I don't know what honorifics Elma uses on Lucil and so on, but if you were to write it for me, I could tell you what it means, though. ^^;
As for Yuna's politeness - on one hand, I think it's fairly normal, but on the other, she does try extra hard to be polite. Um... I don't know exactly what I mean, here. Japanese is easily a very polite, formal language, and girls are usually held to a more polite form of it. Someone like Yuna, I imagine, uses formal speech patterns as a rule; that she would also be super humble (i.e, bowing low) just makes sense with her character. However as FFX's bowing system isn't the same as Japan's, it's hard to say for sure. But it wouldn't surprise me if Yuna is bowing low out of extra politeness.
Bowing is super complicated and I'm not too clear on all the details myself (in my Japanese lessons we stuck more to reading/understanding than bowing etiquette, although we did once have a "food lesson") - but generally speaking, the most polite standing version is to bow very low from the waist.
So: Age doesn't have much to do with it in this case, but Yuna as a girl is expected to speak using slightly more polite language than a man. Of course, Lulu and Rikku would also be held to this standard - Yuna just takes the politeness to an extra level and speaks in a much more formal manner than either of them.
Anyway, a basic guide to honorifics:
-san - Mr, Miss, Ms, etc. This one is the least complex; attach it to anyone's name and you'll be fine. Unlike the english, though, it doesn't have a "weird" sound to use first name-san (Miss Kate, Mr John - sound a little stiff).
-chan - an affectionate diminutive. Used mostly on girls and small children, it doesn't have a particular meaning, it just sounds cute. Japanese is full of cute sounds that make names cuter, but -chan is the only "standard" one. It can be used on boys, but as they get older they'll probably find it demeaning (as it sounds cute/is mostly used on girls/little kids).
Some other sounds - adding the letter "n" to a name is pretty common; Kaori becomes Kaorin, etc. If I recall correctly, Rikku's name for Yuna in the Japanese is "Yunan".
My friend Yuzuko -- I call her all sorts of weird stuff using "cute" sounds. Yuzi-chan, Yuzi-pii, Yuzi-chii, Yuzi-rin -- they're all rather cute and childish.
-kun - possibly the most complicated honorific, -kun is simply a less formal version of -san, usually used in a work or school setting to denote someone below you in rank (i.e, a teacher to students), while still being polite. You can use -san too, but I suppose -kun just adds a slight... "I'm above you." However, it also can be used affectionately on boys, I suppose in this case it's unlike -chan and more like, "I'm using a politeish honorific on you out of respect." It's also used on girls and women commonly.
-sama -- very rarely used in normal speech. But train announcements and so on use it. It's a very, very polite way of saying -san; it's often used for "Lord" or "Lady".
-dono -- even more formal. Barely ever used in normal contexts.
-sensei -- teacher, doctor, etc. In FFX-2, Gippal's nickname for Paine is "Paine-sensei."
sempai, kohai -- upperclassman, lowerclassman.
[first name], no honorific -- This is actually perhaps the most significant one, although in games and so on it's disregarded. But in Japan, it's rude to refer to someone by their first name without an honorific if you don't know them well; to do so implies a close relationship, either as friends or lovers. On the other hand, it can also imply that you are rude (if you do it to someone you don't know well/aren't close to).
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branchandroot
Re: *feels pathetic*
Date: 2007-12-20 06:19 pm (UTC)As for Yuna's politeness - on one hand, I think it's fairly normal, but on the other, she does try extra hard to be polite. Um... I don't know exactly what I mean, here. Japanese is easily a very polite, formal language, and girls are usually held to a more polite form of it. Someone like Yuna, I imagine, uses formal speech patterns as a rule; that she would also be super humble (i.e, bowing low) just makes sense with her character. However as FFX's bowing system isn't the same as Japan's, it's hard to say for sure. But it wouldn't surprise me if Yuna is bowing low out of extra politeness.
Bowing is super complicated and I'm not too clear on all the details myself (in my Japanese lessons we stuck more to reading/understanding than bowing etiquette, although we did once have a "food lesson") - but generally speaking, the most polite standing version is to bow very low from the waist.
So: Age doesn't have much to do with it in this case, but Yuna as a girl is expected to speak using slightly more polite language than a man. Of course, Lulu and Rikku would also be held to this standard - Yuna just takes the politeness to an extra level and speaks in a much more formal manner than either of them.
Anyway, a basic guide to honorifics:
-san - Mr, Miss, Ms, etc. This one is the least complex; attach it to anyone's name and you'll be fine. Unlike the english, though, it doesn't have a "weird" sound to use first name-san (Miss Kate, Mr John - sound a little stiff).
-chan - an affectionate diminutive. Used mostly on girls and small children, it doesn't have a particular meaning, it just sounds cute. Japanese is full of cute sounds that make names cuter, but -chan is the only "standard" one. It can be used on boys, but as they get older they'll probably find it demeaning (as it sounds cute/is mostly used on girls/little kids).
Some other sounds - adding the letter "n" to a name is pretty common; Kaori becomes Kaorin, etc. If I recall correctly, Rikku's name for Yuna in the Japanese is "Yunan".
My friend Yuzuko -- I call her all sorts of weird stuff using "cute" sounds. Yuzi-chan, Yuzi-pii, Yuzi-chii, Yuzi-rin -- they're all rather cute and childish.
-kun - possibly the most complicated honorific, -kun is simply a less formal version of -san, usually used in a work or school setting to denote someone below you in rank (i.e, a teacher to students), while still being polite. You can use -san too, but I suppose -kun just adds a slight... "I'm above you." However, it also can be used affectionately on boys, I suppose in this case it's unlike -chan and more like, "I'm using a politeish honorific on you out of respect." It's also used on girls and women commonly.
-sama -- very rarely used in normal speech. But train announcements and so on use it. It's a very, very polite way of saying -san; it's often used for "Lord" or "Lady".
-dono -- even more formal. Barely ever used in normal contexts.
-sensei -- teacher, doctor, etc. In FFX-2, Gippal's nickname for Paine is "Paine-sensei."
sempai, kohai -- upperclassman, lowerclassman.
[first name], no honorific -- This is actually perhaps the most significant one, although in games and so on it's disregarded. But in Japan, it's rude to refer to someone by their first name without an honorific if you don't know them well; to do so implies a close relationship, either as friends or lovers. On the other hand, it can also imply that you are rude (if you do it to someone you don't know well/aren't close to).