Pronunciation: "Ranma One-of-two" or "Ranma One-half?"

[tanegar]

Is the title "Ranma 1/2" supposed to be read as "Ranma One-of-two" or "Ranma One-half?"

[Suwako Moriya]

It's supposed to be "Ranma One-Half" from what I remember. Also the fact it's written 1/2 is akin to a fraction. In other words One-Half. Not only that given the main plot the show "One-Half" makes a lot more sense than "One-of-Two" which itself is extremely awkward.

Seriously he's a male that due to a curse turns into female when hit by cold water and back again when hit by warm water. Hence in a sense he's half-male and half-female now. Thus the one-half thing makes the most sense and it's what has been used if memory serves me right.

[populuxe]

The Wikipedia Ranma ½ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranma_1/2) entry says it should be pronounced "Ranma one half."

[DanielJr]

I read it as "Ranma Half."

[EmperorBrandon]

I think I've alternated between "Ranma one half" and "Ranma half". The original pronunciation is "Ranma Nibunnoichi"

[populuxe]

The original pronuniation is "Ranma Nibunnoichi"
Which is good to know if we're ever in Japan.

[touma]

Just to be different, I know that I read somewhere that it is supposed to be "one of two", as in you get one of two Ranmas at any given time.
Unfortunately I cannot remember where i read that. :sd:

[populuxe]

I read it as "Ranma Half."
Actually, that's the way I've been reading it, too, although it turns out I may have been wrong all this time.

[ADC]

The original pronuniation is "Ranma Nibunnoichi"
That's what I use. Sounds cool.

[Nork22]

I read it as "Ranma Half."
Same. Never heard of the use of "One of Two" before.

[The_Mahou]

When I first read Ranma 1/2, I thought it read as "Ranma and a half". It's mostly due to the dub that I changed to "Ranma One-Half"

[PhilipReuben]

Just to be different, I know that I read somewhere that it is supposed to be "one of two", as in you get one of two Ranmas at any given time.

"Nibun no ichi" literally means "one of two parts", so I'm sure it's some kind of clever pun based on Ranma's situation.

The fact remains, though, that "Nibun no ichi" is the usual way of saying aloud the 1/2 fraction in Japanese. I'd say it should similarly be expressed in English however you'd normally say 1/2.

[TelescopeEyes1987]

Yeah, its 1 half

[touma]

Just to be different, I know that I read somewhere that it is supposed to be "one of two", as in you get one of two Ranmas at any given time.

"Nibun no ichi" literally means "one of two parts", so I'm sure it's some kind of clever pun based on Ranma's situation.

The fact remains, though, that "Nibun no ichi" is the usual way of saying aloud the 1/2 fraction in Japanese. I'd say it should similarly be expressed in English however you'd normally say 1/2.
But it is a title, and only the person who created it can know what it means and how it should be said. Unless somebody has an official word from Rumiko Takahashi this is all just speculation, and personal preference.
It is certainly valid and interesting speculation, but still speculation.

[Vicserr]

I've always called it Ranma One Half... O.O

[quenelf]

But it is a title, and only the person who created it can know what it means and how it should be said.

For the second part, that's not true at all. I'm sure Takahashi had no thought of an English version at the time when she (or her editors) picked the title, nor is she necessarily a translation expert. That means anyone can make logical decisions about an appropriate translation.

In this case since the name is pronounced with the same Japanese pronunciation as the fraction ½, and since the official title logo is actually written as the fraction ½, I'd pronounce it the same way as you pronounce the fraction. For most people that would be 'one half' or 'a half' or 'half' or some such... I don't see any particular reason in worrying which is correct. And also, given that the Japanese for fractions is actually the same as 'one of two' i.e. there quite possibly isn't a distinction, I see no reason why that wouldn't be an appropriate translation if preferred (although if it is, you better change the title logo for English too). Asking a professional translator who is a Japanese native-speaker would be the best idea if you want to be sure which of these translations are acceptable but I suspect the answer is probably not 'that one and only that one'.

If you really want an official version, just use whatever they say in the US dub. That's bound to have been approved by the Japanese studio - but that doesn't make it any more correct than any other translation.

By the way, on a similar topic, I read a really interesting article from the Guardian some time back about how Harry Potter is translated internationally - in particular, the made-up words and names in it such as Quidditch, Hufflepuff,etc. Some translators used the English words, transformed only as necessary to fit the language (i.e. as if it were a real-life English loanword), while some tried for words that had a similar effect in the target language. Presumably, Rowling didn't demand either approach but left it to the professionals.

--quen

[Scaramanga]

By the way, on a similar topic, I read a really interesting article from the Guardian some time back about how Harry Potter is translated internationally - in particular, the made-up words and names in it such as Quidditch, Hufflepuff,etc. Some translators used the English words, transformed only as necessary to fit the language (i.e. as if it were a real-life English loanword), while some tried for words that had a similar effect in the target language. Presumably, Rowling didn't demand either approach but left it to the professionals.
I don't mean to derail this topic, but this was interesting. I don't understand why translators would do this. And in fact in Rowling's books themselves people of other nationalities use the same words like "muggle" and "quidditch" IIRC, so why would people translate the words differently? Although I suppose one could make the argument that different cultures may have different (fictional) words for the same thing as what they call them in the UK, in the Potterverse.

Also, back on topic, 'Ranma one half'. I mean we've got the fraction right there in all the official translated matierial, I don't understand what the issue is.

[vtr9kvictor]

one-half

[Mazinkaizer]

The original pronunciation is "Ranma Nibunnoichi"

That's the name i use when speaking to my Japanese friends, other than that i just call it: Ranma :sd:

[Kevinroc]

The original pronunciation is "Ranma Nibunnoichi"

That's the name i use when speaking to my Japanese friends, other than that i just call it: Ranma :sd:

I just call it Ranma one-half or Ranma. Usually Ranma.

[tenton]

[quote=Touma]If you really want an official version, just use whatever they say in the US dub. That's bound to have been approved by the Japanese studio - but that doesn't make it any more correct than any other translation.

As others have mentioned, they go with "one half".

Since I'm a lazy bastard, I just go with Ranma. :sigh:

[Suko-chan]

"One-Half"...
though I usually just say "Ranma".

(This is the first time I've heard of people using "Ranma Half".)

[Skywise]

I don't mean to derail this topic, but this was interesting. I don't understand why translators would do this. And in fact in Rowling's books themselves people of other nationalities use the same words like "muggle" and "quidditch" IIRC, so why would people translate the words differently? Although I suppose one could make the argument that different cultures may have different (fictional) words for the same thing as what they call them in the UK, in the Potterverse.


It's because they're nonsense words and are meant to be fun to pronounce for kids. Harry Potter is children's literature, even though the books are enjoyed by adults as well. Ask a kid who doesn't speak english how to pronounce "quidditch" and you'll get various results even from those that speak the same basic language. By coming up with new words that provide the same pronunciation experience you maintain the Rowling's original intent and also ensure that the books are easy to read for the intended audience. My only real objection to those changes in this case is that they're maintained for the subtitled movies, instead of offering a second sub track for those that prefer the original names yet want subtitles for ease of watching. You also need a translator who is GOOD at coming up with new alternative words that doesn't cause translation issues down the road.

[quenelf]

I think the article speculated that it depended on the language. For cultures which heavily use English loanwords anyway, the original words were used. But for cultures which are more used to having everything translated, translated words were created.

Basically some of the words, especially 'Hufflepuff', 'Slytherin' etc have a very clear meaning based on the sound, so if that doesn't work in another language, you might want to translate it.

(Personally, were I reading in another language, I would always prefer to have it left as per the English version :) But that's just me.)

--quen

[tanegar]

I'd like to point out that fractional notation is also common shorthand for denoting sets of objects. For instance, if you have three boxes of files, many people would label them "1/3," "2/3," and "3/3." That's why I asked the question: "Ranma One-half" and "Ranma One-of-two" make equal sense to me.

[PhilipReuben]

I'd like to point out that fractional notation is also common shorthand for denoting sets of objects. For instance, if you have three boxes of files, many people would label them "1/3," "2/3," and "3/3."

But would that be pronounced "nibun no ichi" in Japanese? (Genuine question; I don't really know. But I suspect not.)

[leongsh]

In English, I call it Ranma Half. Ranma One-Half is awkward as "One-half" sounds redundant to me like the phrase, "repeat again". Repeat is to do something again. "Repeat again" is like saying to do something again again. There's one and only one half. Another half would make it two-halves which is technically whole. I'll stop before it goes off-topic :sd:

[touma]

I'd like to point out that fractional notation is also common shorthand for denoting sets of objects. For instance, if you have three boxes of files, many people would label them "1/3," "2/3," and "3/3." That's why I asked the question: "Ranma One-half" and "Ranma One-of-two" make equal sense to me.
Right. The characters "1" "/" and "2" could be read as "one of two". Which is why I said that only Rumiko Takahashi would know for sure what she intended. However, I do not know if a Japanese speaker would ever read them that way.

As for nibun no ichi: I think that "no ichi" by itself would usually be translated as "one of". "Nibun" seems to mean "half" or "one half" when used by most people. But it can have other meanings, such as "dichotomous", "Divided or dividing into two sharply distinguished parts or classifications" and "bipartite", which has a similar meaning.
So, it is not quite as simple as people make it out to be.

Wasn't the title originally written as "1/2"? And "nibun no ichi" is just the most common Japanese pronunciation of that?

[Victor Lewandowski]

Wasn't the title originally written as "1/2"? And "nibun no ichi" is just the most common Japanese pronunciation of that?


Yes the title is written as "1/2".

And if "nibun no ichi" were translated out without rearranging words in English, it would read "two half of one". Interestingly enough, the two Ranmas (male and female) are two halves of one person. :>

[Skywise]

I'd like to point out that fractional notation is also common shorthand for denoting sets of objects. For instance, if you have three boxes of files, many people would label them "1/3," "2/3," and "3/3."

But would that be pronounced "nibun no ichi" in Japanese? (Genuine question; I don't really know. But I suspect not.)

You'd use something like nibun no ichime (the first of two) instead.

[Skywise]

Wasn't the title originally written as "1/2"? And "nibun no ichi" is just the most common Japanese pronunciation of that?


Yes the title is written as "1/2".

And if "nibun no ichi" were translated out without rearranging words in English, it would read "two half of one". Interestingly enough, the two Ranmas (male and female) are two halves of one person. :>


You can't do that though as that's not how languages work - you're completely ignoring Japanese grammar and sentence construction. Nibun no ichi is "one of two" and the fraction "one half" (1/2). To get what you're saying in Japanese you'd have to use "ichi no nibun", or something like that. "no" is a nominative/possessive particle and if you mess with the placement of the words you screw with the meaning of the sentence as well. It's the difference between saying "this is my car" and "this car owns me".