Goku and Chichi's speaking patterns?

veshira · Post by **veshira** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 3:15 pm

My questions aim specifially to the Japanese version of the anime and manga:

Okay, so they're hicks - I get that, but what does that really mean in relation to how they speak? Do they speak with heavy country accents? Do they speak improperly, having grammical errors and other mistakes? At times, do they not understand difficult words? Also, does Gohan speak more correct than his parents, even at ages 5 - 9?

I'm asking for a fanfiction I'm writing. As a dubbie, I'm not farmilar with the characters original speaking patterns, so I need help. The worst I'd have to do it rent a DVD of DBZ. I have the manga, but I'm not sure of it's reliability. Should I use my Viz manga for reference, or is the subbed anime a better choice?

Any help and comments is much appreciated.

Mr.Piccolo · Post by **Mr.Piccolo** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 3:32 pm

I think this was touched on a bit in a podcast (not sure which one, sorry). Goku and ChiChi speak in an informal tone while Gohan is known to express himself in a clear, more distinct way; at least in the Japanese version. Unfortunately, in the english dub they compensate Chi-Chi's "accent" with her just speaking louder, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to pick up some subbed episodes or movies (obviously leaning on more reliable subs, not some kid from down the street

).Hooray for good fanfics, expand the Dragon World!

Mr. Announcer · Post by **Mr. Announcer** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 5:54 pm

Well it's really hard to explain since it's simply not translatable into english but just as an example whenever there's an "ii" or "ai" sound (usually in nai), they both pronounce it as eeeeehhhh. Okay, so I'm exaggerating but you get the idea. Also, they both refer to themselves as "ora" which I think was pretty much covered in the podcast. Overall they just slur a lot of things and don't use formal structures, but Chichi's accent is a bit heavier than Gokuh's and she tends to stick "n" and "da" in seemingly random places. Also when asking questions, her "ka" becomes a "keh." They don't really make any grammatical errors since it's a dialect thing and sometimes Gokuh doesn't understand words, but that's more a result of ignorance. Probably more than you needed to know without clearing up much of anything....

And yes Gohan has always spoken more formally than his parents, must be all the books....

The way I usually translate their accents is just subtracting the g's from ing since that's almost equivalent (the dialect avoids sharp consonants usually) and just making a lot of contactions since they tend to string things together. Viz does a pretty good job with this, at least when Gokuh's a kid and I think the subtitles reflect it well too. Hope that helps.

chibi_goten · Post by **chibi_goten** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 7:06 pm

I think the podcast you want to listen to is episode 14.

http://www.daizex.com/general/podcast/index_25_01.shtml

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, and if so I apologise in advance.

veshira · Post by **veshira** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:01 pm

Ah, thanks guys! I didn't know this was covered in a podcast - I didn't listen back then.

Mr. Announcer, what you put was also very helpful, thank you.

Now I be off to do research!

Actually, while I'm still here, do Vegeta, Piccolo, and Kuririn have any specific accents, or are they all pretty standard? I remember reading something about Kuririn/Yajirobe's voice actress changing her voices to differate the two, but I think she only changed Yajirobe's voice, so this probably doesn't affect Kurinin at all. (I guess.

)

Mr. Announcer · Post by **Mr. Announcer** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:09 pm

The rest of them speak in a pretty standard way, adjusting speaking style to the level of formality in different situations. The basic difference between them and Gokuh and Chichi is that those two speak on the same level with everyone which is essentially rude. I would say that Yajirobe has a more informal way of speaking than Kuririn but more as a result of his rude personality than any dialect.

veshira · Post by **veshira** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 5:47 pm

Gah. That makes it tricky for me, then. Informal is usually friendly hear, but rude in there. Mmeh. Does that mean I should make Goku a really friendly guy, and have Chichi talking to everyone as if she was their mother? (Hey, she does kinda do that!

)

Also, would anyone mind a story without suffixes (-san, -sama, ect.), or is it really important I put them in? I perfer not to, since I like to keep my stories all in one language. (At least, as much as I can.) It makes it easier for readers (specifically English speaking readers) to understand the story.

BlueSky · Post by **Kaboom** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:29 pm

Hmmm... well, I've been thinking about some of the same stuff for my upcoming fanfic (yes, it is going to happen...), and have had kinda the same problem.

I guess a good thing would be to use a lot of contractions, i.e. "Can not" ---> "Can't," in comparison to other characters, and maybe even kinda incorrect ones, like "Does not" to "don't," and "ain't," and things like that.

When they're talking to other people, they should be sorta (<---good example there) informal, especially around their friends, unless it's someone really important (like Goku talking to Grand Kaio)

A good thing to remember is to just type how they talk. Look up Mark Twain's stuff it you want a good reference for "Western Hick-speak."

Mr.Piccolo · Post by **Mr.Piccolo** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:49 pm

Since I hear a lot about upincoming fanfics, I'm thinking about writing my own now.. any tips? I was considering a GT rewrite or some saiyan missions, mabye even some King Kold Freeza backstories..Also, who was the one that started that one where Trunks comes back from the future (Uub has made his appearance already)? I really liked that one and I would like to see more.

Bardock the Mexican · Post by **Bardock the Mexican** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:57 pm

I feel I need to say somthing as this is my area of expertise and somthing I have been interested in for a while. I really think that in some ways Son Goku and Chichi (I never got used to that name) have different speech patterns that reflect their possible parantage. Goku was raised by a old man who had rather archaic ways of speaking Japanese. Chichi was raised in relative isolation, a trait she shares with Goku. That is reason enough for me to conclude that they speak differently than the other characters, who form a more 'standard' Japanese. It's kind of like the regional differences that Spanish has to a lesser degree.

Post by **desirecampbell** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 7:26 pm

veshira wrote:Gah. That makes it tricky for me, then. Informal is usually friendly hear, but rude in there. Mmeh. Does that mean I should make Goku a really friendly guy, and have Chichi talking to everyone as if she was their mother? (Hey, she does kinda do that! )

Well, saying something like "hey buddy, what's up?" is informal and would be considered rude if said to someone you weren't close to. I think this would be a close approximation of what Goku talks like - he's friendly, but too informal.

veshira wrote:Also, would anyone mind a story without suffixes (-san, -sama, ect.), or is it really important I put them in? I prefer not to, since I like to keep my stories all in one language. (At least, as much as I can.) It makes it easier for readers (specifically English speaking readers) to understand the story.

That's a tough one. Honorifics can add another level of interpersonal relationships. On the other hand, if someone is not at least a little familiar with them it's just confusing. It's a personal call, really. If you do decide to use them explain a little about them and maybe include a link to wikipedia.

BlueSky · Post by **Kaboom** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 9:23 pm

Mr.Piccolo wrote:Since I hear a lot about upincoming fanfics, I'm thinking about writing my own now.. any tips? I was considering a GT rewrite...

That's mine. ***savage growl*** I'll start soon; I promise. All you guys on here will be the first to hear of it, or even read a sample, perhaps.

Anyway, maybe try writing about other saiyans? Perhaps about some Saiyan off conquering a planet somewheres, and he/she is forced to go into exile once Planet Vegeta's desstroyed, etc, etc...

KinoFourpaws · Post by **KinoFourpaws** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 6:17 am

SSj Kaboom wrote: That's mine. ***savage growl*** I'll start soon; I promise. All you guys on here will be the first to hear of it, or even rad a sample, perhaps.

Anyway, maybe try writing about other saiyans? Perhaps about some Saiyan off conquering a planet somewheres, and he/she is forced to go into exile once Planet Vegeta's desstroyed, etc, etc...

Gah! Dude, that's MY fanfic idea! No takie!

... Even though it's already been used dozens of times over by other fans... >__>;;

Oh, and, as far as the GT rewrite goes, someone's already beaten you to writing it. The author's name is LauraNeatO, and she's done a pretty good job with the story. You can find it right here if you're interested. Too bad you guys haven't come up with your versions yet. Bwahahahahah.

Well, it looks anything I might have to say about the original topic has already been said by everyone else. Maybe I'll figure something else out that might help you a little later. Sorry I couldn't contribute...

BlueSky · Post by **Kaboom** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 9:52 am

KinoFourpaws wrote:Gah! Dude, that's MY fanfic idea! No takie!

I'm just kidding. I wouldn't really bite you. I have little sisters to sic on people to do it for me.

KinoFourPaws wrote:... Even though it's already been used dozens of times over by other fans... >__>;;
Oh, and, as far as the GT rewrite goes, someone's already beaten you to writing it. The author's name is LauraNeatO, and she's done a pretty good job with the story. You can find it right here if you're interested. Too bad you guys haven't come up with your versions yet. Bwahahahahah.

Yes. That is my all-time favorite (non-humor-based) Dragonball fanfiction. I fruitlessly check it for updates semi-regularly, and I can say it's what inspired me to do a GT Rewrite of my own.

Mr.Piccolo · Post by **Mr.Piccolo** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 9:55 am

There should be a fanfic contest much like the Super DBZ one for Daizex.

KinoFourpaws · Post by **KinoFourpaws** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 1:08 pm

SSj Kaboom wrote:I'm just kidding. I wouldn't really bite you. I have little sisters to sic on people to do it for me.

Hahahah, no, that's not the fanfic idea I was talking about. I meant the "Saiyan traveling trough space in exile" idea was the one I wanted to use. And I bet my little sister can beat the crap out of your little sisters.

SSj Kaboom wrote:Yes. That is my all-time favorite (non-humor-based) Dragonball fanfiction. I fruitlessly check it for updates semi-regularly, and I can say it's what inspired me to do a GT Rewrite of my own.

True, Laura's been rather quiet on the fanfic scene for quite some time. I don't really blame her, though; the art college she's at right now is keeping her really busy with rarely a chance to even draw fanart. D: Maybe when she goes on vacation or something she can get to writing another few chapters. And, oh yeah, she is an awesome fanfic writer... one of the few I've seen on the Net who're actually worth reading. There should be more writers as good as her.

Kanzenshuu

Goku and Chichi's speaking patterns?

Goku and Chichi's speaking patterns?

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