree with someone or something. As in, "Aa, sou desu, ne!" which Hakkai likes to say sometimes. "Oh, that's true!" I heard it used in another anime when a character was expressing great contentment with her lot. :)

Hope that helps. ^_^ Also, if you're looking for a particular word, this is a very good dictionary: http://www.trussel.com/f_nih.htm No Japanese language support is required. :)

[deathlike.livejournal.com]

Ayatsuri seems more fitting in terms of usage anyway. I remember there is an anime on it that used Ayatsuri, but Ningyou is used as manipulate which sounds quite awkward for a fiction title.

[sychogrl.livejournal.com]

That's quite true. I've mostly heard "ningyou" in anime, though. Probably because it's easier to say. :)

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

...Hmm. After visiting Sycho's link, it looks like ayatsuri might be closest to what I'm after...it's something to ponder, anyway. Thanks!

[deathlike.livejournal.com]

Ayatsuri is the correct form. It sounds good whatever you are brewing up.

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

(winks)

And when he kisses me, he is so convincing; he kisses like a man enchanted, like a man in the thrall of passion. Yet when his eyes open, they are shrewd, calculating, intent only on assessing whether or not I believe his charade.

And I meet his gaze boldly, convey clearly that I buy none of it; and I pull him back to me for more.

(wanders off, whistling innocently)

[deathlike.livejournal.com]

Damn you! (shakes fists) What happened to your other muses?

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

Oh, they just sit back and watch with amusement while the Drama Muse talks the Sex Muse into joint dabblings with Kougaiji and Nii. And that Drama Muse...he's remarkably persuasive...

[aliaswestgate.livejournal.com]

oh dear gods TJ....you are such a tease.

Now we have to wait for you to finish with that one. *pouts*

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

Me? *Tease*? Whatever do you mean? (blinks innocently)

^_^ Well, as I've said. Kou just won't shut up. So hopefully the fic will come together fairly quickly. Time allowing, as always...

[deathlike.livejournal.com]

(feeds you more nii x kou)

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

Ohh, thank you!

[wind-chijmes.livejournal.com]

I never did verify if using xin ai as a term of endearment

If you use it like this => "xin ai de Hakkai" for example, which would mean "beloved Hakkai". xin ai isn't a noun, to put it in English terms. ^_~ Hope I've helped a bit.

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

Oh, dammit. Then all the times I dropped it into Wufei's scenes is just plain wrong...frack. That's...how many fics by now...(sweatdrop)

That's what I get for not checking first... (headdesks)

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

Alright. If I'm going to bother with doing touch-ups on all my old fics for archiving, I may as well try to fix this too. Would you happen to have any suggestions for what sort of word/phrase might be used as an endearment in place of a person's name? I mean, I originally went to xin ai because having Wufei call *anyone* 'dear' or 'honey' or 'darling' just didn't sound right; 'beloved' is more his style but it still sounds a bit cheesy in English...(sighs)

Any suggestions would be helpful. And if not...feh. I'll figure something out...

[wind-chijmes.livejournal.com]

It's not actually too big a problem to use 'xin ai'. It might work, just that it won't be a conventional way of using that term. ^_^ But to address your question about a replacement term...the problem is that affectionate terms in Chinese sound REALLY mushy, LOL! I was asking around to see what terms would be good for Wufei, but they might be a tad too romantic. But then, they'd work. There's 'qin ai de' which can be used as a noun, like the way you might use "sweetheart/honey". There's also 'ai ren' which literally translates to 'love-person' or 'lover' rather. I was thinking 'ai ren' might be better, although it still quite isn't a term of affection, but a term of addressing one's beloved.

^^ You're doing archiving? No more GW fics in the near future? I see you're having a lot of fun with Saiyuki! It's good really. I'm sure the change of fandoms is refreshing. ^_~

[tj-dragonblade.livejournal.com]

Indeed, the change is quite refreshing. But there are fics that must be finished before I can officially 'quit' GW. Not that I'd want to, really...perhaps when the Saiyuki obsession begins to ease up a bit, I might achieve a nice balance between fandoms. (shrug) In any case, when I say archiving, it's mostly just that I eventually aim to have all my stuff up at my ff.net account, which has been sitting empty for well over a year or two now. ^_^;

So anyway. 'Ai ren'...I did run across that when I was looking for a term to begin with. And from what you say, that's probably what I'd want to go with, then. Thank you for the insights. ^_^