Venting thread

[xxx]

oh wait, I forgot that the Roman Alphabet is one of those scripts used by the Japanese language, so yes, the macron does exist in written Japanese

uh...
and when they use it,
they prefer the circumflex...
and English uses neither...
(missionaries be damned...)

[bradrn]

and when they use it,
they prefer the circumflex...

counterexample 1…
counterexample 2…
counterexample 3…

Meanwhile, the article on Rōmaji — from whence I got these images — contains not a single example of a circumflex, except when it talks about alternate romanisation conventions.

[xxx]

here, I did some research...
The Hepburn romanization mentioned in the article next to the photos is an English romanization,
which was probably imposed with Japan's entry into the empire...
the official Kunrei-shiki romanization uses circumflex accents...

so the importation of the English writing of ramen with macron
is an importation of an English term to look exotic... in English

[keenir]

here, I did some research...
The Hepburn romanization mentioned in the article next to the photos is an English romanization,
which was probably imposed with Japan's entry into the empire...

imposed...by who?
(also, do you mean when Imperial Japan started expanding into the Co-Prosperity Sphere, or when postwar Japan entered the USA's defensive orbit?)

the official Kunrei-shiki romanization uses circumflex accents...

I see; so there's only one way to write a language that flexibly uses an average of two scripts per sentence. Got it.

so the importation of the English writing of ramen with macron
is an importation of an English term to look exotic... in English

*psst, nobody tell xxx about the Chinese that Japanese uses to write with - lest xxx'll think thats also only being done to look exotic!

[xxx]

imposed...by who?

the article says in accordance with the instructions of the occupying forces

for the rest, it's not so far from translating English film titles into French in bad English...

[WeepingElf]

The English and German Wikipedia disagree on the Kunrei-shiki vowel length diacritic: the German Wikipedia says it uses the macron, and the English Wikipedia says it uses the circumflex. Fact is that some people sometimes use the circumflex instead of the macron (also in Hepburn) for ease of typing. (I do so myself, I have to confess.)

[zompist]

so the importation of the English writing of ramen with macron
is an importation of an English term to look exotic... in English

You're being pretty weird here. Hepburn is the most common romanization, and as Brad points out, is used officially for signage and usually for personal names. Didn't you ever wonder why you don't see big brands rendered as Mitubisi, Tosiba, Hitati, Huzitu? Kunreishiki is used for education in Japanese primary schools. Linguists may use either— e.g. the three grammars on my shelf use different systems, while the two dictionaries both use Hepburn.

Oh, you want official? How about the home page of the Ambassade du Japon en France? Note the name of the ambassador, Shimokawa Makita. Which is Hepburn.

So, writing rāmen is not being exotic, it's using the romanization that has been a standard among foreigners, and by foreigner-facing Japanese, for 150 years. Using a proper romanization indicating vowel length is slightly pedantic, but we're all slightly pedantic on this board because we like languages. What would be exotic is insisting on using a romanization intended for Japanese schoolchildren, and which indicates vowel length in an idiosyncratic way.

[xxx]

no no, it's not weird,
the passage of words from one language to another,
never ceases to be instructive,
ideologies,
power plays between languages,
linguistic relativities,
and especially for a conlanger for whom it's a core target....

[Linguoboy]

Judging from my gastric distress today, I think escolar must have been included in the chef's selection at the sushi bar last night. The most annoying part is that I thought about requesting "no escolar" when ordering but for some reason I didn't do it. I guess I thought just one piece wouldn't hurt. Lesson learned.

[Travis B.]

Judging from my gastric distress today, I think escolar must have been included in the chef's selection at the sushi bar last night. The most annoying part is that I thought about requesting "no escolar" when ordering but for some reason I didn't do it. I guess I thought just one piece wouldn't hurt. Lesson learned.

Even if you had requested "no escolar", you might have run into this predicament anyways, from reading that wiki page. It very well is possible that the chef did not even know they were serving escolar.

[Linguoboy]

Even if you had requested "no escolar", you might have run into this predicament anyways, from reading that wiki page. It very well is possible that the chef did not even know they were serving escolar.

Possibly, but I saw "escolar" listed on the menu. I could have also specified "no white or super white tuna" just to be safe or sent back anything that was white in colour and not razor clam.

[Moose-tache]

Escolar is banned in Japan, so you can go to a sushi bar that will serve you fugu but not escolar.

[xxx]

in 3SDL I often translate food as "a swallowable",
I should say "a digestible"...
it seems that some suppliers are making the same mistake...

[Man in Space]

Friday morning, I took my medication a few hours late and I’ve been mostly in a stupor, a funk, or straight-up unconsciousness most of the time since then.

This morning I managed to injure my lower back. I don’t know what exactly I did to it, only that it hurts. Spent some time with a heating blanket earlier, waiting until I can try it again.

[Ahzoh]

I feel like i'm only a few steps from a complete mental breakdown.... or rather, what feels to me like the mental equivalent of a calculator error or bsod.

[malloc]

Goddamn it. I spilled my lunch at work. Between the twelve hour shift and my commute, that means thirteen hours with nothing to eat. My breakfast was barely anything as it is because I need to leave for work so early.

[xxx]

autumn, despite its golden splendor,
is the season of depression as the days grow shorter...
for me, it's a time for night walks in the forest with the dog...

I usually only have coffee in the morning,
and sometimes I've skipped lunch,
which means I've gone twenty hours without really eating...
beyond a certain level of hunger, it fades,
and the day seems to have a different rhythm
and, to put it bluntly, a different duration,
perhaps shorter, without the digestive slumps...

[MacAnDàil]

Goddamn it. I spilled my lunch at work. Between the twelve hour shift and my commute, that means thirteen hours with nothing to eat. My breakfast was barely anything as it is because I need to leave for work so early.

Is there nowhere nearby where you may buy food?

autumn, despite its golden splendor,
is the season of depression as the days grow shorter...
for me, it's a time for night walks in the forest with the dog...

I usually only have coffee in the morning,
and sometimes I've skipped lunch,
which means I've gone twenty hours without really eating...
beyond a certain level of hunger, it fades,
and the day seems to have a different rhythm
and, to put it bluntly, a different duration,
perhaps shorter, without the digestive slumps...

Why do you not eat more often?

[xxx]

in the morning I find it hard to swallow anything other than coffee,
unless of course I'm physically active...
at lunchtime, depending on what's available,
I sometimes skip a meal...
in the evening, I go home,
and I'm sure I'll find a good meal...

[MacAnDàil]

in the morning I find it hard to swallow anything other than coffee,
unless of course I'm physically active...
at lunchtime, depending on what's available,
I sometimes skip a meal...
in the evening, I go home,
and I'm sure I'll find a good meal...

Being physically active is generally healthy.