From: bliss@california.com   
      
   Miles Bader wrote:   
   > Ansgar -59cobalt- Wiechers  writes:   
   >   
   >> Read vol. 2 of the US edition, and now I have to decide whether to wait   
   >> half eternity for the next volume, but have honorifics preserved, or get   
   >> timely updates without honorifics. Man, this sucks. Why are there still   
   >> translations that don't preserve honorifics in this day and age? >_<##   
   >>   
   >   
   > What do you mean "honorifics"?   
   >   
   > -Miles   
   >   
   >   
       One imagine he means the suffixes added to Japanese names indicating   
   the respect paid to individuals in the formerly(?) extremely hierarchical   
   society though I understand the younger generation has more trouble with   
   this.  San is the all purpose Mr., Miss., Ms., etc.  Sama is the respectful   
   term equivalent to Sir, Dame, Lord or Lady.  Chan is the term used for   
   indicating affection  toward children,  and  Kun  is the  term used for   
   more adult children especially males and  among equals in business   
   circumstances.  Dono  is even more respectful than sama.  Besides these   
   terms we have kohai and sempai(or senpai) and the first indicates a   
   junior relationship to the second in some respect.  Most likely one   
   could be junior to another in one activity but senior in another.   
      
       Well that is what I understand roughly about honorifics in Japanese and   
   I prefer them in any story where their use is justified.  For example in the   
   translation of the anime, Maison Ikkoku, Godai early on addresses Kyoko's   
   father as oji-sama or honored father.  This is mistranslated to lose the   
   sense that Godai is indicating that he wants to make the old man   
   his father-in-law.  This is just from memory as I am in no position   
   presently to check the passage.  The reason I know this is that I watch   
   the anime with subtitles and listen to the Japanese dialogue so it is   
   clear that the simple term is ignored.  I like honorifics left in translated   
   anime or manga because it indicates the relationship implied between   
   the speakers.   And I happen to like historical stuff where this use   
   of honorifics is very deliberately done as in the Yagyu Ninja Scrolls   
   series or the Satsuma Geishiden series.   
      
       If you have other questions regarding honorifics you should consult   
   a decently translated manga which nearly always has a page outlining   
   the use of the more common honorifics.  Beyond that you can check   
   Gilles Poitras's Anime Companion books either by purchase or loan   
   from your library.   
      
   	later   
   	bliss -- C O C O A  Powered... (at california dot com)   
      
   --   
   bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco   
      
       Ningen banji          Human beings do   
       Samazama no           Every single kind   
       Baka a suru           Of stupid thing   
           --- 117th edition of Haifu Yanagidaru published in 1832   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)