#jrph 101

Conventions of Use

When you are actually speaking and/or writing in Japanese, names are almost never used without some form of honorific attached. A completely naked name would be a level of intimacy inappropriate to being shared outside the house in most cases. When in doubt, the use of -san is generally accepted as correct.

In the context of JRP (and Japanese speakers in other realms of RP), conventions are a bit different, so it's important to be observant. Unlike when you're speaking in language, our RP verses, be they in English, Spanish, Russian, or what have you, are acts of translation - in other words, you're using English (or Spanish or Russian or bongo beats*) to represent Japanese. Translation, especially between two unrelated languages, is something of an art, rather than a strict science, which is why machine translations can be a bit ... hinky or downright nonsensical. As such, there are a couple competing conventions you may need to consider. Some people find tagging every single name with an honorific every single time to be cumbersome and opt to either drop them altogether or only use them sparingly. Others are more particular about their use, especially between casual contacts. There have been a great many arguments over which is correct and, at the end of the day, the truth is both are equally valid. It comes down to context and preference, the same as any other translation job. So the key, then, is open communication so all parties are on the same page.

Foreigners and Honorifics

Foreigners (gaijin**) in Japan are often stereotyped as arrogantly incompetent or well-meaning but inept, meaning many native speakers have low expectations of foreigners' ability to use Japanese correctly. As such, a gaijin using an improper conjugation or the wrong honorific is seen as typical and, if not necessarily given a pass, at least not treated as harshly as a native. The perhaps obvious exception would be for nikkei, diaspora Japanese on return visits to Japan.

What does this mean for your non-Japanese PC or NPC? It is possible for a gaijin resident to live for years in Japan and not progress far or at all in learning the language, but doing so will tend to annoy others and be seen as a bad reflection of one's character. Allowances are made for gaijin, but those who actively try to learn and improve are more likely to be encouraged.

Basic Honorifics

There are literally dozens of possible honorifics, from the common -san to the archaic -ue to the profession-specific -senshu and many, many more. We will cover more of them in the next lesson, but for starters, we'll go with the three one is most likely to encounter in JRP: -san, -kun, and -senpai.

-san When in doubt, -san is nearly always the safest choice of honorific. In formal writing, -san is typically translated as Mr. or Ms., though it is also used in less formal contexts where, in English, the use of those titles would be seen as overly formal. Gender neutral, class neutral, and occupation neutral, it's only considered incorrect where it's obvious another honorific would be more appropriate (e.g., -sensei for a doctor or teacher).

-kun Students are usually introduced to -kun as the honorific used for young boys, but it's actually not as strictly gendered as that. -kun is used between friends, classmates, and co-workers, as well as by seniors (senpai) speaking to their juniors (kouhai). Depending on context, it is a mark of respect and/or closeness. And yes, despite those early lessons, -kun is rightfully used for women, a mark of respect and seeing her as an equal of her peers.

-senpai In school, those students in the grade(s) above you are your senpai. After school, when one is employed by Company K, those who have been at the company longer then become one's senpai, while those who work for rival Company J, regardless of company standing, do not.

In JRP, senpai is usually extended beyond just one's own label, recognizing the hard work other artists have (presumably) put in to being musicians. The use of senpai is not technically linked to the age of the person to whom one is referring, but rather to the number of years that person has been a (professional) working musician. As such, it is possible for a younger musician to be senpai to an older one, though this can introduce special circumstances (we'll get into that more next time).

next lesson: In the next lesson, we'll discuss even more honorifics, as well as covering when to use each of them and when and how a person's honorific can change. We'll cover both how life events change honorifics as a linguistic matter and some options in how to reflect those changes in your RP.