How do you spell...?

(The following is a blurb from an article on Japanese and English translations published by Animerica, Vol. 8, Issue 7.)

"Anyone who's been an anime fan long enough has probably experienced a debate or two when some new fan innocently asks, "What is the right way to spell (insert name here)?" It's an understandable question; every web site, piece of merchandise, and book seems to spell characters' names in English differently. While fans have strong opinions on such matters, the simple fact is that there's seldom one "right" way. This is to be expected, especially when dealing with two lanuages that are so different."

You see, Japanese and English are VERY different languages. For example, in English, we sound out our vowels, a, e, i, o, u. In Japanese, they sound out their vowels, ka, ki, ku. Japanese uses syllabaries and ideograms. So why does this make it so hard to convert Japanese to English? Well, one big reason is the fact that there are many techniques in converting Japanese to English. One technique could say, "Goku," while another says, "Gokou." Also, as with all languages, spoken language is usually slurred and sounds different than written (for example, Going to... Gonna). So you translators must decide if they take the names from written or spoken terms. And that makes all the difference.

Examples of Translations:

• Krillen, Kurririn
• Goku, Gokou
• Vegeta, Vegita