Mono has to choose a side... in videogames

[Duque de Bragança]

Hopefully, he will demonstrate without angering his Beijing Overlords. So whose side are you on? Mandarin or Cantonese? Blame the Japanese?
As for me, Cantonese is the language of the best John Woo movies so it has to stay. Extended Taiwanese (Mandarin) Cuts notwithstanding

Why the plan to rename Pikachu has made Hong Kong angry


Pikachu was originally referred to in Hong Kong as Beikaciu, which sounds phonetically close to its name in Japanese
Japanese game-maker Nintendo is about to release two new games in its hugely popular Pokemon series.
But a decision to use only Mandarin Chinese names for the characters has proved controversial in Hong Kong.

The BBC looks at why fans and linguists are so riled.

1. What's in a name - Beikaciu or Pikaqiu?

The decision by Nintendo is seen in the current climate as "mainlandisation"
Pokemon characters' names used to be translated differently in different parts of the Chinese-speaking world, to reflect local pronunciation. Hence, the hugely beloved Pikachu was known for decades as Bei-Ka-Ciu in Hong Kong, and Pi-Ka-Qiu in mainland China.
But Nintendo announced earlier this year that it would be unifying the names of more than 100 Pokemon characters, and has renamed many of them according to the Mandarin translations.
Both Cantonese and Mandarin speakers read Chinese, although people in Hong Kong use the traditional Chinese script while people on mainland China use simplified Chinese.
However, the same words can be pronounced differently in each language.
For example, Pikachu's new official Chinese name, 皮卡丘, is pronounced Pi-Ka-Qiu in Mandarin. But in Cantonese, the characters would be pronounced Bei-Ka-Jau - which Hong Kong critics argue sound nothing like Pikachu's original name.
2. It's about identity
More than 6,000 people signed a petition in March asking Nintendo to reverse its decision. Then on Monday dozens of people protested at the Japanese consulate.
For a small but vocal group, the move has hit a nerve.
"Our main point is that the translation ignores Hong Kong's culture," said a spokesman from a Facebook group known as Petition to keep Regional Chinese Translations of Pokemon. "There's no respect for it."

The pro-democracy movement saw tens of thousands of Hong Kong citizens take to the streets
"We are aware of the reasons behind Nintendo's translation, presumably to make it easier for purposes such as publicity, but the move ignores a lot of players. We hope the Hong Kong market can be taken seriously and treated sincerely."
The BBC's Juliana Liu in Hong Kong says the dispute taps into growing local fears that Cantonese - along with local culture and tradition - is being supplanted by Mandarin.
Prof Stephen Matthews of the School of Humanities, University of Hong Kong, agrees.
"It's seen in the current climate as creeping 'mainlandisation'," he said.
"In the last few years people have felt that what makes Hong Kong special is disappearing bit by bit and what is an issue of Pokemon which is fairly trivial, becomes a big one because it's very sensitive."
Just months ago, there were violent clashes between so-called "localist" anti-Beijing groups and police, in a dispute over food stalls.

3. It's about language
Last year, the city's Education Bureau caused an uproar when it suggested that Cantonese was not an official language, our correspondent says.
Hong Kong residents, supported by many linguists, believe Cantonese is a proper language, on par with Mandarin.

Image caption
Cantonese is seen by its people as an ancient language, retaining a greater aesthetic similarity to traditional Chinese characters, Prof Matthews tells the BBC
"I think language is perhaps one of the most important things that marks Hong Kong from the rest of China," said Prof Matthews.
"It's crystal clear that Mandarin speakers cannot understand Cantonese and vice versa. They are not mutually intelligible."
But in mainland China itself, the dizzyingly diverse range of regional forms of speech are known only as dialects, not languages in their own right.
Earlier in February, Hong Kong officials received more than 10,000 complaints in three days after a TV programme began using subtitles in mainland Chinese characters instead of Hong Kong's traditional script.
4. It's about the 'collective memory of a generation'
Hong Kong activist group Civic Passion organised Monday's demonstration.
"Pikachu has been in Hong Kong for more than 20 years," said Sing Leung, one of those who took part.
"It is not simply a game or comic book, it is the collective memory of a generation."
"It was a good decision for them to launch a Chinese version of the game, but it has not respected the culture and language of specific places."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-36414978

[Monoriu]

Easy.  I watch anime in Japanese

[CountDeMoney]

I vote Wade-Giles for the opium-smoking little bastards.

[Duque de Bragança]

Easy.  I watch anime in Japanese

What about the Chinese subtitles? Traditional or simplified?   

[Monoriu]

Easy.  I watch anime in Japanese

What about the Chinese subtitles? Traditional or simplified?   

Traditional

I don't mind the Pikachu stuff.  It is the company's decision.  I am of the view that there should be as few languages in the world as possible for maximum efficiency.  That of course applies to my own mother tongue.  If Cantonese's disappearance will facilitate trade and reduce trade barriers, I am for it. 

[Valmy]

There should be only one language: Galactic Basic. Which coincidentally is exactly the same as English.

[Monoriu]

There should be only one language: Galactic Basic. Which coincidentally is exactly the same as English.

The langauge hierarchy is (1) English (2) all other languages and (3) dialects, such as Cantonese

[Josquius]

I recall mono saying once that he hates Cantonese and sees it's death as a good thing
Oh for history to have took a different course in china.


Interesting pikachus name was translated to begin with.  He's one of the few to keep his original name in most places.

[Monoriu]

I recall mono saying once that he hates Cantonese and sees it's death as a good thing
Oh for history to have took a different course in china.


Interesting pikachus name was translated to begin with.  He's one of the few to keep his original name in most places.

I don't exactly hate it.  I speak it every day   I just understand the need for language harmonisation and won't go protesting when some company decides to change a cartoon's name. 

[Duque de Bragança]

I recall mono saying once that he hates Cantonese and sees it's death as a good thing
Oh for history to have took a different course in china.


Interesting pikachus name was translated to begin with.  He's one of the few to keep his original name in most places.

I don't exactly hate it.  I speak it every day   I just understand the need for language harmonisation and won't go protesting when some company decides to change a cartoon's name.

It's not a cartoon, it's a videogame character.  Self-hatred does not mean you give a new spin to Pikachu!    

[Monoriu]

I recall mono saying once that he hates Cantonese and sees it's death as a good thing
Oh for history to have took a different course in china.


Interesting pikachus name was translated to begin with.  He's one of the few to keep his original name in most places.

I don't exactly hate it.  I speak it every day   I just understand the need for language harmonisation and won't go protesting when some company decides to change a cartoon's name.

It's not a cartoon, it's a videogame character.  Self-hatred does not mean you give a new spin to Pikachu!   

I consider it to be both.  It started as a video character, yes, but the anime is so popular that it should also be considered an anime character.  Lots of anime characters started as game characters. 

[Duque de Bragança]

I recall mono saying once that he hates Cantonese and sees it's death as a good thing
Oh for history to have took a different course in china.


Interesting pikachus name was translated to begin with.  He's one of the few to keep his original name in most places.

I don't exactly hate it.  I speak it every day   I just understand the need for language harmonisation and won't go protesting when some company decides to change a cartoon's name.

It's not a cartoon, it's a videogame character.  Self-hatred does not mean you give a new spin to Pikachu!   

I consider it to be both.  It started as a video character, yes, but the anime is so popular that it should also be considered an anime character.  Lots of anime characters started as game characters.

We are talking about Nintendo here, so it's the video game character that counts. I'm not even sure it counts more for the Pokemon company, maybe for the Mandarin-speaking market? 
You would have had a point if it were a manga character vs anime character. The anime is not as popular the videogame, it helps promote it. Or is it really that popular in your heck of woods because Beijing has not described it as Japanese propaganda?

[Barrister]

I would have said pikachu is more known as a cartoon character than for the video game.

[garbon]

I would have said pikachu is more known as a cartoon character than for the video game.

I'd agree at least in the West that individual character is more famous because of the cartoon thand the game. Cartoon (as a whole) famous because of the game.