Re: Idoru

Matt (MES) wrote:

>Just my opinion as I guess I can be classified a
>Japanophone even if not native, but I would say NO.
>
>"Idol" is said with a long i in English, and the
>Japanized form would try to maintain as much of the
>original within its own acceptable framework as
>possible.  Therefore, as long i can be supported in
>Japanese by _ai_, (whereas _i_ in Romanized Japanese
>refers to the traditional Romance langs i), it would
>be "aidoru".
>
>About 99% certain, but I'd need to confirm that 1%
>doubt with my personal JPN teacher :-)...  Not to
>mention, I have a sneaking suspicion that a kanji
>version (ie, more Japaneseque word) may exist for this
>meaning.
>
>[That's a common feature, that an older native word
>exists, but that the English-borrowed version now
>exists and may be more common in use nowadays --- we,
>Americans, are destroying 'em :-/ ]
Dadadataa! Kanji to the rescue! There are kanji for "idol"  ("guuzoo"
[from Chinese "ou3xiang4]; "guu" is the same "guu" as in "haiguusya",
"spouse"; "zoo" looks its homonym "elephant" but with the person
radical). But that's like, you know, a Buddha or a golden calf. If
you want to talk about the studpuppy du jour, you use "aidoru". In
Chinese, however, "ou3xiang4" is used in both senses.

Least that's the way I learned it,

Kou