X-Nico

6 unusual facts about romanization of Japanese


Fuji Electric

The name “Fuji” is derived from Furukawa's “Fu” and Siemens' “Ji”, since German pronunciation of Siemens is written jiimensu in Japanese romanization.

Kisou

The title of "24個シリンダー" can be romanized as "24 Ko Cylinder", but is typically anglicized as "Twentyfour Cylinders"; "Ko" ("個") is a Japanese counter word and is used for counting military and miscellaneous units.

Ranger's Apprentice

Note: The Nihon-Jan language is basically Japanese using Romaji.

Romanization of Japanese

The Jesuits also printed some secular books in romanized Japanese, including the first printed edition of the Japanese classic The Tale of the Heike, romanized as Feiqe no monogatari, and a collection of Aesop's Fables (romanized as Esopo no fabulas).

Run to Ruin

The backing track to this Japanese version of "While We Talk" (written in rōmaji as "Simpuru Ni"; which translates literally as "Simpler Thoughts") is identical to the English version, with the exception of some barely audible additional instrumentation (chamberlin and optigon).

Tsu Station

The name of the station is considered the shortest in Japan because it is the only station name that is written with one kana, even though other stations have shorter names when written in Latin letters, such as Oe Station.


Abraham M. Halpern

He assumed the position previously held by linguist Robert King Hall at the Civil Information and Education Section of GHQ/SCAP in Japan, where he promoted the adoption of the phonemic Kunrei-Shiki style of romanization of Japanese (rōmaji), and supervised studies on the feasibility of widening the use of romanization in Japan.


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