Hello FRiends. Thank you again for your input on the city name. I attended the town meeting and presented the ideas you so kindly provided.
After I told them of the reaction of English speakers I reminded them of the following:
Fujisawa Koho city newsletter recently published a front page article saying that English is the international language. Whether or not we agree with this proposition, it is the direction of the City. Shouldnt we try to standardize the approach to international matters?
I don't know if there will be any revision ("it has already been decided...") but if I hear anything, I will post here.
05/22/2006 7:49:21 PM PDT
· 25 of 32 kk22tt
to GATOR NAVY
City Council sama: So you have the kanji umi. What would happen if you used the same pronunciation but different spelling (kanji) for umi? Think about that! Soo desho?! Ijyo desu.
I am an American living in Japan. There is a large section of prime land being re-developed by Fujisawa City which is a sister city of Miami Beach. As it is near the coast, the "sea" was suggested to be part of the name. In English, not in Japanese. Well, since "sea" is pronounced "C," somebody had the great idea to call the area "C Cross." (Cross, meaning "crossing" is a tranlsation of the Japanese name of the area.)
So they are planning on calling the area "C Cross." Putting aside the "cross" name, their substituting "C" for "sea" is a problem and I intend to lodge a complaint. This is where I need comments from English speakers.
Would you write a few lines saying that although "sea" and "C" are pronounced the same, the meaning is completely different. "C" has no meaning related to the sea, and proposing that it does would look ridiculous to speakers of English. In today's international environment, using "C" to mean "sea" will make no sense to anyone, actually.
I would greatly appreciate 10 or so comments along the lines of the above. Would you either post in response to this topic or FR mail me, please? If you live in Miami Beach (sister city) or in Florida, please let me know that in your message. (If there is a way to ping Floridians, would someone help me with that, please?)