XPost: rec.arts.anime.misc   
   From: miles@gnu.org   
      
   Ansgar -59cobalt- Wiechers  writes:   
   >> that's how it's romanized, even though it's a borrowed word.   
   >   
   > I'm aware of the fact that "v" and "b" are pronounced the same in   
   > Japanese. However, it still strikes me as somewhat silly to misspell a   
   > word borrowed from another language when you transcribe it back into   
   > the alphabet used by that other language.   
      
   Well they transcribe it using whatever letters best approximates the   
   pronunciation, which is "b".   
      
   "konbini" is not an English word, after all, even if it was derived from   
   one.  If you changed it to "convini", that would neither be a correct   
   English word (somebody who doesn't know what "konbini" means probably   
   wouldn't guess "convini" either), nor a good transcription of the   
   Japanese word.   
      
   -Miles   
      
   --   
   The trouble with most people is that they think with their hopes or   
   fears or wishes rather than with their minds.  -- Will Durant   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)