#we bolded the prefix and suffixes you mentioned!

[darkestspring]

If your interested, I've found 2 different reddit posts that have a collection and all possible Valyrian names based on the ones we have.

on r/asoiaf there's a post by u/AliceCringekung that has some, separated by gender + some notes about the naming system. It also includes some names that are more specific to the Velaryons.

also on r/asoiaf by u/CW_73 is another one with about 670 possible valyrian names, and it has the ones that have been used bolded. It does have some notes and includes names not seen in the Targaryens or Velaryons but were used in the few other valyrian dragonlords / dragon riders mentioned.

Both break them down into the known prefixes and suffixes used, and it also gives you a good vibe about how valyrian names work.

I'll definitely check them out!

[larchfall]

So, I need a name for him! His “kittypet” name is Tabby, and his eyes are yellow. He is kind and sleeps a lot, and prefers to only fight when necessary. He is kinda clumsy and likes climbing, but isn’t very good at it. He’s also curious and fast. He’s a bit small, too. I was thinking Darkpath or Darkheart, but those sound kinda…Evil, and he’s anything but that. I’m also trying to name his brother (who isn’t an actual cat). His brother is a solid black tom with short fur and yellow eyes. He likes sleeping (even more than his brother does!) and can be grumpy at times, and prefers to be alone. 

@lukeisfluffy

He sounds like a nice cat!! 

Here are some prefixes:

dusk-, dark-, adder-, aspen-, thistle-, shade-, flint-, dust-, marsh-, bramble-, and beech-

Some suffixes:

-heart, -path, -rush, -stripe, -wing, -strike, -fall, -step, and -skip **

** usual suffixes such as -storm, -claw, -fur, and -pelt are also good!

Some names we put together:

duskfall, darkwing, adderfall, aspenheart, thistlewing, shadeskip, dustheart, marshstep, and shadepath

*** darkheart is a beautiful name, actually! “heart” is a very powerful suffix with tons of meaning! 

As for his brother, perhaps names such as Nettletail, Owlshade, Ravenwhisker, or Thornbelly? Since they seem to look similar, you could honestly switch similar ideas around for both of them!

[warriorsredux]

What would you rename Appledusks kits Applefrost Shyheart and Willownose?

This is going to be a little tough, since we have next to no information on these cats, so I might take some liberties with their characters, as I’ve done before.

Willownose’s name actually fits them perfectly! They’re a grey tabby, and we can just assume they’re a skilled tracker to let the name be. No complaints here.

Applefrost, meanwhile, is a light brown cat, and Apple- is for a ginger or golden cat, not mentioning the suffix. I suggest Hazel- or Honey- for prefix; Hazel- because it’s also a plant, and Honey- because it feels like it fits within where Apple- does (not sure how else to explain it). For suffix, I think -face or -foot, since both sound similar to -frost (and I like to think that this cat was unusually pretty/handsome as if StarClan itself was spiting Mapleshade). That gives us Honeyfoot or Hazelface!

Shyheart is portrayed as pale brown, in comparison to their above sibling, so that narrows down our prefix list a little. Maybe Shell- would be best, since it’s closest to their original prefix, but we can do Fallow- or Fawn- too, both of them being for pale brown cats. We could keep -heart, but from the name I feel like they wouldn’t be particularly bold, so maybe we should just go with -fur or -pelt. That leaves us with Shellfur, Fallowfur or Fawnpelt.

[ahopefuldoubt]

Dialogue in the Japanese dub of The Prince of Egypt: Aaron

originally posted in 2016 [x].

A while ago, I’d asked a few questions about the Japanese dub of The Prince of Egypt, specifically about how the biological siblings speak to one another.  Using the information I got (ありがとうございました), I wrote an analysis of Miriam’s dialogue.  I wanted to explore the differences and nuances of the language, and I hope to continue to do that here.

This time I’ll be looking at Aaron’s dialogue.  His way of speaking to Moses changes quite a bit over the course of the movie, and perhaps this evolution seems more dramatic in the Japanese version due to some of the features of the language.  Certainly there’s plenty to discuss with regard to formality and meaning, characterization and emotion.

Again, I’m relying mainly on these transcripts.  I’ve only added the romanization below the Japanese, and I’ve also done my best to bold the words/phrases that I discuss in greater detail.  (Some of the text — the bolded parts and/or the Japanese — may show up wonky on mobile, though.)  Also scattered throughout the post are a few supplemental lines of dialogue from the dub, and these may contain errors because I often miss words when I listen to Japanese.

A few other notes: “a” is pronounced approximately like the “a” in “father”; “i” like in “eat”; “u” like in “fool”; “e” like in “let”; and “o” like in “so.”  The vowel “ou” is still pronounced like the “o” in “so,” but it’s held longer.  For simplicity, I’ve romanized Moses’ name as “Moses.”  And when giving the full names of the Japanese actors, family names are written first.

(I hadn’t planned on writing quite this much (~3,000 words).  Buut, I’m a giant linguistics nerd, and Aaron is my favorite character.  So basically everything I love is in this post… :) and there was more ground to cover than I realized.)

The Well Scene

Oh, my good prince.  She’s exhausted from the day’s work.  Uh, not that it was too much.  We quite enjoyed it.  But she’s confused… ああ、いや、王子様。彼女疲れ果てておりまして…ああいやいや、仕事は軽いもので、とっても楽しかったのですが、混乱していて… [romanization] aa, iya, ouji sama.  kanojo tsukare hatete orimashite… aa iya iya, shigoto wa karui mono de, tottemo tanoshikatta no desu ga, konran shite ite…

There are several forms of address and degrees of formality in Japanese.  Personal pronouns (e.g., “I,” “you”) reflect not only the situation in which they are used, but also the speaker’s and addressee’s genders, social statuses, and other information and indicators of relationship, like the speaker’s attitude and feelings towards the person being addressed.  It’s due to this richness (where identities can also be constructed, subverted, etc.) that language variation is one of my favorite aspects of Japanese.

Although Aaron uses ore, a first-person pronoun, elsewhere in the movie, he doesn’t use any form of “I” in the well scene.  This isn’t unusual, because, in Japanese, pronouns such as “I” can be omitted when, for instance, it’s clear that the speaker is talking about themselves.  Building off of previous context and attaching various endings to verbs can also identify the speaker and the orientation of their speech.  Verb endings in particular are important to this analysis.  (I’ll talk about the nuances of ore further down, but it’s not really relevant right now.)

In this scene, Aaron doesn’t say “you” either.  As with first-person pronouns, second-person pronouns can also be dropped in Japanese.  In the dub, Aaron only refers to Moses by his title, ouji sama, which means “prince.”  He also uses and maintains honorific language (keigo).  By contrast, Miriam, who acknowledges Moses as their brother from the beginning, drops keigo early on and speaks in a familiar way.

An example of keigo in Aaron’s dialogue occurs when he’s trying to make an excuse for Miriam: “She’s exhausted from the day’s work…”  In the Japanese version, the line is kanojo tsukare hatete orimashite…  The bolded part ori is actually a verb (dictionary form: oru) that falls under the category of humble language, or kenjougo.  This type of honorific “lowers” the speaker, with the ultimate aim of “raising” the addressee.  Of course, the subject of the sentence isn’t Aaron himself, but his sister, and the use of humble language also extends to people in a speaker’s immediate social group (e.g., to talk about the actions of family members or workmates).  The -mashite part that immediately follows ori is a polite verb ending, or suffix: the -masu form.  The suffix -masu and the polite sentence ending desu are commonplace in Aaron’s speech in this scene.

Generally speaking, languages have their own ways of marking politeness.  The original English version has Aaron speaking in a more formal register, which contrasts with the way he talks in other places in the movie.  “[She] knows not to whom she speaks,” “Your Highness, pay her no heed,” and “May I discuss something with you?” are examples, and these sentences all sound somewhat stiff (or, from an older time) because they follow prescribed grammar rules.  In linguistics, prescriptivism can refer to features of language that society has labeled “standard” or “proper.”  Linguistic description, on the other hand, focuses on how people actually use language.  It’s worth noting that people style-switch, meaning they select, employ, and even mix, different registers at different times (e.g., the language people use with friends is likely not the kind they use with their boss).  Style-switching is driven by context and says a lot about social groups and membership, as well as how people perform — or are expected to perform — their various roles…

So, in both the Japanese and English versions, the situations and scenes are intrinsically linked to language choice, character, and plot.  Early in the film, Aaron uses respectful, “proper” language because he’s talking to a prince, someone who is much higher in the social hierarchy.  This reflects his dynamic with Moses at this point in the story, the role he must perform, and what he’s trying to accomplish by mitigating their interaction.  (Incidentally, his asking Miriam, “May I discuss something with you?” has always sounded cute to me…. like he doesn’t want his big sister to get mad at him, and as he’s talking to her, he’s simultaneously keeping up an air of respect because he’s around “Prince Moses.”)

Even before I watched the dub, I was really looking forward to hearing everyone’s voices and performances.  I think the Japanese version did a good job matching them to the original actors.  Miriam sounds a bit more mature to me.  Rameses sounds younger (Ralph Fiennes provides somewhat more gravitas than does his Japanese counterpart), and I like how Moses’ Japanese voice actor smoothly ages his character from a teenager to an adult.

Overall, I enjoy Tanaka Ken’s performance as Aaron, but there are some interesting differences, here and later at the mud pit.  In the well scene especially, Aaron’s voice has a low, even-toned quality to it.  (I have a lot of… strong emotions about this type of voice.  Like, I’m not mad at it.)  His pitch is similar to Jeff Goldblum’s; however, I get a less urgent and panicked impression from the Japanese version.  Because of this, I feel the moment loses some of its punch.  At the very least it creates another mood… perhaps even another interpretation of the animation/visuals.

What I like about Tanaka’s performance is how he is able to give the sense that he’s really measuring his words to keep the situation from escalating.  I feel that this thoughtfulness is a side-effect of his more relaxed delivery and manner, including the way he does his pauses (the aforementioned -mashite verb ending also expresses a kind of hesitance).  On the other hand, Goldblum portrays Aaron’s thinking process along a more agitated pace, and that ironic edge, which emerges so fluently in his voice, only increases the emotional stakes.  In the Japanese dub, Aaron repeats iya iya (“no, no”), throughout the scene, very softly at times, which I find endearing; it also replicates Goldblum’s habits pretty well (uh, know what I mean?).  I think the iya iya’s help underscore the calmer, more placating — and restrained — tone.

This calmness is gone, however, in next scene.  So, too, is the same degree of formality that Aaron keeps during his first reunion with Moses.

The Mud Pit Scene

So, Moses, how does it feel when you get struck to the ground? ようモーセ、分かったか？殴り倒された気持ちが [romanization] you** Moses, wakatta ka? naguri taosareta kimochi ga

**This looks like the English pronoun “you,” but it’s pronounced like the English word “yo.”

Right from the outset, there are many aspects of the dialogue that separate this part of the story from the earlier one.

In both languages, Aaron addresses Moses by name, rather than by his title: ouji sama in Japanese, “Your Highness” in English.  His tone is much more direct.  This much is the same between the English and Japanese versions.  However, the latter is further characterized by the existence of a sharp morphological difference between the styles of language that Aaron uses.

My favorite branch of linguistics, morphology studies the “smallest meaningful units” of language: morphemes.  Words and word-parts, basically.  These include free morphemes (roots), which can stand on their own; and bound morphemes (affixes like prefixes and suffixes), which need to be attached to roots or other morphemes.  A free morpheme (root) in English is “enjoy,” to which the bound morpheme -ed (a suffix) can be attached, forming the past tense.

In the previous section, I mentioned how frequently desu and -masu — both of them morphemes — appear in the well scene: They show up in lines like tottemo tanoshikatta no desu ga, which corresponds to “We quite enjoyed it,” and dare to hanashite iru no ka wakatte imasen, “[She] knows not to whom she speaks.”  (-Masen is the negative form of -masu, so it means “not x.”)  As features of keigo, these suffixes mark politeness.  In the mud pit scene, wakatta ka is not keigo but plain form, which is informal.  (The bolded suffix -ta is the past tense verb ending, similar in grammatical function to the English -ed.)

The plain form is what Aaron uses from this point on when talking to Moses.  However, it isn’t the plain form itself that leaves an especially strong impression in the Japanese version.  (Technically, it’s the same style that Miriam uses throughout the movie.)  Rather, the shock comes from the change that has occurred, for there are social implications to using or not using keigo.  Aaron’s (abrupt) use of the casual register indicates a shift in his attitude, the way he carries himself and views (his relationship with) his younger brother.

Another significant departure from the well scene is his use of informal pronouns, which I hinted at earlier in this post and show up in the next set of lines:

In fact, Moses, when did you start caring about slaves?  Was it when you found out that you were one of us? それよりお前、いつから俺達奴隷を心配し始めた？仲間だと分かってからか？ [romanization] sore yori omae, itsu kara ore tachi dorei o shinpai shi hajimeta?  nakama da to wakatte kara ka?

Ore is probably recognizable to fans of anime and manga because of its widespread use by male characters.  There are several first-person pronouns in Japanese, all of which communicate a great deal of information about the speaker and social situation.  One word for “I” is boku, a masculine pronoun that is softer and more boyish than ore.  As a point of comparison, Moses uses boku as a young man, and as an adult, he uses watashi, which is regarded as more gender-neutral and formal — a close-but-not-quite “all-purpose” first-person pronoun.  Watashi has a dignified feel, in Moses’ case.  Ore fits Aaron’s personality, and in the Japanese dub, he uses it exclusively.  It’s a natural choice for him, and I’m not disappointed :)  In fact I would have been surprised if he used boku, or anything else, really.  (I can imagine him using watashi or some humble form of “I” around the Egyptian guards, but again, pronouns aren’t always necessary, and keigo should be enough to establish respect and identify the speaker and addressee.)  Since ore is casual, it can connote rudeness; however, it can also simply suggest a close relationship between the speaker and those within his “in-group.”  When Aaron uses ore around Miriam, the pronoun takes on a familial quality.  An example is the line ore tachi ga nani mo dekinai, or “There’s nothing we can do” in the English version.

Given the context of mud pit scene and its difference in tone from the well scene, Aaron’s use of ore carries a more jarring sense of familiarity and is on the brusque side.  His choice of “you” is likewise effective.  Omae, which is usually paired with ore, is rather blunt and even offensive in some circumstances.  In general, neither ore nor omae should be said in polite conversation or with people of a higher status.  But, the change from respectful keigo language to direct, informal language definitely feels like a case of style-switching: It has a purpose, a proclamation.  Personally, I think that omae is meant to disarm, to be a surprise to the viewer and to Moses himself.  It emphasizes the points Aaron is making in this moment.  And I love what this new casualness suggests about the relationship between these two.

Speaking of pronouns, Rameses uses ore and omae with Moses.  (As with Aaron’s way of speaking with Miriam, this just reveals a close, familial relationship.)  The Japanese dub also seems to take advantage of the order of the scenes themselves to drive home this particular linguistic connection between Aaron and Rameses.

So, in the following sets of dialogue:

Rameses (parting words): Or is it thanks… to you? それともお前の…おかげかな [romanization] sore tomo omae no… okage ka na

Aaron (mud pit scene; abridged): In fact, Moses, when did you start… それよりお前、いつから… [romanization] sore yori omae, itsu kara…

It’s already significant that these two emotionally-fraught confrontations occur one after the other, but because Aaron has shifted his mode of speaking and addresses Moses with same pronouns as Rameses, the Japanese dub is really able to develop the parallel.  Even the way omae is framed at the beginning of the two sentences is similar: sore tomo (“or”) for Rameses and sore yori (“more than that”) for Aaron.  I think it’s interesting that the Japanese version does this, perhaps even more explicitly than the English version.  I’d love to spend time with this parallel, especially as it exists and functions in the original version, but I’ll leave that to a future post.

In fact, Moses, when did you start caring about slaves?  Was it when you found out that you were one of us? それよりお前、いつから俺達奴隷を心配し始めた？仲間だと分かってからか？ [romanization] sore yori omae, itsu kara ore tachi dorei o shinpai shi hajimeta?  nakama da to wakatte kara ka?

Focusing on a couple of other sections in the same line, and building off his use of ore, Aaron specifically says ore tachi dorei, which in this case translates to “us slaves.”  -Tachi is a suffix that attaches to nouns in order to create a “plural form” (as a collective/assembly, if that makes sense).  To me, -tachi stresses his identity with his people.

Nakama is a word that usually gets translated as “friend” or “comrade,” but it refers to something bigger: a community, a kinship.  So, my impression of nakama is similar to that of ore tachi.  In both versions, the line contains that bitter truth, saying, “Did you only start to care after you knew that this was your people?”  Indeed, with nakama, there’s a strong sense of inclusion, yet at the same time, it feels shuttered and pained.  At least, that’s my interpretation.

In terms of performance, I prefer Goldblum’s because his delivery is wonderful (this role is utterly his).  I like Tanaka’s take, too, but what strikes me most is the way he makes Aaron sound like a completely different person: a combination of showing Aaron’s age (done nicely) but also his heightened emotions.  I was slightly taken aback when I first heard it because I thought it was a different actor.  That even tone from the well scene is completely gone.  The irony, though, is thankfully intact:

Well, that makes everything fine then, doesn’t it? そりゃまたご都合のいい事で、全く [romanization] sorya mata gotsugou no ii koto de, mattaku

Like desu and -masu, the prefix go- is a polite form of speech.  It mostly attaches to nouns (typically objects/things) and is used to show respect for someone else.  So, it’s another example of keigo, only now, Aaron is using it in a sarcastic way.  A literal translation might be “Well, isn’t that convenient [for you],” making it fairly similar to the original line.  This piece of dialogue sounds harsher in the Japanese version; Aaron says the very last word, mattaku, with particular irritation.  Goldblum’s delivery in the entire scene may be angry, but it still feels rather contained (closer to a simmer than a boil, if that makes sense), which I’ve always appreciated.  I really like how he allows Aaron’s voice to drop and trail off for “Well, that makes everything fine then, doesn’t it?”

During the well scene, Tanaka seems to give a more collected performance, while Goldblum imbues Aaron with a frantic energy.  Later, Tanaka’s portrayal is forceful, whereas Goldblum’s is held back.  The actors’ voice work offers nuanced interpretations, and though their acting and ways of executing the dialogue may differ, in the end I think they both contribute to a holistic vision of who Aaron is.  The Japanese and English languages themselves are similarly constructive: Despite having unique methods of marking politeness and utilizing pronouns or words, they create subtlety and build up a common understanding of character.

I’m thankful for this reply to my Ask (and for the confirmation that Aaron does indeed use ore… and Miriam, choudai — I love how informative these two words are).  I know this post is quite nerdy, but I hope it’s interesting nonetheless.  And, as someone who’s interested in linguistics and loves this movie, I’ve enjoyed being able to watch the Japanese dub and deepen my own understanding :)

Last edited: 2/7/17; edits for clarification