Bardock vs. Barduck vs. Burdock

[Zygote1999]

What is the correct way to spell his name? I'm a bit confused because I've seen arguments for all three of these spellings.

[MasenkoHA]

I'm pretty sure it's like Bloomer vs Buruma vs Bulma. It's all correct.

[Grimlock]

You can never go wrong with "Bādakku" (well, technically you can. If you don't put that thing above letter "A", you will be misspelling his name. In fact, by not putting it, you would be referring to another character altogether!).

[Adamant]

As with a lot of other Dragonball character names, it's ultimately going to boil down to personal preference since the name is a corruption of an existing word.
In this case, the character's name is バーダック (baadakku), which is a pun on the English word "burdock", rendered バードック (baadokku) in Japanese (note that this English name is more of a footnote in Japan, the burdock is much more commonly referred to by its native Japanese name ゴボウ (gobō). A lot of Japanese fans had probably never heard the word burdock before when they first encountered the character)

There's all kinds of ways you can get this pun name across with latin letters. "Burdack" or "Burduck" would be the more logical ones, but they don't seem to ever have gained much traction. Some Japanese merch spell it "Barduck". A lot of international translations spell it "Bardock", and this spelling is also used in Japan on some modern stuff like Episode of Bardock. Steve Simmons spelled it "Burdock", but that was most likely a misassumption that バーダック actually IS how you write the English word burdock in Japanese (which is also a misconception a number of fans seem to have). I think the French spell it "Bardack"?

So what's "correct"? That's... mostly a matter of opinion, really. The name was never actually MEANT to be written any other way than バーダック.

[ChronoTwigger]

Considering how japanese pronounce, it should be ... how in your language it sound as BAH-AH-DAH-KK(u).
For example, in italian the sound is preserved by using BARDAK.

[PurestEvil]

How about "b'duck"?

[MyVisionity]

I like "Burdok", because I think it gets the point across well enough, and because I think that "Burduck" and "Burdack" look a bit silly.

I don't mind "Burdock", because of how uncommon it apparently is in relation to gobou, and also because of how similar -dakku and -dokku are.

[Grimlock]

And a curiosity: "Gobō" is the source for "Bardock's Day" (May 1st) in Japan. Not Bardock's actual name, as it is the case with the other characters.

[TheGreatness25]

I prefer "Bardock" because it's the closest to the Japanese pronunciation. Like with most Saiyan names, while they are puns on vegetables, they usually put a little spin on the original word. We have no problem saying "Raditz" instead of "Radish" or "Kakarrot" instead of "Cacarrot." So, the names aren't always a super strict follower of the pun, which in my mind grants me the creative liberty for "Bardock." Plus, I will always prefer preserving the pronunciation rather than the pun.

[Aim]

What is the correct way to spell his name? I'm a bit confused because I've seen arguments for all three of these spellings.

I made a thread a while ago about the same thing. When it comes to character names, I don’t believe “everything is correct”. I think we should stick with what is synonymous to how the Japanese would recognise and say the names but in English. I would like to actually hear Mike’s take on this, but my conclusion is that Burdack is the way to go. If the Japanese preserves the pun, we should as well. It’s stupid if we start changing things like “Freeza” to “Frieza”.

Burdack sounds silly at first but it’s something that people will get used to over time, like I did. Burduck was also one people spoke of, but Burdack more or less gets the point across. Bu-uh-da-ku = Burdack.

[Aim]

As with a lot of other Dragonball character names, it's ultimately going to boil down to personal preference since the name is a corruption of an existing word.
In this case, the character's name is バーダック (baadakku), which is a pun on the English word "burdock", rendered バードック (baadokku) in Japanese (note that this English name is more of a footnote in Japan, the burdock is much more commonly referred to by its native Japanese name ゴボウ (gobō). A lot of Japanese fans had probably never heard the word burdock before when they first encountered the character)

There's all kinds of ways you can get this pun name across with latin letters. "Burdack" or "Burduck" would be the more logical ones, but they don't seem to ever have gained much traction. Some Japanese merch spell it "Barduck". A lot of international translations spell it "Bardock", and this spelling is also used in Japan on some modern stuff like Episode of Bardock. Steve Simmons spelled it "Burdock", but that was most likely a misassumption that バーダック actually IS how you write the English word burdock in Japanese (which is also a misconception a number of fans seem to have). I think the French spell it "Bardack"?

So what's "correct"? That's... mostly a matter of opinion, really. The name was never actually MEANT to be written any other way than バーダック.

BURDACK FTW I remember we had a looooonnngg discussion on this one. Interesting stuff

[MasenkoHA]

How about "b'duck"?

Yes

[Aim]

Actually… maybe Bardack is better?