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A comment on Your last name contains invalid characters (2010). Parent comment

Re:Your last name contains invalid characters (2010) by Macha on Thursday January 11, 2024 @06:50AM (#38951008)
That's one part but another is names that use kyuujitai (pre-simplified kanji forms) or names that use unusual readings because if you're named after your father's (father's father's....) name then the pronunciation of your name might not have evolved the same way the reading of the kanji has in actual words. Also regional uses that get replaced by standardised uses in words but not names. Or someone just made it up generations ago and it caught on. Or your ancestor didn't know how to write and just picked a kanji they thought was right.

Even in English this happens, look at all the variations of Robert (Rob, Bob, Robb, Robbie, Bobbie, ...) or similar names.

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Re:Your last name contains invalid characters (2010) by Dalewyn on Thursday January 11, 2024 @08:10AM (#38951745)
>Even in English this happens, look at all the variations of Robert (Rob, Bob, Robb, Robbie, Bobbie, ...) or similar names.

That doesn't quite grasp the magnitude. We're talking on the level of writing "Charlie" and reading it as "Alexander". Why? Because yes, that's why.

Providing readings using furigana is the mechanical answer to a very human problem.

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Re:Your last name contains invalid characters (2010) by qingcharles on Thursday January 11, 2024 @10:45AM (#38953784)
How do everyday Japanese deal with the problem? Do they have the furigana on their business cards? (or the katakana reading)

I'm thinking.. I've only ever seen someone's name, will I make serious faux pas if I mispronounce it with the regular reading when I meet them?

(this is less pronounced in English because most of the time you can tell how to pronounce it by reading it. My last name suffers from the fact there is multiple possible pronunciations, so whenever I meet someone who has never heard my name they always stumble and look at me for help)

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Re:Your last name contains invalid characters (2010) by Macha on Thursday January 11, 2024 @12:28PM (#38955460)
In person, if they think you'll have to write their name: "My name is XYZ, that uses the kanji for A and B"

As for business cards, yes, if they have some non-obvious reading they will have kana or romaji there somewhere. (Usage of romaji on business cards is wider than you might expect, since it's seen as kind of the equivalent of a modern sans-serif logo for a business in some circles)

e.g.

Card with furigana: https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F...

Card with kana elsewhere: https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F...

Card with romaji: https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2F...

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Re:Your last name contains invalid characters (2010) by qingcharles on Thursday January 11, 2024 @01:02PM (#38956003)
Thank you so much!

On the first example -- what is the significance of the character which is a circle within a circle? I'm assuming it's some sort of graphic or punctuation, rather than a kanji...?

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Re:Your last name contains invalid characters (2010) by Macha on Thursday January 11, 2024 @01:54PM (#38956911)
It's just a graphical divider/bullet that the designer of this specific business card chose to use.

The heading of that corner is just the pronounication of "m-take design" written out in katakana. The first line under the heading talks about the type of products the person works on (direct mail, leaflets, pamphlets). The second line talks about their specialities, as in the industries they focus on (cosmetics, health food), and then the last mentions they'll also do logo design, homepage design etc. I guess they wanted to emphasize the second line.

You'll sometimes see kanji-sized single circles used in Japan to indicate omitted characters (and you might see them on business card _templates_ as a sort of lorem ipsum, but unlikely on actual business cards), but this double circle doesn't have any specific meaning as far as I know.

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