Japanese names in English articles

[VSmack]

I'm new here, so I don't know if this has been discussed in detail before, but I've noticed from time to time, including the new article on the unpredictability of the anime, that articles written in English use both Japanese and English names of pokemon. For example, in the aforementioned article, Argy writes "With Satoshi's capture of Gligar", using both an English name and a Japanese name in the same sentence =S

The point of using Japanese names while writing for an English audience, who presumably consume most of their pokemon information and entertainment in English, is completely lost on me. I mean, if you're writing in English, why not use the official Anglicizations? Especially when a Japanese wiki already exists.

It's great if you know the Japanese names, but not all of us do, and I believe the fundamental premise of a project like Bulbapedia is to make the communication of information as simple as possible.

I only take notice because I love the site and want it to be as editorially sound as possible.

 

[Tina]

Well, that's what it is in Japanese. Gligar.

Also, since that was an editorial (I believe it is, but BP's not only under attack as of this moment, but it's loading slowly for me...), people can use the form of the words they want ;>_> But yeah, the other Bulbanews articles (Such as the new one that announced the Movie 10 English title) uses the English names, so yeah.

 

[Argy]

Bulbanews is not the same as Bulbapedia, and they don't have the same style rules.

Did Ash Ketchum catch Gligar on Thursday? No, that won't happen for a few more months when the English-language episode airs. The character who caught a new Pokémon was Satoshi, in the Japanese series. The recent Movie 10 articles have English names because they're about the English release.

I assumed the Japanese spelling of Gligar is the same because the pronunciation is the same, but after writing the article I see it is actually "Gliger."

For the people who do not know the Japanese names, they can hover their cursors over words that are linked to Bulbapedia to get the English version (and more info if they click).

I use Japanese names in my editorials, which are entirely my perspective, because I watch the Japanese version of the anime, and so do most of the people who post in the anime forum here. It doesn't matter that they don't know Japanese; it's not a hard show to figure out even without dialog. In other words, the audience to whom I am writing does not need any additional context, and it also is comprised of people significantly older and more mature than the majority of the Pokémon fan base. I guess you could call Bulbanews "professional," or at least striving to be.

 

[Adamant]

I assumed the Japanese spelling of Gligar is the same because the pronunciation is the same, but after writing the article I see it is actually "Gliger."

Given that it's name is "glide + gargoyle", "Gliger" makes about as much sense as Prasle and Frygon, though. I don't see anyone using those.