What you are forced to play as an English speaking person when you go to Japan. You see, Japanese usually write non-Japanese words in a special alphabet called Katakana. However, this alphabet is 100% geared towards Japanese phonetics, and words that don't fit into that system are often mangled beyond recognition. The following are a couple of examples of English words being manhandled into katakana and then romanized back:
- iahoun - earphone
- uirasu - virus
- suicchi - switch
Now with a bit of experience in Japanese phonetics, this
is annoying but manageable. The
advanced level you get when the Japanese start
abbreviating these alredy mangled words:
Such things can make a grown-up
linguist weep.