Zorua/Zorark English name.

[$aturn¥oshi]

Probably Zora and Zorark.

 

[GameCodeTrainer]

I think it will be Zoroa and Zoloark.

OR

Zoloa and Zolark.

I just hope it will be the original: Zorua and Zoroark.

 

[Soulweaver]

Probably Zora

I believe Nintendo does not want to use the same word in two different franchises.

 

[GameCodeTrainer]

They may (I'm saying 'may') use 'Ls' instead of 'Rs' 'cause Rs are Ls and Ls are Rs in Japanese to English.

Like with the One Piece 4kids incident, they changed Zoro's name to Zolo.

 

[BBHood]

I could expect them to be Zoroa (I still can't understand why the English name circulating spells it with U, since the katakana for the name have ロ, not ル) and Zorark (as the thread title spells it, though the commonly used is Zoroark).

Zorua and Zoroark are the official Romanization used in all the magazines. That's why they are used. Official Romanization > direct translation of katakana. So it is Zorua and Zoroark.

 

[Falconwing]

Probably Zora and Zorark.

I could go for those names, but they'll probably just keep them the same.

For those thinking they'll change the R's to L's, I don't have a clue what Zollo means, but I do know what Zorro means.

 

[V Faction]

Zollo is a blackberry flavored variety of Jell-O.

... or you could just not bother with the SAT words and call it a "combination"

What a strange response. You know, I actually learned that word from the Pokemon fandom and I feel it's probably the best definition to use when refering to the common place "combination" that most English names are derived from.

Take two word, cut 'em in half, splice 'em together.

I don't imagine the naming process is as easy as that. A name can turn out to be rather crappy and not thought out well. Others base their origins around the original name (and make no mistake, the Japanese use the same process in their naming). Sometimes putting two words together makes the name sound terrible, no matter how clever you make it.

"Zoro, ro, ro your ark, gently down the stream..."

 

[Nevando]

...so is it Zoroark or Zorark? >_>

If it's Zorark, I wouldn't mind that being it's english name; I can pronounce that. If it's Zoroark... how do you pronounce that? Zo, then the Sinnoh gym leader, Roark?

 

[Jukain]

Pfft, like the localizers care about pronunciation problems.

 

[Joshawott]

...so is it Zoroark or Zorark? >_>

If it's Zorark, I wouldn't mind that being it's english name; I can pronounce that. If it's Zoroark... how do you pronounce that? Zo, then the Sinnoh gym leader, Roark?

I know the Japanese movie trailer pronounces it Zo-Rawk

 

[63cohen]

I know the Japanese movie trailer pronounces it Zo-Rawk

that r sound is actually the l/r Japanese sound, so it can be translated either way. Usually the l sound is chosen. Lucario can be seen as a good example.

 

[Ron ~ デリバード]

shit i was saying it like zorro-arc. man i must have looked like a total doofus hooo boy

 

[Nevando]

that r sound is actually the l/r Japanese sound, so it can be translated either way. Usually the l sound is chosen. Lucario can be seen as a good example.

So it'll either be pronounced Zo-rawk [which I kinda like], or Zo-lock?

 

[63cohen]

So it'll either be pronounced Zo-rawk [which I kinda like], or Zo-lock?

With 4kids, it was usually the l sound rather than the r sound due to their translator. TCPi has been rather the same. For the games, I think the same rule applies, as it will be dubbed at some point. Also, if it did sound like Zoro, that is against copyright, as Zoro is copyrighted name, so they could not air it on TV with that pronounciation. The l sound will be used most likely.

 

[Falconwing]

The anime actually pronounces it either Zoru-ark or Zoro-ark.

 

[KedaseDerragar]

It's obvious how to pronounce it in Japanese because they spell phonetically (zo-ro-aa-ku), and it's equally obvious from that how it's intended to be pronounced in English, since there are regular rules about that sort of thing (zoh-roh-ark). If you're not used to listening to Japanese, it may sound like something different in the trailer, but I've heard "zo-ro-aa-ku" every single time.

I could expect them to be Zoroa (I still can't understand why the English name circulating spells it with U, since the katakana for the name have ロ, not ル)

I have no idea why Game Freak chose that spelling, but it's the official Romanization.

They may (I'm saying 'may') use 'Ls' instead of 'Rs' 'cause Rs are Ls and Ls are Rs in Japanese to English.

The R/L change isn't willy-nilly or set in stone - Japanese has only a form of R, and it stays R most of the time when romanized. Plus, the names come from the Spanish word for fox, and since Spanish does have a very clear L/R distinction, they probably wouldn't change the letter randomly.

However, the R/L change is actually the only change I see as potentially likely (assuming they don't throw out the name altogether) - but it's not for that reason, it's for this one:

Like with the One Piece 4kids incident, they changed Zoro's name to Zolo.

If I remember correctly, this was done to avoid copyright infringement in the U.S. with the much older mask-wearing Zorro character, since Zoro in One Piece is also a swordsman. Those same copyright issues could come up with the English names of Zorua and Zoroark, and an R/L change would be the easiest way to avoid them; but since the names of the Pokémon clearly refer to the word meaning "fox" rather than the character Zorro, they may not feel the need to change the names for that purpose.

The anime actually pronounces it either Zoru-ark or Zoro-ark.

The two sounds are very close, especially when short. All the pronunciations I've heard have been consistent.

 

[63cohen]

It's obvious how to pronounce it in Japanese because they spell phonetically (zo-ro-aa-ku), and it's equally obvious from that how it's intended to be pronounced in English, since there are regular rules about that sort of thing (zoh-roh-ark). If you're not used to listening to Japanese, it may sound like something different in the trailer, but I've heard "zo-ro-aa-ku" every single time.

But do you think Nintendo of America will keep it? They changed Kotone/Soul to Lyra while Konami of America keeps Torunka as Torunka.

 

[Garren]

Also, if it did sound like Zoro, that is against copyright, as Zoro is copyrighted name, so they could not air it on TV with that pronounciation. The l sound will be used most likely.

Uh, no, it doesn't quite work like that. "Zorro" is copyrighted, not "zoro". :/

 

[Falconwing]

But do you think Nintendo of America will keep it? They changed Kotone/Soul to Lyra while Konami of America keeps Torunka as Torunka.

That was the name of a character, not the name of a pokemon.

 

[KedaseDerragar]

Uh, no, it doesn't quite work like that. "Zorro" is copyrighted, not "zoro". :/

The exact spelling isn't the problem. one Piece in America could have called its character "Zoro", but because the character is so similar to the Zorro character, it still would have been a copyright issue. With the Pokémon, there isn't that issue, because they're nothing like Zorro.

But do you think Nintendo of America will keep it? They changed Kotone/Soul to Lyra while Konami of America keeps Torunka as Torunka.

...What? Soul was never an official name. And they've been picking different Japanese and English names for the characters for a couple generations now (and with the more recent ones, they even made the effort to give the names a similar connotation in both languages). It's got no bearing on the Pokémon's names.