#specifically i use it for japanese

[languagelvlup]

possibly unpopular opinion (?)

Duolingo is good for high intermediate learners looking to gain vocabulary.

[seagreenstardust]

Izuku being oblivious to all the ways he deserves love and therefore oblivious to the love the people around him show him is so real though

And Katsuki being the only one to finally get him to understand that he is loved is THE hill I will die on

Just like Kats was the only one who could make Izuku stop running from Class 1A, he gets Izu in a way no one else ever will and that is canon

[whatudottu]

Combined with the mortifying realisation that loopified Odile (now named Nokosu) took me multiple hours to draw the first time, I decided to try and make one speak in Japanese :) :) :)

The Japanese sentences will be under the cut plus a more literal translation and some research notes-

自分は遺残の神である。「遺す」と呼んでもいいし、「残」の字を使ってもいい。お前 の草白鳥は、すでにお前 の小烏から 「イサ 」という名前を取っている。二人の人間に同じ名前を使うのは混乱しないか？ヴォーガルド語の「サ」の発音は「ザ」に近いので、特に必要である。そうだろう？

or in Romaji

Jibun wa izan no kamidearu. 'Nokosu' to yonde mo īshi, 'zan' no ji o tsukatte mo ī. Omae no kusa hakuchō wa, sudeni omae no ko karasu kara `Isa' to iu namae o totte iru. Futari no ningen ni onaji namae o tsukau no wa konran shinai ka? Vu~ōgarudo-go no 'sa' no hatsuon wa 'za' ni chikainode, tokuni hitsuyōdearu. Sōdarou?

Literally translated Nokosu says;

I am the god of remains. You may call me “Nokosu", or you may use the [Chinese character] for “remain". Your grass swan has already taken the name “Isa” from your little crow. Isn't it confusing to use the same name for two people? It is especially necessary since the pronunciation of “sa” in Vaugarde is close to “za”. Wouldn't you agree?

And for the explanations of a monolingual English speaker with barely even surface level understanding of Japanese.

Throughout my entire journey, Jisho.org kanji dictionary has been my saving grace and backbone in my choice of Nokosu's name and what first and second person pronouns one uses. My initial goal was to find a name for survival or persistance which lead to me finding terms like; 存続 (sonzoku) meaning survival, 存 meaning exist and 続 meaning continue; 耐久 (taikyuu) meaning endurance, 耐 meaning the affix -proof (of bulletproof or soundproof), 久 meaning long time; and finally 遺残 (izan) meaning persistence, 遺 meaning bequeath, 残 meaning remainder.

To kinda help expand my knowledge of the terms I was using, I also used a combination of google translate (primarily for the pronunication of words less the actual translations) and DeepL to kinda get the sweet deets and found that izan had meant - a more common definition - remains. It. Was. Perfect.

Perfect save for one thing... Isa- Sure, Isabeau is his full name and written down Isabeau and Izan are unique enough, but technically functionally the 'sa' in French (and thus in Vaugardian) is more voiced than the 'sa' in Japanese and sounds more like the 'za' in izan, and to have Odile refer to Nokosu as Izan when "only [Siffrin] call[s] him Isa" is an in-game quote; to say I was miffed was an understatement.

But then... I turned to words that use those individual kanji and hoped to mix and match to find what I wanted.

My first direction was to turn each kanji into hiragana to find their pronunciations and piece together a word from that; 遺 in isolation is noko, 残 in isolation is zan. Finding the term no ko zan-kiri (のこざん切り) on google gave me 'chopped into pieces' which well- look at my design that's a lot of pieces! のこ残 or nokozan (turning the first character into hiragana of course) lead me to 'remnants of a servant's body' as it's main translation on DeepL, but it also provided 'backbreaking exertions' as well as 'remnants of a defeated soldier'. Plus using DeepL again izan itself full kanji gave me 'vestiges' 'bequest' 'afterlife' and the ever present 'remains'.

None of these however were getting me closer to an ample replacement for izan however, not until I returned to jisho.org to pick out words from a list using either kanji.

Turns out, both 遺 and 残 can be pronounce 'noko' so long as it is followed by the hiragana す or su. And guess what either spelling of the word translates into? The 遺す version meaning to leave (behind), to bequeath, and the 残す version meaning that same thing but more, to leave (undone), to save/to reserve, to stay (in the ring).

SO! SO! That is how Nokosu came to be named! But- what about the Japanese phrase I wrote?

Well- let's stay on the Nokosu theme now that any Japanese readers in my audience have already processed the meta-joke that can only really exist in Japanese writing (or maybe not a joke but like... a fourth wall acknowledgement). Nokosu already introduces oneself as 遺す though doesn't mention how to spell it (since it's already spelt out to the reader), then introduces the second variant of the spelling exclusively referring to the second kanji of Izan 残 as zan. Maybe it's not really a joke but it'd kinda be like the 'you use he/they, it's in your profile' equivalent.

I suppose an attempt at a joke was Odile thinking 'a very wordy Expression', but that's mostly from observing that translations through DeepL stopped run on sentences occuring from English to Japanese so... I have no idea if constant uses of commas isn't particularly Japanese, at least the joke would be that Nokosu is particularly more chatty than Odile might normally be.

And once again, people who know Japanese may have noticed the use of jibun (自分) and omae (お前) for Nokosu's pronouns. Lowkey I was thinking initially of making Nokosu's first person pronoun oira a la sans undertale 'country bumpkin' but found more interesting things with jibun and omae that I settled on those versions. jibun, a neutral formality pronoun literally meaning 'oneself', when used as a personal pronoun (like Nokosu does) it's with a sense of separation of distance to the self; I also found out in my translation hunt that jibun can be used as a second person pronoun which is very fucking fitting given who Nokosu talks to, but that's specifically from in the Kansai dialect and - well - I can't say for certain where Odile hails from especially since Japan in ISAT is Ka Bue, but she'd be well educated enough to connect the dots that Nokosu lays down. On the other hand, Nokosu's second person pronoun is omae (Fist of the North Star fans will remember it from the very iconic 'omae wa mou shindearu'), which is incredibly informal and very rude when said to elders (though in age technically Nokosu is older) as it's meant to express the speaker's higher status in non-casual relationships.

To note, though omae can be used by both genders, it and jibun are mostly used by men and in the case of omae it's more commonly used to refer to their wife or lover. This has a little extra significance to background headcanon where Nokosu calls Odile Nanafushi (七節) or literally walking stick AKA a stickbug as ones version of 'Stardust', but sometimes Nokusu would split the word in half and refer to Odile as 'Nana' which in English sounds like one is referencing a grandma but (BUT) I'm specifically using the French term which translates to 'chick' 'babe' 'girlfriend'. So when I saw that omae can also be used for that purpose, it really goes to show that at some point Nokosu had the time to perfectly craft a version of oneself that does get on Odile's nerves and has the gall to get away with it at least initially under the assumption that one is an Expression.

I've been trying to make this flow from one point to another but I don't know how to jump to Japanese nicknames, at least not the metaphorical ones that I used here (and took inspiration from the Word of God Odile nickname for Siffrin 'Little Crow'). What little I do know about Japanese nicknames is that they may take alternate readings of single kanji as a nickname or repeat a character, though that is in reference to Japanese names in the first place. I did see something about the metaphorical sort of nicknames that have connotations in the language itself but- honestly this is my most monolingual English moment yet. I will explain however what I did decide.

草白鳥 or kusa hakuchou is the character for grass 草, and the kanji combination for swan 白鳥. In DeepL however 草白鳥 translates to grasshopper and though I signifcantly lack the cultural context to know what grasshopper symbology has in Japan, I do know in English you call someone a 'grasshopper' because they're tall. But why start with grass swan at all? Well- maybe it's a stretch for whatever fantasy time-period ISAT takes place in to use an internet term but, 草 has been used in internet slang to mean lol or haha since 'w' is also a version of lol or haha, and when spammed like so - wwwwwwwwwwwww - it looks like grass. The reason for swan would be because of I guess this idea of beauty? Less due to Odile specifically considering Isabeau beauty and more so taking note of his care to his appearance - whether it be how he presents his perception of his appearance or how he makes people belief a different thing about what his views about his appearance are, white swan or black swan - and that whatever the case is, he does take pride in maintaining that appearance; a retroactive meaning to the nickname, especially when Isa starts more casually bringing up the fact he *had* Changed, would be an incidental reference to the ugly duckling, who ended up not being a duckling at all and was a swan all along. Whether the nickname actually works or not I don't really know, but what it boils down to Odile's nickname for him (and thus Nokosu's only title for him beyond fighter) would really mean 'funny (tall) beauty' which would probably fluster Odile to admit it as Isa would hearing it.

An interesting thing I found while finding kanji for little crow (specifically 小烏) was that there is actually kind of already a word for it already, Kogarasu Maru or 小烏丸, AKA "Little Crow" which is a unique tachi sword rumoured to be crafted by a legendary swordsmith like-! I don't know if that was at all intentional on Insertdisc5's part (and if I should change the pronunciaton of the romaji version of the original text to kogarasu), but beyond Siffrin's little habit to collect every little thing that shines and doesn't, what do you mean there's a unique tachi sword named 'little crow' that's like literally so Siffrin-coded I SWEAR TO GOD!

Oh, and I played ISAT in Japanese to get the correct spelling of Vaugarde and 語 (go) is just the suffix for language AKA the difference between Nihon the country and Nihongo the language okay BYE!

[radyo-kabaw]

THE LEGEND OF TINAMNAN GABE

-as recorded in Negros Oriental and Siquijor Island: Legends, Beliefs and Folkways (ed. Caridad Aldecoa-Rodriguez)

I changed Eyo's name because the nature of legends and folktales is that when you retell it, you end up leaving your own fingerprints on it. altho the real reason I changed his name is that I have an idea for a longer story that spans a few centuries that starts with this legend, but I need to do some more research before I really get into it, so for now this is just a standalone comic bc I really like this story :)

[appleciderjulie]

hey guys i like drawing cutesy stuff that’s actually monumentally fucked up

anyways how we feelin tonight

[magicalgirlfia]

Guilty Gear XX♯Reload Comic Anthology Translation: Try & Error

This is a comic from the Guilty Gear XX Sharp Reload Comic Anthology, which I have been translating. The original scans of this comic are by @tillman and can be found on archive.org

I don’t have anything to link to here either and I didn’t notice any details like last time so uhh…this comic actually made me laugh for the sheer implication that Axl and Bridget are ready and willing to participate in a political assassination attempt. Also that actually, nobody could tell the difference between them, he was kicked out because Ky just wasn’t supposed to be there. Lots of silly implications in this one.

You can read the previous translation here

And the next translation here

​​Usual disclaimer: I am not fluent in Japanese and all of this is a one Fia job so everything might not be 100% accurate but I always try my best!

[lesbianslovenamari]

I was reading DunMeshi and was so confused by this phrase that I decided to look it up

(Do correct me if you think this isn’t accurate cuz I just used google)

But I find it frankly hilarious that Chilchuck is using slang from various parts of the British Isles out of nowhere in the last volume??

(I’ve now had someone explain to me that apparently it’s not uncommon for certain uncommon types of informal Japanese to be translated as slang from specific areas, typically around Britain, in English)

First of all I’d alr seen people jokingly headcanoning him as Irish on here (which was an idea I absolutely love)

ALSO I come from a part of the UK where I’m very familiar with the term ‘git’ but had never heard of a version with an e and I also had no idea it meant the same as ‘bastard’

(I have considered that this could just be the regular meaning of the word ‘get’ but I thought it wouldn’t grammatically make sense here so I assumed it was slang esp cuz he would totally call someone a git)

Anyways I’ve checked other translations and it’s not the same so I find it so funny that this one (which I’m pretty sure is the official English translation) included it

(^ another version I found online)

Anyways this is the translation I have and used as an example for this post, which I’m pretty sure is the official English translation:

Edit: Btw also check tags I kinda wrote this when I was drunk on sleep deprivation

[magistralucis]

pronouncing the necron 'sz': personal rating list*

broke: /s/ only ('seras')

woke: /z/ only ('zeras')

provoke: /s/ and /z/ pronounced separately ('s-ze-ras')

bespoke: /ʂ/ or /ʃ/ ('scheras')

invoke: tensed fricative /s͈/ ('sseras')

misspoke: /s/ but evil ('ßeras')

(* Further notes in tags.)

[sekaicards]

hey whats Stars Align

hello. 'Stars Align' is a 2019, 12 episode anime about, among a lot of other things, soft tennis. one of its main characters is yuu asuka, a character who is explicitly non cis.

weirdly, i've been seeing a lot of criticism popping up for copal's handling of the recent mizuki event especially on the topic of their gender. i have also seen both prior to and after the release of the event people not so subtly implying that as a japanese company they have no knowledge about being trans or non-binary or any other sort of non cis identity. or that it would be "more realistic" for ena to have not known about trans people or reacted poorly to the news.

western perspectives of gender and being trans do not apply everywhere, of course, but to suggest that a complete lack of knowledge and a more unknowing/bigoted reaction to such news would be more inherent to and make more sense from a character on account of them being from a non-western culture doesn't exactly sit right with me for a number of reason i'm sure you can figure out.

japanese people are capable of understanding being queer. this should not be a novel concept. and if it is to you, try to think about why.

[thistledropkick]

After Desperado told Hiromu about his eye condition, Hiromu repeatedly said that he wanted Desperado to give him detailed updates on his health situation, and it seems like he meant it. He brought it up immediately on the first day of the current tour and hasn't given up yet.

"The backstage comments are getting stupid again"

Hiromu in the QRT said: "El Desperado, can you hear me? Your eye, your eye surgery, please tell me if it has been completed successfully and safely. ....Yeah, this part of my backstage comment will probably be put onto "X" I think. So please quote it and comment, Desperado-senshu."

Desperado quoted it to say: "You know that if you tell me to do something, I will absolutely never do it."

Undiscouraged, Hiromu continued in the next day's backstage comments:

"First things first. Desperado! Thanks for the comment! But I still want to hear how your eyes are doing, and what % of normal vision you're at right now. Please reassure me! I want to hear the words "I'm 100% healedpiii~!" directly from your mouth, please. I think this part of what I said today will be put onto 'X'"

Desperado didn't respond directly to Hiromu, but he did post an update:

"It hasn't even been a week since my surgery so I'm having terrible double vision, even worse than before the surgery

When I have both eyes open, even if I'm somewhere flat, my balance feels weighted backwards, and the visuals make me nauseous

So I've been wearing an eyepatch everywhere, and traveling by taxi and train instead of driving

But that narrows my field of vision so much that I keep crashing into things and getting in peoples' way...

This suuuucks"

Still not getting the answer he requested, Hiromu escalated.

His wrist tape for today's match read "Despe" "are your eyes" "okay?"

And in his backstage comments, he said that since Desperado isn't talking to him about this on twitter, he wants Desperado to reach out to him directly on the Japanese chat app LINE.

Desperado QRTed a reply, but to the NJPW World account instead of directly to Hiromu.

"My eyes aren't the problem, it's the muscles that move my eyes that are the problem

The muscles that move my eyes are still warming up and getting used to working

I've still got total double vision

I see two people, like the distance between a stand and their stand user"

"So basically, after the muscles that move your eyes are done warming up, you'll intensely train those eyeball-moving muscles so you'll become even stronger than before, okay 🙆 ? "

"I will not do anything to train those muscles after they're done warming up"

"Why did you suddenly start replying to me on X after I said on my backstage comment "Tell me your LINE"?

Ah, whyyy whyyy?"

[marikodraws]

Watch your hands (and paws)! ⚠️✋💥

[xiakeponz]

"If I liked someone, I would hide it in the depths of my heart forever. I would never speak of it aloud, nor would I ever let anyone know."

so anyway I am watching this show now because there's not a lot to watch (for some reason I've gone off on a ZLH backlog and I do love to see Bailu) and omg don't spoiler but-

Xie Wei is talking about himself right, very hypothetically and this is not about Jiang Xuening at all :skull emoji: did he like her from like four years ago when they were going to the capital ... what's going on xie wei sir lmao as far as she knows he's whipped out his dagger 🗡️ like actually- at her more than a few times 😩 also, yo, is he also living a second life? (ok no spoil).

[amelikos]

To make my stance clear for my posts on here, this blog is stricly a spoilers yes leaks no zone.

[sexybritishllama]

been scrolling through some of the dawntrail opinions on 5ch today

[zhooniyaa-waagosh]

Me, first learning kana: Wow I love how straightforward Japanese pronunciation is, it's really nice to not have to wonder how things are pronounced.

Me, learning kanji: oh what the fuck actually

Me, now learning about the types of keigo and how they affect conjugation and pronunciation:

[melonthesprigatito]

Look, I'm not interested in playing Palworld and I've been actively avoiding the drama/controversy so I'd be perfectly happy with forgetting it's existence and moving on with my life if it weren't for just how obsessively UNHINGED the Palworld fandom is, barging in on EVERY. SINGLE. recent Pokémon post on multiple platforms just to pick fights and shill the hell out of their game to (most of the time) confused Pokémon fans who are wondering what Palworld is and where these people came from.

I saw this wonderful art of the Kamado battle in Legends Arceus and the Champion battle in Sun and Moon on Instagram and I shit you not, a good 70% of the comments are entirely Palworld people just ranting and yelling about how Pokémon sucks, Palworld is going to kill Pokémon, anybody who likes Pokémon is a bootlicker and are riding Pokémon's 🍆, how anyone who complains about Palworld is a (and I quote) """"saviourf*g""" for Nintendo etc

Like, I just wanted to share my nostalgia about Sun and Moon and so did a lot of other people considering that there were still people talking about it, but it was hard to find those comments because they were drowned out by the Pals Vs Pokémon warzone.

And the second someone says something a Pal fan doesn't like, it eventually devolves into the Pal fans throwing homophobic slurs around and calling the Pokémon fans neckbeards, and shills and basement dwellers and such.

I'm sure there's probably sane fans who are just happy going about and making their Pals break rocks or whatever, but a majority of the Palworld fans I've encountered so far are like edgy screaming 4Chan people. Like, holy shit I wish they would just go to their own Palworld fan pages instead of invading Pokémon and turning every comment section into the embodiment of this meme.

(And I just want to address the whole "Pokémon Company is posting a lot more often recently because they're obviously scared of Palworld, lmaoooo why else would they suddenly start actively posting after months of radio silence 😎" argument that I've seen dozens of times.

First of all, the Pokémon channel/profile is always posting random game/anime/art screenshots. There hasn't been a sudden drastic increase of posts.

Second of all, it's A MONTH UNTIL POKÉMON DAY. THEY DO THIS EVERY YEAR. The influx of Snorlax posts is a promotional thing for Pokémon Sleep. Pokémon's just carrying on with their regularly scheduled hype building/ promotional stuff and the Palworld fans think it has something to do with them.(