Re: Shikona spelling and pronunciation?

[David Luke <luke@in-system.com>]

> Most popular two such systems are Kunrei system and Hebon (Hepburn)
> system. At the moment, because of the popularity of English language
> in Japan, it seems Hebon system is gaining popularity in Japan
> because of its similarity to the English writing system.

Actually, my impression is that I'm seeing more Kunrei-shiki recently
(despite the fact that it's a lot harder to read).


> But in reality,
> Kunrei system is the official standard of romanization in Japan.
...
> And as I mentioned above, Kunrei system is the official
> romanization system in Japan. I personally prefer Hebon system since
> I'm more familiar with English and English is a de-facto standard
> language of Internet. But that does not make any difference of Kunrei
> systes being the official standard of Japanese romanization system.

Actually, I don't think there is anything that can be considered an
"official standard".  Nearly every organization seems to chose its
own favorite system, and many of them don't stick consistantly to it.

Even different parts of the government don't agree.  I think the
government claims that Kunrei-shiki is the "official" standard for
government use, but the government isn't consistant, either.  For
instance, the standard for Romanization on passports is Hepburn.  If
you want your name on a passport spelled in anything but Hepburn
(including Kunrei-shiki), you have to file a special form.  Road
signs are usually (but not always) Hepburn.  Signs in government
offices are often Hepburn, or some weird combination of Hepburn and
Kunrei-shiki.

Basically, your best bet is to try to learn the actual Japanese,
and then you can make an educated guess as to what the various different
Romanization possibilities are trying to mean.

--
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David Luke                                        It is easier to get older
luke@in-system.com                                  than it is to get wiser
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