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Any rules for a suffix on english words?

Since Japanese doesn't have consonant endings (except for 'n', of course)

How do I end the name I'm trying to transcribe? Names like Eric or Robert...

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1 Answers1

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A non-Japanese name that ends in a consonant is transcribed using the -u kanas, and in some cases the -o or the -i. The Japanese language, being moraic, lacks any syllable coda, as you mentioned above. The -u and -i sounds are implicitly silent when they come at the end of a word.

So some examples would be:

Erik: エリク
Mike: マイク
Chris: クリス
Ash: アッシュ
Robert: ロバート

Notice with the last one-o is used. In general words ending in "t" use the "to" kana.

rurouniwallace
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    Erik (Eric) may also be エリック. Well-known examples include エリック・シュミット, エリック・バナ, and エリック・アイドル. – Dono Oct 01 '12 at 01:33
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    There aren't any strict rules, but much more common transcriptions are for Erik, Ash, and Robert would be エリック, アッシュ and ロバート. Not sure where you get ロマート from, that seems highly improvised. – dainichi Oct 01 '12 at 01:35
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    'In general words ending in a "sh" sound use the "shi" kana'. This isn't right. "ッシュ" is much more common, although there might be examples of "シ" (can't think of any, though). – dainichi Oct 01 '12 at 01:40
  • @dainichi ロマート was not "improvised". It was simply a typo (typographical error, improvised means that it was done impromptu without much prior effort). And I edited to reflect the more common transcription of "Ash". – rurouniwallace Oct 01 '12 at 02:09
  • @dainichi improvise vs. typo would be a good question to ask on http://english.stackexchange.com/ for a better description – rurouniwallace Oct 01 '12 at 02:17
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    Even though Eric may not be "エリク" (but it my very well, since after all, it's the name holder's choice), I don't understand the downvote… +1 for compensation, since it's after all a valid answer. – Axioplase Oct 01 '12 at 07:14