Why is anime not spelt phonetically?

Question

Anime is pronounced ah-ni-may (specifically not a-nime), but why isn't it spelt that way?

I get why lots of English words sound nothing like how they are spelt, or how words from other languages retain Latin characters that had a different pronunciation originally, but how has a Japanese word (spelt アニメ) ended up with a confusing and non-phonetic English spelling?

Now who the hell downvoted this and why? Idiots. I'm upvoting to compensate. — Ricky, Nov 01 '15 at 22:06
Why isn't it spelt "ah-ni-may"? Well, we usually don't spell words, even from languages that aren't normally spelled with the Latin alphabet, purely according to their English pronunciation. See "x, q" in Chinese words. The transliteration conventions for Japanese are actually more English-based then those for most Eastern Asian languages (like Chinese, Korean or Thai). Relevant Linguistics SE post: How are English spellings determined for words from eastern languages — herisson, Nov 01 '15 at 22:25
Also this earlier English SE question: Who decides how a foreign name should be transliterated and why do such transliterations change over the decades? — herisson, Nov 01 '15 at 22:27
It is a phonetic spelling. It reproduces the sound of the Japanese word アニメ /a ni me/ in the Katakana syllabary. English spelling does not represent sounds at all well; it's so poor (it was designed for Middle English, after all) that nobody ever uses it when accurate phonetic transcription is needed. For that one uses Modern English phonemic symbols. In that phonetic spelling, the word would be /anime/. English spelling is not ready for prime time. — John Lawler, Nov 01 '15 at 22:34

score 10 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 01 '15 at 22:15

10

Anime is the shorted form of animēshon, which is just the Romaji form (i.e., Japanese written in Roman letters) of the word "animation", which the Japanese adopted into their language with approximately English pronunciation. Check here.

answered Nov 01 '15 at 22:15

deadrat

44,678

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 26 '17 at 01:42

In a comment, John Lawler wrote:

It is a phonetic spelling. It reproduces the sound of the Japanese word アニメ /a ni me/ in the Katakana syllabary. English spelling does not represent sounds at all well; it's so poor (it was designed for Middle English, after all) that nobody ever uses it when accurate phonetic transcription is needed. For that one uses Modern English phonemic symbols. In that phonetic spelling, the word would be /anime/. English spelling is not ready for prime time.

score -7 · Answer 3 · edited Oct 26 '17 at 02:23

-7

It's French, that's why. The original French spelling is animé. The Japanese have been enamored of everything French and, to a lesser extent, Italian, for a couple of centuries now. Just like everybody else.

anime (n.) c. 1985, Japanese for "animation," a word that seems to have arisen in Japan in the 1970s, apparently based on French animé "animated, lively, roused," from the same Latin source as English animate (adj.). Probably taken into Japanese from a phrase such as dessin animé "cartoon," literally "animated design," with the adjective abstracted or mistaken, due to its position, as a noun. - etymonline.com

edited Oct 26 '17 at 02:23

Lawrence

38,640

answered Nov 01 '15 at 22:05

Ricky

20,450

Yeah, I'm a real big fan of French fries, for example. – Hot Licks Nov 01 '15 at 22:06
I was thinking more along the lines of the musketeers, wine, operetta, all those cafes around the Place St. Michel, and ménage à trois, but, yes: French fries! Nothing like French fries with fresh mozzarella and beluga caviar! – Ricky Nov 01 '15 at 22:12
2

I still don't understand how you get caviar from a whale. – Hot Licks Nov 01 '15 at 22:13
Threaten to poke him in the eye if he doesn't deliver 3 kilos to a location of your choice by the end of the week. – Ricky Nov 01 '15 at 22:18
5

I think this is wrong. The French word pronounced that way is animé, and it means lively, as in the other meaning of animated. I could be convinced otherwise by evidence. Got any? Please supply that along with a discussion of the claim that the Japanese "have been enamored"of the French for over 200 years. Touch on Commodore Perry's expedition in 1853. Thanks in advance. – deadrat Nov 01 '15 at 22:21
3

This is wrong, although the English word animation was indeed taken from French. – reinierpost Nov 01 '15 at 22:29
@deadrat - No, Commodore Perry's voyage inspired a slew of intriguing plays and one Italian opera, which today is the most famous opera in Japan - no matter. As everyone knows, French culture is very special: while all intelligent people in the world owe it to themselves to speak fluent English, all the intelligent, educated people also learn French as a matter of course. Look at British and American literature, the evidence is everywhere. If you wish to claim that the Japanese are somehow behind the rest of the world, it's up to you to substantiate it. Have you read Mishima? So there. – Ricky Nov 01 '15 at 23:58
1

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Meh. The claim is yours about two centuries of Japanese Francophilia. Thus the burdens of proof and production are also yours. Your answer isn't so much wrong as ganz falsch. Please consider deleting it. – deadrat Nov 02 '15 at 02:03
I made no claims. If you wish to prove any of my statements me wrong, the burden ... etc. Failing that, I suggest you delete all your comments, answers, votes, and make a pilgrimage to atone for being flippant and a "social justice warrior." – Ricky Nov 02 '15 at 04:02

Why is anime not spelt phonetically?

3 Answers3

Linked