Comments on: Most Japanese think Wikipedia needs specialist verification http://whatjapanthinks.com/2007/09/21/most-japanese-think-wikipedia-needs-specialist-verification/ From kimono to keitai; research Japanese facts and figures through translated opinion polls and surveys. Sat, 22 Nov 2008 03:18:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: Durf http://whatjapanthinks.com/2007/09/21/most-japanese-think-wikipedia-needs-specialist-verification/#comment-36182 Durf Tue, 25 Sep 2007 03:28:19 +0000 http://whatjapanthinks.com/2007/09/21/most-japanese-think-wikipedia-needs-specialist-verification/#comment-36182 Re the all caps thing, let me put on my editor's hat and say that the common Japanese choice to write things in SCREAMING CAPS is almost always a typographic consideration, not a question of correct spelling. If HEP stands for something, then all of those letters get capitalized to mark the acronym; but unless FIVE also signifies "Fine Impregnable Virile Edifice" or something it's perfectly acceptable to write it according to rules of English usage in an English document. Vaguely related anecdote: When Konishiki quit the sumo world he said he wanted to keep using his name as a 芸能人, and the Nihon Sumo Kyokai said "no, you can't." They keep names in the system and recycle them from time to time. So he gave up the characters 小錦 and went with the romanized Konishiki; when the Kyokai squawked yet again he went to the all-cap KONISHIKI. So that's his official name in the Japanese show-biz setting now. But he still gets described as Konishiki in English. Re the all caps thing, let me put on my editor’s hat and say that the common Japanese choice to write things in SCREAMING CAPS is almost always a typographic consideration, not a question of correct spelling. If HEP stands for something, then all of those letters get capitalized to mark the acronym; but unless FIVE also signifies “Fine Impregnable Virile Edifice” or something it’s perfectly acceptable to write it according to rules of English usage in an English document.

Vaguely related anecdote: When Konishiki quit the sumo world he said he wanted to keep using his name as a 芸能人, and the Nihon Sumo Kyokai said “no, you can’t.” They keep names in the system and recycle them from time to time. So he gave up the characters 小錦 and went with the romanized Konishiki; when the Kyokai squawked yet again he went to the all-cap KONISHIKI. So that’s his official name in the Japanese show-biz setting now. But he still gets described as Konishiki in English.

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