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Yu Jing A-Z, a Linguistic Guide to Yu Jing Units.

Discussion in 'Yu Jing' started by GuanYunChang, Nov 29, 2017.

  1. GuanYunChang

    GuanYunChang 二哥

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    Yu Jing 玉京
    Officially, Corvus Belli lists the pronunciation as "You cheeng" though if we're using the Mandarin wording that's actually a bit off. "Yu" doesn't really have a very good Western equivalent to be honest and I really recommend listening to a recording of how it's said. "Jing" on the other hand is easier and is simply a 'j' sound tacked onto the vowel sound of 'sing.'
    Literally, 'Jade Capital' Yu Jing is the name of the United Asian Superpower.

    Don't know Chinese (Or Japanese)? Ever wondered what a unit's name meant, or how to say it? You've come to the right place!

    This guide is intended as something of a compilation of definitions and general pronunciation guide for all the units in the Yu Jing list. As a general disclaimer I'm by no means a professional translator, nor a do I profess to be any better than average in my Chinese or Japanese comprehension. That said as someone with a bit of grounding in both languages I feel like I have enough experience in both to share what little I do know with those of you who don't.

    Special thanks to Ben Lehman from the original forum whose pronunciation post basically inspired me to do this and people like @the huanglong or the curators of the Human Sphere whose blogs and wikis came up in my google searches as good aids and references for many of the wordings or definitions found herein.

    As a final note: a guide to proper pronunciation of Chinese names is of only limited utility, given that Chinese is a tonal language. While it's true there are many consonant and vowel sounds which differ from the normal "Latin" or "English" uses of the roman alphabet, the biggest difference between Chinese and most 'Western' languages is that it uses tones to differentiate words, while the 'Western' tongues typically only use tones to add emphasis or emotion to words. Furthermore I'm not nearly skilled enough to teach people how to differentiate between tones purely through text, but suffice to say that Mandarin Chinese has 4 general tones (listed as 1-4 or indicated with lines over the vowels. To give an example, the following four characters are all pronounced the same way ("Ma") but each have a different one of the four tones ("Mā. Má. Mǎ. Mà.") and completely different meanings (mom. hemp. horse. curse.): 媽 麻 馬 骂. Again, I lack sufficient expertise to properly explain the tones in each entry, but one thing that may help is that many websites (including Google Translate) have the function to speak inputs. If you copy and paste the Chinese words into google translate you can get an idea what the proper intonation is.

    Also, I will avoid trying to translate any names that aren't official Aleph Recreations or lack standardized wording as, due to the tones, could have any number of ways they are spoken (e.g. Xi Zhuang, Ko Dali). Finally, my pronunciation comparisons will be largely comparing it to English or Spanish. Apologies to people who speak languages I'm not including. I don't :-(

    In any case, without further ado...
    THE CHINESE TROOPS in alphabetical order:

    Bao Troop 豹兵
    "Bao" is spoken much like you would say the English word "how" but replacing the first letter with a b. For the record it is the fourth tone. The second word is pronounced as "bing" fairly normally in an english sense. It is the first tone.
    With a name meaning "Panther," the Bao are just the first of many animal-themed Yu Jing units.

    Celestial Guard 天兵
    The Chinese name is roughly spelt "tian bing," both first tone. My best approximation for how to say the first word would be "tyen" using a hard 't' along with the name for Japanese Currency
    I know this is actually in English, but the Chinese name for this unit literally translates to "sky soldier" or "sky troop."

    Crane 仙鹤 (仙鶴)
    "Xian he" is the proper pinyin, with first tone then fourth tone. The first word uses the "sh" sound found in the English 'ignition' and adds the "yen" sound after it. "He" is actually pronounced more like "huh."
    This rank of Imperial Agent is yet another english name, though the official Chinese on the logo actually literally reads 'immortal/eternal crane' using the same character as the Hsien HI.

    Dao Fei 盗匪
    This name uses the proper pinyin with fourth then third tones. "Dao" is spoken much like "Bao" just changing the first consonant of the English word 'how'. "Fei" is spoken like 'Fae' or 'Fay' in English, or the first vowel sound of 'feo' in Spanish.
    The name literally means 'Bandit' which is pretty in keeping with the fluff for this sneaky HI's final examination.

    Dao Ying 刀鹰
    First tone then first tone again. "Dao" is still spoken like adding the "ow" on how to a starting 'd' sound. "Ying" sounds pretty similar to the "-ing" ending for verbs.
    Literally "Blade Hawk" or "Blade Eagle", the word "Ying" is used to describe most birds of prey (hawks, eagles, owls, falcons etc). Dao literally means blade, or knife, though the same word is also used to describe the traditional "chinese broadsword" or single edged blade.

    Gui Feng 鬼風
    This name uses the third, then first tones. "Gui" make look a bit weird in most other languages (no it is not pronounced like 'gooey') but an easy approximation is 'gway' with the vowel sounding like the sound of 'hey' or 'hay' in english or simply an 'e' in Spanish. "Feng" is another strange one (not pronounced similarly to 'fang' at all) but I find it best described as making a 'F' sound to start the word and then saying "OH" and ending with an 'ng'
    Literally, 'Ghost Wind', a fairly good descriptor of what these Spec ops are supposed to represent.

    Gui Jia official:龟家 actual:龟甲
    First then third tones. The first word is pronounced the same "gway" as Gui Feng or Guilang but with a different tone. The second word can be approximated
    The official logo incorrectly represents the name of this unit as "turtle house." The second example is more likely the correct one based on the character in the center of the logo and stands means 'armor' or 'protection.' Spoken together it literally means "Tortoise/turtle shell"

    Guilang 鬼狼
    Third and second tones. The first word is pronounced identically to Gui Feng's with the 'gway' sound. "Lang" has a vowel sound close to saying the 'L' sound then saying 'AH' (or the Spanish 'A') and then ending with the 'ng.'
    This unit means "Ghost Wolf."

    Hai Dao 海盗
    Third and fourth tones. "Hai" is pronounced very similar to "Hi", and "Dao" is "how" with a D instead of an H.
    Literally "Sea Thief" or "Sea Bandit" the term translates directly to "Pirate." It also is pronounced "Kaizoku" in Japanese. Like in One Piece. Or you know the JSA Specops. They have the same name.

    Hac Tao 黑道
    This is Cantonese. I don't speak Cantonese, sadly, though the more modern spelling might be something like "Hak Dao." In Mandarin it's "Hei Dao" with the first and fourth tones.
    This unit is actually written out in fairly archaic Cantonese (the first on this list!) CB renders the translation as "Black Magic" though that's not entirely accurate. Literally translated it can mean "Black Way", "Dark Path" or similar, and could be used to mean "Underworld" by itself. It could also be roughly translated to CB's "Black Magic" by way of using the translation "The Path of Darkness." There are connotations of perverting Daoism, one of the Chinese philosophy/religions and pop culture has Taoist (Daoist) practitioners as mystic magicians so yeah, "Black Magic" though not completely accurate is probably close enough.

    Hulang 狐狼
    Second tone then Second tone. "Hu" sounds a lot like "Who" but with a softer "h" sound, "Lang" has a "Lah" sound then follow with the "ng" ending
    Literally "Fox Wolf." Translates to "Jackal" less literally.

    Hundun Ambush Unit 混沌
    This one is tough. Both words are 4th tone, but the "un" sound isn't really used in English much. It'd sound a bit like you were saying the word "twin" but substituting the "I" for a "u" sound. Just change out the starting consonant: "hwun, dwun"
    混沌 translates to "Chaos" usually referring the chaotic world in prehistoric times, before heaven and earth formed. As with the English word however, the meanings can be varied from "scattered and disorgananized" or "ignorant and dumb." I'm guessing CB was aiming for the more gamer term for chaos, like a chaotic battlefield.

    Hsien 仙
    First Tone. "Xian" was covered earlier, but again, you use the 'sh' sound from English words like 'ignition' or 'condition' and then apply the 'yen' sound from Japanese Currency.
    This is another unit whose name digs a little bit into Chinese popular mythology and legends. Literally it can mean "Immortal," "God," or "Celestial Being" but understand that in Chinese Folklore it is possible to attain a higher state of existence with enough effort in your current life. Through mastery of self, or of martial arts, or similar you could purge impurities from your body and attain godhood, or if not becoming a god then a near-god immortal saint. That is the "Hsien," an existence that approaches enlightenment or the edge of godhood. In the Yu Jing context they are the closest to the immortal existence of the Emperor.

    Kanren 侃刃
    Third and Fourth tones. Pronounced pretty close to how it's spelled in English so it doesn't take much creativity to say.
    Literally 'Bold Edge' according to CB. The first character means "strong/upright/pleasant/kind" as in morals while the second means "edge" with the connotation of a blade or sword. This appears to be a largely constructed word in order to take the meaning CB wanted.

    Kuang Shi 殭屍 (僵尸)
    I still don't speak Cantonese. Mandarin has it "Jiang Shi" with both words being first tone. The first word is spoken by starting with a "jy" sound, saying 'AH' and then ending with 'ng.' The second word is a little bit tougher. Try starting with the 'shhh' sound and then follow up by trying to say the 'i' sound from 'illness' without moving your tongue, teeth or lips.
    This is Cantonese for "Zombie." A form of Chinese Zombie mind you, but still a Zombie. Literally it means "dazed corpse" or "numb corpse." In Chinese folklore these are empty bodies animated with magical paper seals or similar. If you want anime-ish examples look at the servants of the Tao family in Shaman King or Hsien Ko from Darkstalkers/Night Warriors.

    Lei Gong 雷公
    Second tone then first tone. "Lei" is pronounced much like the similarly spelled Hawaiian word, or like the word "lay" in English. "Gong" uses the same vowel sound as "Oh" (as opposed to the "AH" vowel sound used to describe the instrument) but closes the word with the "ng" sound.
    Lei Gong is one of the typical names for the Chinese God of Thunder. Translated literally it means "Thunder Duke." Interestingly enough the characters written on the bottom of his profile are "雷神" the characters for "Lei Shen" which is another name for the thunder god, in this case literally meaning "Thunder God."

    Liu Xing
    Second tone, then first tone. "Liu" is pronounced by putting an L in front of the word "Yo" as in "yo-yo." Xing sounds similar to "Shing" but with the "sh" sound you see in "ignition"
    Literally "Flowing Star." Translate to "shooting star" or "meteor" which probably is a callout to the explosive arrival these AD HI can create.

    Mowang 魔王兵
    The full unit name as shown is second tone, second tone, first tone. "Mo Wang Bing." "Mo" is pronounced with an "mw" sound to start and finishing with an "uh" sound (phoenetics would use the 'schwa' or ə) and Wang is pronounced with a "wah" preceding the "ng" ending. Bing is covered earlier and is pretty similar to the english.
    The full name literally means "Demon King Soldier." Broken further apart, "Mo 魔" is magic or sorcery, "Wang 王" is king or Emperor and "Bing 兵" is Soldier. Mowang together is usually used to mean Demon King however.

    Pheasant野雞(野鸡)
    "Ye Ji" with third and first tones. "Ye" is spoken like the English word 'yes' without letting yourself say the 's' part. "Ji" is spoken like the first syllable in the English word 'genius.'
    This Imperial Agent is once again in English and pretty self explanatory. Of note, Pheasant in Mandarin literally means "Wild Chicken."

    Shang Ji 上级
    Fourth and second tones. Start with 'shh' sound say 'AH' then 'ng.' "Ji" is once again spoken like the first syllable in the English word 'genius.'
    Per CB, the name means "Superior." Literal translation is "Increased Grade" "Raised Rank" or similar.

    Shaolin 少林
    Fourth and second tones. 'Sh' consonant followed by the vowel sound from the english word 'how.' Second syllable sounds more like 'ling' then 'Lyn.'
    This famous martial arts derives its name from a mountain (and attached Buddhist Temple/Monastery) in the Henan region of China.

    Su Jian 速劍
    Fourth and fourth tones. "Su" is spoken like the english 'Sue' or the Spanish 'supermercado.' "Jian" sounds a lot like if you contracted the line "Gee, Anne" together in English.
    Per CB, translates to "Swift Sword." Literally "Fast/speed" and "Jian" which is the traditional Chinese double-edged sword

    Sun Tze 孫子
    "Sun Zi" properly in pinyin, sometimes seen as Sun Tzu. "Sun" is pronounced more like the 'sw' from sword added to the word 'one.' "Zi" is pronounced more like a 'dz' sound than just a 'z.' Not entirely sure how else to explain it.
    Renowned author of the ancient tactical text "The Art of War" from the Spring and Autumn period of China (roughly 500 BCE.) Amusingly enough, the characters that form his name also can mean "grandson."

    Tian Gou Orbital Activity Squad 天狗
    "Tyen goh" first then third tone where the first word is just adding a T before saying "yen" like the Japanese currency
    I took a guess at this one, since there are no letters but given the "orbital activity squad moniker, 天狗 meaning "sky dog" seemed a pretty safe bet.


    Tiger Soldier 虎兵
    Seriously though, Tiger is written "Hu" pronounced a lot like 'who' with the third tone. "Bing" is pronounced much like it looks.
    Another English troop name patterned after an animal. The Chinese characters don't actually appear anywhere on its logo or its entry.

    Wu Ming 無名 (无名)
    Second and second tones. "Wu" sounds more like 'Oooo' and "Ming" is spoken as normal in english.
    As CB says, this unit's name mean's literally "Without a name" or "Nameless."

    Yan Huo official: 烟火 Also: 焰火
    Fourth and third tones. "Yan" is probably better anglicized as "Yian" and spoken like saying the English name 'Ian' with a strong 'Y' consonant in front of it. "Huo" is spoken much like it is written but instead of ending on an 'OH' sound as many people say ('h-whoa') it's more like an 'uh' sound like the vowel sound of 'mud.'
    Literally "Fireworks." Depending on which written form you're using it literally translates to "Smoke fire" or "blazing fire."

    Yaokong 遥控
    Second and fourth tones. "Yao" is spoken by switching the 'h' for a 'y' in the word 'how' and "Kong" is spoken using the 'k' consonant followed by saying 'OH' and then 'ng.'
    Literally "Remote Control"
    -Weibing 衛兵
    Second and first tones. "Way Bing" is a pretty good approximation.
    Means "Guardian" or "Bodyguard." Literally "Protecting Soldier."
    -Husong 护送 (護送)
    Fourth and fourth tones. "Who Sown(ng)" is a pretty good English approximation.
    Means "Escort." Characters are for "Protect" and "Deliver"
    -Son-bae
    I'm sorry, I don't speak Korean.
    This is in Korean. Meaning unclear, possible "experienced one" (Sunbae/Senpai)
    -Chai Yi 差役
    First and fourth tones. "Chai Yee" is probably a good approximation
    Means "Officer." A Traditional Chinese military position.

    Yaopu Panguling 遥仆 Pangolin
    Second and first tones. "Yao" is spoken like switching the word 'how' to a 'y' first consonant. "Pu" is pronounced very similarly to 'poo' in English or using the Spanish 'u' vowel sound.
    Yaopu means "Remote Servant." According to the unit description Pangguling (pang gu ling) is literally derived from the animal name "Pangolin" which is odd since the Chinese name for a pangolin is 穿山甲 and doesn't sound at all like "Pang gu ling." You can't win 'em all CB.

    Yaoxie 遥械
    Second and fourth tones. "Yao" is spoken like switching the word 'how' to a 'y' first consonant. "Xie" is spoken with the 'sh' sound from 'ignition' to start and ending with a 'yeh' sound.
    Means "remote Weapon"
    -Rui Shi 瑞獅
    Fourth and first tones. "Rui" is pronounced much like replacing the 'g' in 'gooey' with an 'r' sound. The second word is a little bit tougher. Try starting with the 'shhh' sound and then follow up by trying to say the 'i' sound from 'illness' without moving your tongue, teeth or lips.
    Literally "Auspicious Lion." One of the rarer names for the Stone Lion or 'Foo Dogs' statues commonly seen in front of Chinese style buildings. Japanese call them "Komainu"
    -Lu Duan 甪端
    Fourth and first tones. "Loo Dwan" is probably a suitable anglicization.
    Another mythical creature immortalized in statues. This one looks a bit like a Stone lion but usually features a horn and other chimerical features.

    Yaozao 遥蚤(遙蚤)
    Second and third tones. "Yao" is spoken like switching the word 'how' to a 'y' first consonant. "Zao" is spoken a bit like adding a 'dz' consonant to the word 'how' instead of an 'h.'
    Literally "Remote Flea"

    Zhan shi 戰士(战士)
    Fourth and fourth tones. The first word is similar to the 'Jan' from 'January' but try to clench your teeth when you say the 'J.' The second word is a little bit tougher. Try starting with the 'shhh' sound and then follow up by trying to say the 'i' sound from 'illness' without moving your tongue, teeth or lips.
    Means "Warrior." Literally "Battle - Fighter" or similar.
    -Gong Cheng 工程
    First and second tones. "Gong" is a 'g' followed by 'OH' and then 'ng.' "Cheng" is 'ch' followed by 'uh' (like the vowel sound in mud)and then 'ng.'
    Engineer. That's what it means.
    -Yi Sheng 医生
    First and first tones. "Yi" sounds very close to 'Eee.' "Sheng"is similar to a 'sh' sound followed by an 'uh' (like the vowel sound in mud) and then 'ng.'
    Doctor. That's what it means

    Ye Mao Infantry 野猫
    Third and First sound. Can be pronounced pretty much as written, with the "e" sound in "Ye" being a short e like in the word "heh" vice the long "e" found in the word "see."
    野猫 means "wild" and "Cat" and can be used to mean both wildcats and stray cats. In typical Chinese language fashion though, it's not particularly specific and could also be used to mean "badger" or a "hare." Until we get the fluff, hard to say what CB was going for.

    Zhanying 戰鹰
    Fourth and first tones. The first word is similar to the 'Jan' from 'January' but try to clench your teeth when you say the 'J.' "Ying" is pretty close to the approximation of the second word as is.
    The first Imperial Agent unit without an English name. Novel! But what I don't understand is why is a unit whose name means "Fighting Eagles" or "War Eagles" inferior to Cranes and Pheasants?

    Zhen Cha 偵查 or 侦查 Full Name: 装甲偵查团
    First tone, second tone. First word is pronounced similarly to saying the first half of the word "Just" and then finishing with an "n" sound. "Cha" is pretty close to the correct pronounciation
    The full name literally means "Armored Investigation Team/Regiment/Group". Which is the CB description of the unit. "Zhen cha" translates directly to "Investigation" through the two words meaning "Scout" and "Search/Investigate."

    Zu Yong 卒俑
    Second and Third tones. "Zu" is like saying 'zoo' with a 'dz' sound to start with. "Yong" is a 'y' consonant followed by 'OH' and then 'ng.'
    The Terracotta Soldier Invincibles take their name inspiration from the historical Terracotta Soldiers the "兵馬俑" which literally means "soldier and horse tomb statues." The Yong is the word for statue and Zu is a different word for a low level soldier.
     
    #1 GuanYunChang, Nov 29, 2017
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2020
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  2. GuanYunChang

    GuanYunChang 二哥

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    Japanese Sectorial Army

    First things, unrelated to pronunciation, is that Japanese writing is split between the Chinese "Kanji" or pictogram characters, and "Kana" like Hiragana or Katakana which are characters to represent phonetic sounds much like the English Alphabet. The following entries will make use of a mixture of both. Be sure you set the input language to "Japanese" if you're copy and pasting it into a speaking translation program. Also, Japanese names are written family name, then given name, and my translations will be done in that manner.

    So a quick guide to general Japanese pronunciation. Consonant sounds are by and large very similar to western language sounds. Except for the minor fact that the Japanese don't end any syllable with a consonant sound, only vowel sounds. There is something of an exception to this rule but it's more like it's a specific rule of its own rather than an exception, so I'll get into that later. Just remember that most Japanese syllables will simply be a consonant sound followed by a vowel, or simply a vowel by itself.

    Japanese vowels are also pretty simple to explain. There are 5 main vowel sounds and they are regular. As in the general pronunciation will never change no matter where you find the vowel. Given that all syllables of a word are generally consonant + Vowel or just vowel it makes knowing how to pronounce the vowel sound quite easy.

    It is EVEN EASIER if you are a Spanish speaker, because they are pronounced essentially identically to the Spanish vowel set. The only difference is instead of being in order of a ("ah") e ("eh") i ("ee") o ("oh") u ("oo") the Japanese go in the order of a i u e o. The only other thing to remember is that there are also long vowels in Japanese (usually denoted by either a line over the letter or by adding a second vowel behind it) which simply stretch the sound out for another half-syllable to a syllable. Japanese vowels also don't mix like English ones, so if you see two together pronounce both of them. That can be a bit confusing, however, because some of the standardized spelling methods made "ou" as the means of writing the long vowel "ō" or use "ei" to indicate the long "e" vowel.

    Perhaps most importantly, there is no emphasis on any particular syllable in a Japanese word. This isn't the Wild West. This isn't Spanish where the emphasis is on the second to last syllable unless there is an ´ found above a vowel. This isn't English where you basically put the emPHAsis on whatever syllAble you want to without any rhyme or reason. No this is Japanese where all syllables are created equally (except some which are just elongated vowels.)

    Lastly I'll cover "ん", the exception to the rules. This is the one consonant that can be placed at the end of a syllable (or technically as its own syllable.) it's pronounced "n" in most cases such as the honorofic '-san', the English 'ban' or the Spanish 'pan.'

    Except when it's immediately followed by a 'b' or 'p' consonant sound in the middle of a word, which case it's pronounced more like an "m."

    Or when it's followed by a 'k' or 'g' sound it sounds more like "ng." Are you confused yet? I know I am. Stick with "n" in most cases and deal with the rest of the exceptions as they come. But enough of the Japanese lessons, onto the units!

    Aragoto Senkenbutai 荒事 先遣部隊
    "A-ra-go-to se-n-ke-n-bu-tai
    As in the official CB description, "荒事" - Aragoto is a kabuki (traditional Japanese theater) term characterized by brash exaggerated movements. Senkenbutai means "Advance Troops" with the words meaning "Send ahead" and "Unit/Troops"

    Asuka Kisaragi 如月 飛鳥
    "Ki-sa-ra-gi A-su-ka"
    Asuka's name has a couple ways it can be spelled in Kanji. The one I chose for her family name is a traditional way of writing the month "February" in Japanese but also can be interpreted to mean "Like the Moon." The Hiragana spelling for "Asuka" would be "あすか" but I chose the kanji meaning "Flying Bird." This is the spelling used by the Tekken Character Kazama Asuka.

    Kuroshi Aragoto Senken-butai Rikugun-shoi 黑死 荒事 先遣部隊 陸軍少尉
    "Ku-ro-shi A-ra-go-to se-n-ke-n-bu-tai ri-ku-gu-n sho-i"
    A new character of the Aragoto (RIP Asuka?), Kuroshi is the character's given name. It literally means "Black Death" though it's probably a bit too directly translated. Rikugun-Shoi translates to "ensign" or "second lieutenant".

    Domaru Butai 胴丸 部隊
    "Dō-ma-ru" with the long "ō" vowel. "Bu-ta-i"
    Dō-maru, to use a modern method of rendering the word, is a type of Japanese Chest armor characterized by wrapping around the body with the opening on the right side of the body. Literally means 胴 "Dō" refers to the chest or trunk of the body and 丸 "maru" is to circle or wrap. "Butai" means unit or Troop.

    Haramaki Zensenbutai 腹巻 前線部隊
    "Ha-ra-ma-ki ze-n-se-n-bu-ta-i"
    Another armor style for chest armor, the Haramaki is an infantryman's armor characterized by having its fasteners and ties in the back of the armor. It literally means "stomach wrap" or "belly band" and modern usages are a type of cloth under-belt that is wrapped around and covers a person's stomach. "Zensenbutai" means "Front-line unit"

    Tanko Zensenbutai 短甲 前線部隊
    "Ta-n-kō ze-n-se-n-bu-ta-i"
    Like the Haramaki that it's evidently replacing, the Tankō is a type of chest armor. Specifically it's an ancient form of infantry armor style from as early as the 4th century. It's differentiated from the 挂甲 or Keikō, which was a form of cavalry armor. For the record, 短甲 translates quite literally to "short shell" or "short armor." Somewhat ironically it's also the term commonly used in Japanese cosmetics for "short nails." "Zensenbutai" means "Front-line unit"

    Karakuri からくり
    "Ka-ra-ku-ri"
    Karakuri refers to a type of mechanized doll that was popular in Japan between the 17th and 19th centuries. The were typically dressed up in traditional Japanese outfits and designed to be able to appear to move by themselves. Think of it as the precursor for the Japanese obsession with humanoid robots. Usually spelled out in hiragana, the name "Karakuri" can be written in kanji to mean "dressed up", "mechanism" or "crafted work."

    Keisotsu Butai 軽率 部隊
    "Ke-e-so-tsu bu-ta-i" the "Kei" is pronounced with a long "e" sound
    This is a tough one. CB's official entry says that "Keisotsu" translates to "Excellent Soldier" which is apparently a title of great honor. That said I'm not familiar with their version of the spelling. "Keisotsu" that I gave above means "hasty" or "careless." Given the stats on a Keisotsu I totally like my wording better. As before, "Butai" means "Unit" or "troop"

    Kempeitai 憲兵隊
    "Ke-m-pe-e-ta-i"
    Comes out as "Military Police" which makes sense given the CB fluff of Japanese terrorists who exclusively target Yu Jing Military members.

    Ninja 忍者
    "Ni-n-ja"
    The Ninja were historically specialist spies employed in feudal Japan. The folklore surrounding them sometimes report them to have supernatural levels of magic and techniques to aid in their mastery of the arts of stealth, spying, sabotage and assassination. But you really didn't need me to tell you that, did you?

    Oniwaban 御庭番
    "O-ni-wa-ban"
    The term can be translated as "gardener" or perhaps "Garden guard." It was a euphemism given for a type of spy that served the Japanese Shogunate during the late 17th and early 18th century. Sometimes synonymous with Ninjas.

    O-Yoroi Kidoubutai 大鎧 機動部隊
    "Ō-yo-ro-i ki-dō-bu-ta-i
    Ō-yoroi is yet another body armor type. It's traditionally a cavalry armor and is worn similar to the dō-maru but much heavier. The gap on the right, unlike the dō-maru did not usually close completely which required an additional specialized armor piece on that side. "Kidoubutai" translates to "Tactical Team" or "tactical unit" with the "Kidou" meaning "Maneuver" or "Movement."

    Raiden Seibutai 雷電 整武隊
    "Ra-i-de-n" "Se-e-bu-ta-i
    Raiden is one name for the Japanese god of Thunder. The name literally means "Thunder and lightning." "Seibutai" means "Regiment" with the characters roughly meaning "Organized Soldiers"

    Shikamiしかみ or 獅噛み
    "shi-ka-mi" or "shi-ga-mi"
    The Shikami is a demon mask from Japanese Noh dramas. Its appearance can be seen in the unit's logo.

    Shinobu Kitsune 狐 忍
    "Ki-tsu-ne Shi-no-bu"
    Again, as a given name there are a few kanji options to choose from. That said "Kitsune" generally means "fox" which in Japanese folklores are magical trickster animals. Shinobu by itself has a few meanings but bear in mind it's also the first character for the word "忍者" which is spoken "ninja" and "忍び" which is spoken "shinobi."

    Takeshi “Neko” Oyama 大山 '猫' 毅
    "O-ya-ma 'Ne-ko' Ta-ke-shi" Please please don't say "Knee Ko," instead of "Neh ko"
    Another given name. His nickname typically means "cat" and the character I chose for "Takeshi" can be translated as "Wisdom." The last name means "big mountain."

    Tokusetsu Butai 特設 部隊
    "to-ku-se-tsu bu-ta-i"
    Literally translates to "Specialist Team" or "Specialist Unit"
    - Eisei 衛生
    "E-e-se-e"
    Literally "Hygiene"
    - Kohei 工兵
    "Ko-he-e"
    Combat Engineer

    Yuriko Oda 織田 百合子
    "O-da Yu-ri-ko"
    The last given name. For "Yuriko" I chose the characters that mean "Lily-child" and for "Oda" I gave her the same name as the infamous 16th century warlord Oda Nobunaga.

    Ryuken Unit 9 龍剣
    "R-yuu ke-n" 'yuu-ni-to nai-nu' if you must...
    Clearly heavily influenced by the Ghost in the Shell series' Section 9, the name of this Unit literally means "dragon sword."

    Daiyokai Dengekitai 大妖怪 電撃隊
    "Dai-yo-ka-i De-n-ge-ki-ta-i"
    大妖怪 or Daiyokai means "Great Demon." 電撃隊 or Dengekitai is "Lightning Squad" or "Electric Squad" with the implication of sudden assault or blitzkrieg-esque tactics. Not bad for a new HI.
     
    #2 GuanYunChang, Nov 29, 2017
    Last edited: Mar 13, 2018
    burlesford, Wizzy, Usashi and 9 others like this.
  3. meikyoushisui

    meikyoushisui Competitor for Most Ignored User

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    For Japanese units, don't forget the importance of lengthened vowels (which most English speakers perceive as stress). Domaru and O-Yoroi should both have emphasis on the first syllable in English becuase they are long syllables, but I hear doma'ru and o-yo'roi pretty frequently.

    Part of that is on CB though for not using a proper romanization scheme to disambiguate the sounds.
     
  4. GuanYunChang

    GuanYunChang 二哥

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    I'll see what I can do. Part of the problem is also that there's more than one way to romanize the long vowel sounds etc. But approaching how I'm going to standardize the Japanese breakdowns was one of the reasons I haven't posted it up yet. (The other is I'm pretty tired from doing the Chinese ones on the fly and they're harder to standardize than Japanese sounds)
     
  5. Triumph

    Triumph Well-Known Member

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    Just post the kanji for the Japanese units. You can just copy paste the kanji into google translate and hit the sound icon to hear how it's pronounced. This works for the Chinese units too by the way, I checked your list against google translate and it comes out the same.

    This would also work for the odd Korean word.
     
  6. Dyne

    Dyne Well-Known Member

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    Pretty cool post!!
    :smile:
     
  7. Stormygeddon

    Stormygeddon Well-Known Member

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    Mildly related, but how do we pronounce the mercenary troop "Yuan Yuan" who appear as a bonus in our starter red veil?
    [​IMG]

    When I looked into it, Yuan is apparently supposed to be pronounced closer to rhyming with "Brian" taking the first part of "you" and a sound between "en" and "an," but apparently I have also heard that "Yuan Yuan" should mean something like "annoying insect" instead of the currency, the currency of which is also on the back of the dossier. So mixed signals and I hear people pronounce "Yuan Yuan" rhyming with "one" more often than not (including Bostria in some Beasts of War videos). Dare we set the record straight in this linguistic guide because it's pseudo-Chinese? Which way have you heard it? If it's commonly mispronounced, I don't really mind as much as hearing "Ay-leff."

    I'll admit, I often mess up saying "Zhanying" and Zhan Shi because I was really used to doing a Z instead of a J sound for Zh's, but I've gotten pretty good at correctly saying "Guilang."
     
  8. GuanYunChang

    GuanYunChang 二哥

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    I'm afraid this is another one which is difficult to anglicize. It has to do with the "yu" sound which doesn't really exist in most Latin-based languages. It's kind of a Y+r sound if that helps? Actually you know what, I'll just fish up a set of characters for you.

    圓圓 will have to do for now. I don't know exactly what tone Yuan Yuan is supposed to be since I don't have any sample words to compare to. I chose two of the second tone (unmarked are usually first tone but whatever) because in this case the characters I chose literally mean "round round". It seemed appropriate. It's also spoken with the same tone as the Chinese term for currency 元. Copy paste that into your favorite language speaking site or app of your choice (like Google Translate) and give it a whirl!

    Edit: For full disclosure, 冤冤 is probably more correct, as it is a repetition of a word meaning Unjust, grievance, oppression or cheating
     
    #8 GuanYunChang, Nov 30, 2017
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2017
  9. meikyoushisui

    meikyoushisui Competitor for Most Ignored User

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    I couldn't think of any possible reading for the Raiden's name either -- I did some googling and I can't come up with a character that could fit there. 制 seems to be the only one possible, but even that is awkward...

    For Neko's last name, 小山 is another possible spelling (with a short "O") but part of the reason that came to mind first for me is because the romanization scheme is weird.

    And I would hazard a guess that the sotsu in Keisotsu is 卒, given the meaning of the character as a "low ranking soldier or samurai," but no idea what the kei could be given the meaning. 敬 and 警 are candidates, and the first would give closer to CB's meaning "honored/respected" but this feels like made up Japanese to me.
     
  10. Triumph

    Triumph Well-Known Member

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    I think the Raiden should be something like 雷電 勢部隊 which translates to something like Thunder god power force/troop. The only direct reference to seibutai I could find had something to do with the Boshin civil war and the Seibutai corp.
     
  11. GuanYunChang

    GuanYunChang 二哥

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    With your hint I managed to pick up what is probably the correct characters for Seibutai. I was fixated too much on the kanji meaning "Unit" or "Troop" and missed out on one that just meant "soldiers". "整武隊" seems to translate to "regiment" and I'll be using it for the Raidens. Many Thanks
     
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  12. Barrogh

    Barrogh Well-Known Member

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    Traditionally wholesome tone of CB forums prevents me from expressing my approval of this thread in a sufficiently direct manner. I'll just say that this is how you do it.
     
  13. meikyoushisui

    meikyoushisui Competitor for Most Ignored User

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    So just following up, apparently the motto of the Raiden unit is 青天の雷電 (looks to me like a play on/simplification of 青天の霹靂, "a lightning bolt from a clear sky"), so I'm curious if it's the 雷電青部隊 to keep in line with the wordplay.

    This would be kind of weird since 青 just means "blue," but it's a possible origin. Alternatively 晴 could make them the "Raiden Clear Skies Unit."
     
  14. Section9

    Section9 Well-Known Member

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    [ edit ] - the historical Kempeitai were notoriously violent and were declared War Criminals during Nuremburg. But I could totally see a Japanese nationalist group using the name even with all the baggage.

    I had a bit of fun while painting my Kempeitai, I gave them the Shinsengumi blue overcoats on top of my basic Keisotsu uniform. I just need to paint the kanji on their backs.

    Yeah, I have an English copy of the Tenra Bansho Zero RPG rules, the translator really bitched about all of the different romanization styles, none really work well for long works.

    I prefer to use 'oh' for the long 'o' when it's at the end of a word or like in Oh-Yoroi. But Doumaru (or Toukyoh) reads better if you use 'oo' or 'ou'.

    As for the accents, well, Toyota is to-yo-ta, not toy-O-ta. Now, if only the kanji didn't kick my ass so hard, I have a book I want to translate...
     
    #14 Section9, Dec 15, 2017
    Last edited: Dec 15, 2017
  15. GuanYunChang

    GuanYunChang 二哥

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    Nonsense, kanji is easy. You just have to learn the common radicals so you can get meanings! Then learn the multiple ways to say each word depending if you're using the traditional Chinese root (onyomi) or the Japanese Derivative (kunyomi). No matter that many kanji have multiple onyomi or kunyomi associated with the---

    Okay maybe the Japanese system is a little bit on the needlessly complicated side. But it wouldn't be cultural otherwise. Try learning Chinese which doesn't have helpful phonetics between character first.:laughing: (no seriously, I find learning the words the Chinese way easier than the Japanese, which ends up being just memorization for me.)
    Actually according to the Human Sphere website it's "晴天の雷電." 雷電 does literally translate to "thunder electricity" or "lightning" in any case. I can't vouch for what the actual book flavor says though but it should still translate to "Lightning from a clear sky." That said I'm probably sticking with the 整武隊 translation for regiment.
     
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  16. GuanYunChang

    GuanYunChang 二哥

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    Well, the second half of my post isn't really relevant to YJ anymore but I have updated the JSA section with three entries. Extra thanks to CB for doing most of the work this time around complete with Kanji for the unit names. I suppose I'll have to transfer the JSA translation section over to NAA at some point.

    For those wondering the new entries are "Ryuken 9" "Kuroshi" and "Daiyokai"
     
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  17. Barrogh

    Barrogh Well-Known Member

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    @GuanYunChang
    Thanks!
    I would like to mention that we also have 4th new entry, Tanko Zensenbutai I think.
     
  18. Section9

    Section9 Well-Known Member

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    I'm going to grumble about that one. Yokai aren't quite demons. They're supernatural monsters/spirits, yes, many of which will kill humans. But other Yokai are actually good luck charms for the house (say, Zashiki Warashi). I only use 'demon' to translate Oni, though 'ogre' isn't too bad either. So calling it 'Big Monster' armor is closer, IMO.
     
  19. the huanglong

    the huanglong Well-Known Member

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    Delete this
     
  20. Barrogh

    Barrogh Well-Known Member

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    Otoh, what you'd consider "demons" largely depends on culture. While these norms are expected to be adapted to, depending on what language you are translating into, English these days covers too many cultures and traditions to reasonably consider everything.
     
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