We don't always like being nonplussed

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Flail it Yourself: V for Vexation (Part 1)

In all the Katakana stuff I've gone over, I can't believe I've forgotten V! V-sounds are another case of trying to emulate a sound in a language that isn't quite set up for it, but unlike a lot of others, there's more than one way to go about getting there.
The first of those, which we'll go over today is by using B sounds. Those are written with the addition of what looks like quotation marks to the kana for the H-family of sounds- ha-he-hi-fu-ho. (And we covered the Fu thing before.)

Ever wonder why the wee-est of the weeaboo call Vegeta "Bejita?" Well, because that's technically how it's spelled. On a more directly game-related subject, the Varia suit from Metroid? A mistranslation- it should be the Barrier Suit, which is painfully obvious looking at the Metroid II and Super Metroid artwork for Samus's armor with and without the Varia. It's another layer of armor, a barrier. When I started learning katakana this was one of those slap-myself-on-the-forehead moments- so obvious! Once you know what you're looking for, anyway.

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