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how do U pronounce his last name?

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Photo of nikki c.
12/10/2007 nikki c. says:

http://www.suntimes.co...

Cubs awaiting Fukudome decision

December 10, 2007
BY GORDON WITTENMYER gwittenmyer@suntimes.com

Kevin Towers, the San Diego Padres general manager, told The San Diego Union-Tribune he expected to learn as early as today whether Japanese free agent Kosuke Fukudome has accepted their multi-year offer, also saying he rated the Cubs as serious bidders....

  1. Photo of Kate K.
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    12/10/2007 Kate "not yet published" K. says:

    I would guess Foo-koo-DOH-meh, but I'm not certain. I picked up a copy of Japanese for Dummies once and felt a little intimidated.

  2. Photo of Chris S.
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    12/10/2007 Chris S. says:

    Fuck You Dome.

  3. Photo of Chris S.
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    12/10/2007 Chris S. says:

    OK, so I was wrong. I did find what is called the correct pronounciation and it looks like that Japanes for Dummies paid off, Kate. It's foo-koo-dough-may. What I found did not show where the emphasis lies.

    I wish he had been around when Harry Carrey was butchering names on live tv.

  4. Photo of Alice S.
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    12/10/2007 Alice "~itadakimasu~" S. says:

    When pronouncing Japanese written in romaji ("roman", or English alphabet), use this guide for the vowels:

    a = ah
    e = eh
    i = ee
    o = oh
    u = oo

    Therefore, Fukudome is pronounced (roughly): foo koo doh meh. The "oo's" are very short, not oooo, though.

  5. Photo of Lindley E.
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    12/10/2007 Lindley E. says:

    foo-koo-DOH-may

    there you go

  6. Photo of Lindley E.
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    12/10/2007 Lindley E. says:

    emphasis on DOH

  7. Photo of Alice S.
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    12/10/2007 Alice "~itadakimasu~" S. says:

    As far as emphasis, in Japanese very little emphasis is given to one syllable over another.

  8. 12/10/2007

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  9. 12/10/2007 F U. says:

    the emphasis on Doh due to the shit load of dough/cash/bread/chedda they are going to throw at him.

  10. Photo of Alice S.
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    12/10/2007 Alice "~itadakimasu~" S. says:

    I think more people will have trouble with "Kosuke". It's not "koh soo kee" as people will probably want to pronounce it. The tricky syllalble is the "su" one. It's a barely articulated "oo", almost swallowed, kind of. And the "ke" is "keh".

  11. Photo of Lindley E.
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    12/10/2007 Lindley E. says:

    Alice -- that's partially  true, but in fukudome's name there is emphasis on the third syllable. Japanese has something like 1.5 tones, which means there is some rise on syllables - if it did not have some tonality, we wouldn't have the knee-slapping mockery of foreigners trying to speak Japanese on prime time japanese tv. Damn, that's always funny.

    But back to japanese

    a good, easy example is kaki.

    KA-ki is persimmon
    ka-KI is oyster
    (I may have reversed this...)

    it isn't like chinese where a tone changes meaning (eg 'MA'), but emphasis on one syllable over another can make a difference in the proper pronunciation and meaning of the word.

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  13. 12/10/2007 F U. says:

    I don't really care how you pronouce his name. I just hope the cubs land him and he can produce like Matsui. Of course if he turns out to be a hitting/fielding machine like Ichiro, I'd be alright with that too.

  14. Photo of Erika G.
    12/10/2007 Erika "Awesome E" G. says:

    No one mentioned the most important thing - he's hot!

    Needs a little dermabrasion, but that's minor, he'll be able to afford it now.

  15. Photo of Krsna V.
    12/10/2007 Krsna "Liberian Calypso" V. says:

    Lindley, KA-ki in Telugu means crow

  16. 12/10/2007 F U. says:

    Yes Erika, with the celebration of their 100th straight season without a Championship, that is what all of us Cub fans are clamoring for...a "hot" right fielder.

    If Sloth from the Goonies could play right field and hit .300 with 25+ homeruns and 90+ RBI I'd be all for signing him up.

  17. Photo of Chris S.
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    12/10/2007 Chris S. says:

    Sloth's hot.

  18. Photo of Lindley E.
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    12/10/2007 Lindley E. says:

    Alice -- a minor trend has been for some japanese to totally rewrite their romanized names to exclude 'silent' vowels. There are a few musicians who have done this. I can't remember right now but I recall seeing it and thinking wow, they're breaking with convention (Hepburn romanization, Kunrei-shiki Rōmaji and Nihon-shiki Rōmaji).

    Daisuke Matsuzaka has been renamed "Dice-K" so that his american fans can actually pronounce his name. Kosuke will be a little harder...maybe kose-k?

    I know other folks who omit silent 'u' in writing out in romaji, eg, "(nani nani) des ka?"

  19. 12/10/2007 Zak O. says:

    I am pretty sure its:

    Fuck you. Do me.

  20. Photo of Alice S.
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    12/10/2007 Alice "~itadakimasu~" S. says:

    Lindley-- you are correct; however, I didn't say that *no* emphasis is given to one syllable over the other. I said that "very little" emphasis is given to one syllable over another. Of course one syllable is stressed over others but not as much as in English. When I hear Japanese spoken, that's how I hear it.

    Of course I'm sure you know more about this than I do.

  21. Photo of Chris S.
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    12/10/2007 Chris S. says:

    As far as what American fans will call Kosuke Fukudome, that's already been taken care of. Behold "The Dome"

  22. 12/10/2007 Zak O. says:

    And if he comes to the Cubs, I am so getting that on a custom jersey...

  23. Photo of Brent B.
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    12/10/2007 Brent "______/\_______\o/____" B. says:

    What, they're not going to call him K-Fuk?

    If he goes to the Cubs, in grand Cubs tradition he'll hit just like Matsui. That's Kazuo Matsui, not Godzilla Matsui.

  24. Photo of nikki c.
    12/10/2007 nikki c. says:

    i wonder what sushi places will feature Fukudome Rolls...they gonna be expensive

  25. Photo of Lindley E.
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    12/10/2007 Lindley E. says:

    Alice - was that sarcasm?

  26. Photo of John B.
    12/10/2007 John "Lighten Up, Francis" B. says:

    I'm less interested in how his name is actually pronounced than the horsemeat sportscasters are going to make of his name. I place my bets on Fookadome, to rhyme with Astrodome, emphasis on the first syllable.

  27. Photo of nikki c.
    12/10/2007 nikki c. says:

    actually it would be interesting to see what schools and businesses ban his jersey as containing profanity or offensive material

  28. 12/10/2007 Andy F. says:

    so..fuck a dough. mae

  29. Photo of Alice S.
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    12/10/2007 Alice "~itadakimasu~" S. says:

    Lindley -- No, not sarcasm at all! The only Japanese I know is the Japanese I grew up listening to; pre-war, very "high-class" and polite Japanese. I don't know anything about how modern (younger) Japanese speak, truly. The cousins from Japan with whom I speak all know English, luckily for me. I know you spent time in Japan, and not too long ago (i.e., within the past couple of decades!). I don't speak Japanese, I just know how it sounds. So I defer to you on this topic; I have the greatest respect for you on this and other subjects!

    I have to say that though I know people are trying to be "funny" by making fun of mispronouncing this athlete's name, it reminds me of when I was a kid. Until we moved to Chicago, we were usually the only Japanese family around. People made fun of my name, and of me, purposely mispronouncing my surname and making what they thought were amusing puns of it. I see things haven't changed too much since grade school. *sigh*

  30. Photo of MaryAnne M.
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    12/12/2007 MaryAnne "Yelp, providing tail to the undeserving since 2006" M. says:

    They signed him.

    Too bad for Sloth

  31. 12/12/2007 Zak O. says:

    Custom jersey time!

  32. 12/12/2007 brennan s. says:

    (fast)foo-koo(slow, hard)DOH(fast)meh

    It's going to be fun saying his name.  I'm sure Cub fans will come up with a Fukudome drinking game.

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