Kansai Regional Accent: Difference between revisions

* Using "meccha" (not [[Humongous Mecha|that mecha]], the "ch" is soft like "Charles") instead of "tottemo" as an intensifier.

* Listen closely to when they say something like "e~to" (uh; um; er...). The "e", which is pronounced "eh", will be pronounced ''a bit'' more like "ih" (IPA: ɪ). This is easier to pick out when singing, as it is more exaggerated, making words like "shonen" sound ''a bit'' more like "shon'''ih'''n" or "shon'''uh'''n".

 

Depending on the country, [[Accent Adaptation|preserving these dialects through translations and dubs]] can be tricky. The usual British equivalent is Cockney, though a Northern accent might represent the geographic and societal differences better than a dialect of the capital (and for Osaka-ben specifically, Brummie might be more accurate, being that Birmingham is Britain's second city, with a gritty industrial image and a local accent with markedly different intonation patterns and pronunciation from those of the southeast; Scouse may be even more appropriate, since it combines the gritty industrial image with a reputation for good humour). In American adaptations, Kansai usually translates to either a Southern or Texan accent (comparisons between Osaka and Houston as large, business-oriented cities with rowdy reputations in the southern part of their respective countries are perhaps not without merit), or a nasal New York or Boston accent (closer in terms of the actual nasal ''sound'' of the accent, and New York's fast-paced reputation isn't far off from Osaka's). The location of the company making the decision seems to be more than a little important in which gets chosen. They're considered stupid like [[Deep South|rednecks]], but rude and brash like [[Brooklyn Rage|New Yorkers]]. A good approximation for a thick one would be a Brooklyn accent a la Tony Soprano, while a softer one might be good as a North Jersey accent (a real one, not the stereotypical and completely inaccurate "Joisey" one).

 

{{examples}}

* Maeda, the main character of [[Rokudenashi Blues]], slips back into his natural (and extremely thick) Kansai accent whenever he gets mad.

* [[Ranma ½]] has [[Bifauxnen|Ukyo Kuonji]], an Osakan who averts [[The Idiot From Osaka]] by actually being very smart, cunning, and a workaholic (which is a different sort of Kansai stereotype). As is common in Western translations, her accent is translated into a soft, vaguely American South accent. Except for one scene in the anime, where her accent is thickened for comedic purposes.

* Sakura the Kyuubi-fox in ''[[Hyper Police]]'' has one of the thickest Kansei accents in all of anime. Even non-Japanese speakers can pick it out.

* In the ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' English dub, the appropriately-named Osaka Naru was given a thick New York (specifically Brooklyn) accent. Despite the otherwise [[Macekre]] reputation of the dub, this is probably a fairly reasonable equivalent.

* Tina Foster in ''[[Ai Yori Aoshi]]'' is an "American" who was raised in Hakata, Fukuoka, on Kyushu, southernmost of the main islands. She speaks in Hakata-ben, a dialect that varies even more from the Standard language than Kansai-ben. In English, as in some of the other examples here, she gets a cornpone southern accent.

* Keroberos from ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]''. It's explained that the magical book he protects was stored in Osaka for an extended length of time, and he picked up the accent.

* Mako from ''[[Nerima Daikon Brothers]]'', being [[The Idiot From Osaka]], speaks with this accent. In the dub she's given a thick southern belle sort of accent which is pretty over-the-top--but the series ''itself'' is very over-the-top, so that was probably an intentional choice.

* Aizawa Sakuya from ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler]]''.

* Hadzuki Nouge from ''[[Koe de Oshigoto!]]'' is from Kyoto and speaks Kansai-ben. While being somewhat airheaded, she is far from an idiot, having the second best grades in her class.

* When the other people on the riverbank think Recruit is a leech in ''[[Arakawa Under the Bridge]]'' it serves as a [[Berserk Button]]. He becomes so enraged he starts speaking in a Kansai Accent.