Berserk names, revisited!

Graywords

Bettychu, I choose YOU!
The collective mind of the Berserk fandom has always had trouble answering one burning question:  

HOW THE HELL DO YOU SPELL ALL THOSE DAMN NAMES!?   >:(

Whenever answers to this question are attempted, without fail the people are angered and much bloodshed has always ensued.    :-[

I'd like to avoid that.  What I *would* like to do is this:  Create a list of names in Berserk, and put what we do and don't know together in an organized fashion.

I've ripped a list directly off the FAQ (and deleted names that can't be analyzed), and I will now analyze what I can.

- Guts
Romaji: Gattsu
Possibilities: Ah, the infamous Guts.  People have suggested Guts, Gutts, Gats, Gatts, Gatsu, Gattsu...
Most likely: Guts, 'cause STONE MIURA SAYS SO! =D

- Puck
Romaji: Pakku
Possibilities: Has been spelled Puck, Pak, Pakk...
Most likely: Puck, due to Shakespeare.

- Vargas
Romaji: Barugasu
Possibilities: Vargas, Valgas
Most likely: Vargas

- Terezia
Romaji: Terejia
Possibilities: Terezia, Theresia, Therezia, Teresia
Most likely: Uncertain.

- Slann
Romaji: Suran
Possibilities: Slan, Slann
Most likely: Slan, the SF novel.

- Ubik
Romaji: Yuubikku
Possibilities: Yubick, Ubik
Most likely: Ubik, the SF novel.

- Void
Romaji: Boido
Possibilities: Void, Boyd
Most likely: Void

- Femto
Romaji: Femuto
Possibilities: Femto
Most likely: Femto

- Conrad
Romaji: Konraddo
Possibilities: Conrad
Most likely: Conrad

- Gambino
Romaji: Ganbiino
Possibilities: Gambino
Most likely: Gambino

- Shizu
Romaji: Shisu
Possibilities: Siss, Sis
Most likely: Uncertain (where'd "Shizu" come from? o_O)

- Donovan
Romaji: Donoban
Possibilities: Donovan
Most likely: Donovan

- Corkas
Romaji: Korukasu
Possibilities: Way too many on this one! ><  Corkas, Corcas, Corkus, Corcus... just to name a few.
Most likely: Uncertain... will we every know? o.o

- Griffith
Romaji: Gurifisu
Possibilities: Griffith, Griffis, Grifis...
Most likely: Griffith, although I don't have a solid argument why.

- Casca
Romaji: Kyasuka
Possibilities: Casca, Caska, Kaska...
Most likely: Casca it seems, mainly due to the name being in fairly common use as compared to the others...

- Judeau
Romaji: Judoo
Possibilities: Judeau, Judo, Judot...
Most likely: Uncertain.  There is an "official" spelling that states JUDO, but who knows if that's what Miura really did intend.

- Rickert
Romaji: Rikkeruto
Possibilities: Rickert, Rickelt
Most likely: Uncertain... both are real names, albeit last names.

- Pippin
Romaji: Pipin
Possibilities: Pippin
Most likely: Pippin

- Gaston
Romaji: Gasuton
Possibilities: Gaston
Most likely: Gaston

- Zodd
Romaji: Zoddo
Possibilities: Zod, Zodd, Zoddo
Most likely: Uncertain.  There are numerous "official" sources spelling it ZODDO, but I'm sure I'm not the only one that sees that as looking... well, strange.

- Julius
Romaji: Yuriusu
Possibilities: Julius, Yurius
Most likely: Julius

- Charlotte
Romaji: Sharurotto
Possibilities: Charlotte
Most likely: Charlotte

- Foss
Romaji: Fosu
Possibilities: Foss, Fos, Foth, Fozzy the Bear
Most likely: Foss

- Adonis
Romaji: Adonisu
Possibilities: Adonis
Most likely: Adonis

- Adon
Romaji: Adon
Possibilities: Adon
Most likely: Adon

- Gennon
Romaji: Genon
Possibilities: Genon, Gennon
Most likely: Genon, but only based on the circumstantial evidence that "Genon" comes up 25 times as often as "Gennon" on a search engine ^^;

- Samson
Romaji: Samuson
Possibilities: Samson
Most likely: Samson

- Raban
Romaji: unsure
Possibilities:
Most likely:

- Owen
Romaji: unsure
Possibilities:
Most likely:

- Boscogne
Romaji: Bosukoon
Possibilities: Boscogne, Boscone
Most likely: Boscone.  While Boscogne does look cooler, the only hits it recieves on search engines are Berserk sites. =p  Boscone, however, gets many many matches as a name.

- Silatt
Romaji: Shiratto
Possibilities: Silatt, Silat
Most likely: Silat.  See Boscogne entry above.

- Erica
Romaji: Erika
Possibilities: Erica, Erika
Most likely: Erica

- Godo
Romaji: Godou
Possibilities: Godo, Godou, Godot
Most likely: Uncertain, Godo and Godot seem about even.

- Roshinu
Romaji: Roshiinu
Possibilities: Roshinu, Rosine, Rosiene, Rochine, Rosinne, etc etc...
Most likely: Uncertain.  No clear victor.

- Bakiraka
Romaji: Baakiraka
Possibilities: Bakiraka, possibly others
Most likely: Uncertain, Bakiraka seems only choice.

- Wild
Romaji: Waiarudo
Possibilities: Wild, Wyald, Wyld, Waild
Most likely: Wild.  I'm saying this while keeping in mind Miura's reason for naming Guts what he did. ^_-

- Azan
Romaji: Azan
Possibilities: Azan
Most likely: Azan

- Serpico
Romaji: Serupiko
Possibilities: Serpico, Serpiko
Most likely: Serpico

- Farneeze
Romaji: Faruneeze
Possibilities: Farneze, Farnese
Most likely: Farnese

- Jill
Romaji: Jiru
Possibilities: Jill
Most likely: Jill

- Zepec
Romaji: Zepekku
Possibilities: Zepec, Zepeck, Zeppek
Most likely: Uncertain, but I noticed Zepek has the most hits...

- Pikaf
Romaji: Pikafu
Possibilities: Pikaf, Peekaf, Peacuff, etc
Most likely: Uncertain.

- Mozgus
Romaji: Mozugusu
Possibilities: Mozgus, Mozguth, maybe more we haven't thought of.
Most likely: Uncertain, Mozgus if nothing else is found.

- Luca
Romaji: Ruka
Possibilities: Luca, Luka, Lucca
Most likely: Uncertain, all are very common

- Isidro
Romaji: Ishidoro
Possibilities: Isidro, Isidoro, Ishidoro
Most likely: Isidro

- Tapaasa
Romaji: Tapaasa
Possibilities: Tapasa, Taparsa
Most likely: Tapasa

- Jerome
Romaji: Jeroomu
Possibilities: Jerome
Most likely: Jerome

- Nina
Romaji: Niina
Possibilities: Nina
Most likely: Nina

- Joachim
Romaji: Yoahimu
Possibilities: Joachim, Yoachim, Joahim
Most likely: Joachim, due to commonness

- Niko
Romaji: Niko
Possibilities: Niko, Nico
Most likely: Nico, 'cause it's less Japanese ^_-

- Kushan
Romaji: Kushaan
Possibilities: Kushan, Kushaan, Kusharn
Most likely: Kushan, due to RL references.

- Sonya
Romaji: Soonya
Possibilities: Sonia, Sonya, Sonja
Most likely: dunno... one of the last two.

- Roch
Romaji: Rokusu
Possibilities: Locus, Roch, Rox, Lox, Locks... and too many more to name.
Most likely: Uncertain, but I wanna call him Rocks, because he's definitely got some o_o

- Rakshas
Romaji: Rakushasu
Possibilities: Rakshas
Most likely: Rakshas

- Grunbeld
Romaji: Gurunberudo
Possibilities: Grunbeld, Groenveld, Grunveld, Groeneveld, Grunfeld, etc etc
Most likely: ask Miura

- Schierke
Romaji: Shiruke
Possibilities: Shiruke, Schierke, Schierk
Most likely: Schierke, due to witch reference in Germany.

- Mule
Romaji: Myuuru
Possibilities: Mule
Most likely: Mule

- Irvine
Romaji: Aavain
Possibilities: Irvine
Most likely: Irvine

This is an incomplete listing... help it become whole!  It needs romaji in a few places (also more comments in the Griffith and Casca sections) and discussion and searches to find out what truths there actually *are* behind any of these names!

<<Addendum:  I don't claim any of these names as ABSOLUTE truths.  The only person that knows exactly how these characters' names should be spelled is Kentaro Miura himself.  And for all we know, maybe he doesn't know them all either! ^^;;>>

EDIT: fixed Grunbeld and a few others.
 
I had been thinking about this exact same thing. Thank you for actually doing it. :) As for Zoddo, I also think that it doesn't sound "right" but I don't know about the methods of transliteration. The official merchandise holds the most weight though. I think the romaji for Grunbeld is Gurunberudo. That and a few other names are somewhere in old threads.
 

floydboy

Is There anybody out there?
hmmm Graywords stated that Griffith is the most likely name, yet didn't have a solid argument for why.... and I have always thought of the name as such and have seen it that way (except once in a fansub where they spelled everything all crazily - Grifirus or something bad).  So though Griffith seems clearer, makes me wonder why Miura chose that one ...
From what I know and have found out is that the name is Celtic meaning Red-Haired (interesting...).  

Somewhat related, but there's the griffin crazy beast thing, that has the head of an eagle, wings, and body of a lion.  Found this on it which i had heard before: Griffins are usually heroic-like symbols. They are well known for their speed, ability to fly and having eyes like a hawk, as well as the strength and courage of a lion. In hieroglyphics, griffins represent heat and summer. In Assyria (an ancient empire of western Asia,) both the griffin and the dragon were symbols of wisdom. In Roman art, griffins are often pulling the chariot of Nemesis (goddess of justice and revenge.)

there is also DW Griffith who made "The Birth of a Nation" ....though that is completely random.

Found this out about the Celtic 'nickname' seeming that it fits in more with the overlying area of Berserk:

Griffith is a spelling variation of the Welsh patronymic name Gruffydd, which came from Old Welsh griff + udd = chief, lord. The exact meaning of griff in Old Welsh isn't completely understood. Griffin is sometimes a variation of the name Griffith
GRIFFITH (British).  From Middle Welsh Gruffudd; udd means lord or prince

According to Arthurian legend, Griffith meant someone that was a murderer ....

Anyway there's a bit on Griffith
 

floydboy

Is There anybody out there?
ok now for Casca

apparently the name has Latin origin meaning someone from France, which also fits into the scheme of things in the Berserk world (we have the 100 years of war going on ... like England (the Celtic people) and France (oui oui))

comes from the name Cis which comes from Franciscus, meaning a person from France.

In Shakespeare's Julius Ceaser, Casca is a fellow henchman in the plot to kill Ceaser. Casca if i remember had these visions where he saw wild beasts roaming the Capitol and men on fire and other things, but then Cassius is able to use these visions as a means to enter him into the group assassination

And so far that's all the semi-relevant stuff i could find on Casca ....I'll keep looking for more .... if more is to be found
 
- Guts
Romaji: Gattsu
Possibilities: Ah, the infamous Guts.  People have suggested Guts, Gutts, Gats, Gatts, Gatsu, Gattsu...
Most likely: Guts, 'cause STONE MIURA SAYS SO! =D
Yup. Apart from two telecards and the anime soundtrack CD that spelled the name "Gats", it has _always_ been spelled "Guts" in official documents or goods, as far as I know.
Plus, Miura said the name came from the English word "guts".
- Puck
Romaji: Pakku
Possibilities: Has been spelled Puck, Pak, Pakk...
Most likely: Puck, due to Shakespeare.
And it's also the only official spelling I ever saw.
- Femto
Romaji: Femuto
Possibilities: Femto
Most likely: Femto
That's also the spelling used by Art of War.
- Conrad
Romaji: Konraddo
Possibilities: Conrad
Most likely: Conrad
It could also be "Konrad", for example, but it looks like it comes from yet another SF novel ('don't remember the title(s)), and it was spelled "Conrad" in that novel, so...
- Shizu
Romaji: Shisu
Possibilities: Siss, Sis
Most likely: Uncertain (where'd "Shizu" come from? o_O)
(I don't know either... -__-;; )
Maybe "Sith", Star Wars-like? ^___^;
- Corkas
Romaji: Korukasu
Possibilities: Way too many on this one! ><  Corkas, Corcas, Corkus, Corcus... just to name a few.
Most likely: Uncertain... will we every know? o.o
The only official spelling I know is "Carcus", from the anime artbook.
- Griffith
Romaji: Gurifisu
Possibilities: Griffith, Griffis, Grifis...
Most likely: Griffith, although I don't have a solid argument why.
It has always been spelled "Griffith" on official documents/goods. I _really_ think it's the correct spelling.
- Casca
Romaji: Kyasuka
Possibilities: Casca, Caska, Kaska...
Most likely: Casca it seems, mainly due to the name being in fairly common use as compared to the others...
Once again, it has _always_ been spelled "Casca" on official documents/goods.
- Judeau
Romaji: Judoo
Possibilities: Judeau, Judo, Judot...
Most likely: Uncertain.  There is an "official" spelling that states JUDO, but who knows if that's what Miura really did intend.
It's spelled "Judo" in both the anime artbook and the DVD menu, and I've never seen another official spelling, so I'll stick with it for the time being.
- Rickert
Romaji: Rikkeruto
Possibilities: Rickert, Rickelt
Most likely: Uncertain... both are real names, albeit last names.
That one is a mystery: the only official spelling I ever saw was _"Rickets"_ (from the anime artbook).
Could it be that Miura wanted the character to be called "Rickets", but it just didn't sound good in Japanese ("ketsu")? ^___^;;;
- Pippin
Romaji: Pipin
Possibilities: Pippin
Most likely: Pippin
And once again, it's the only official spelling I ever saw.
- Zodd
Romaji: Zoddo
Possibilities: Zod, Zodd, Zoddo
Most likely: Uncertain.  There are numerous "official" sources spelling it ZODDO, but I'm sure I'm not the only one that sees that as looking... well, strange.
I've never seen another official spelling. And I don't have a problem with his name being "Zoddo"? ?_?
- Adon
Romaji: Adon
Possibilities: Adon
Most likely: Adon
It comes from the "Chô Aniki" game series, so if there's a way to find the official spelling of the game character? ^_^;
The "other brother" of the game was "samuson" (probably "Samson") as well, by the way. ^^
You can take it further though, as I seem to remember the game creators took both names from Japanese gay magazines. ^0^;;
- Gennon
Romaji: Genon
Possibilities: Genon, Gennon
Most likely: Genon, but only based on the circumstantial evidence that "Genon" comes up 25 times as often as "Gennon" on a search engine ^^;
The only official spelling I ever saw was "Ganon" (anime artbook), if I remember well ('didn't check).
- Boscogne
Romaji: Bosukoon
Possibilities: Boscogne, Boscone
Most likely: Boscone.  While Boscogne does look cooler, the only hits it recieves on search engines are Berserk sites. =p  Boscone, however, gets many many matches as a name.
The only official spelling I ever saw was "Bosscon" (anime artbook).
But if you go by the fact that Miura took quite a few names from SF books, the Lensman series used the name "Boscone". In the Japanese version of that book, it's spelled exactly as in Berserk, so I guess there's a good chance Miura indeed took the name from that.
- Godo
Romaji: Godou
Possibilities: Godo, Godou, Godot
Most likely: Uncertain, Godo and Godot seem about even.
I like "Godot". Beckett's Godot is spelled the same way in Japanese, anyway. ^^
- Bakiraka
Romaji: Baakiraka
Possibilities: Bakiraka, possibly others
Most likely: Uncertain, Bakiraka seems only choice.
'Could be a lot of things, so I just stick with the "simple" Bakiraka for now.
- Wild
Romaji: Wairudo
Possibilities: Wild, Wyald, Wyld, Waild
Most likely: Wild.  I'm saying this while keeping in mind Miura's reason for naming Guts what he did. ^_-
But the word "wild" would be spelled "wairudo", in kana, not "waiarudo"... That's why I spell it "Wyald". But I've never seen any official spelling, unfortunately.
- Isidro
Romaji: Ishidoro
Possibilities: Isidro, Isidoro, Ishidoro
Most likely: Isidro
"Isidro" is the only official spelling, as far as I know.
- Niko
Romaji: Niko
Possibilities: Niko, Nico
Most likely: Nico, 'cause it's less Japanese ^_-
The only official spelling I know is "Niko", actually.
- Sonia
Romaji: unsure (is it Sonia?)
Possibilities:
Most likely:
It could also be "Sonya" or "Sonja" (from "Sonja Blue"? I seem to remember the spelling is the same in Japanese, anyway).
- Roch
Romaji: Rokusu
Possibilities: Locus, Roch, Rox, Lox, Locks... and too many more to name.
Most likely: Uncertain, but I wanna call him Rocks, because he's definitely got some o_o
But "Rocks" would probably be "rokkusu", not "rokusu"...
"St Roch" is "Sei Rokusu", in Japanese, so if Miura got the name from that...
- Schierke
Romaji: Shiruke
Possibilities: Shiruke, Schierke, Schierk
Most likely: Schierke, due to witch reference in Germany.
And it's the only existing name I know that's spelled like that in kana... ^^;
- Mule
Romaji: unsure (Myuuru?)
Possibilities:
Most likely:
It may come from the Foundation series, so yeah, it's probably "Mule".
- Irvine
Romaji: unsure (Aabain?)
Possibilities:
Most likely:
I'm pretty sure it's "Irvine".
 
M

Marcus

Guest
Thats got to be the biggest post and reply I've ever seen! :eek:
 

Graywords

Bettychu, I choose YOU!
(I don't know either... -__-;; )
Maybe "Sith", Star Wars-like? ^___^;

LOL... you know, considering all the SF references, I wouldn't rule that out! =p

The only official spelling I know is "Carcus", from the anime artbook.

Hmm... and that seems to actually be a name... so yeah, that's possible. Although I wonder why they spelled it how they did in kana...

It has always been spelled "Griffith" on official documents/goods. I _really_ think it's the correct spelling.
That's reason enough for me!
Same with Casca.

It's spelled "Judo" in both the anime artbook and the DVD menu, and I've never seen another official spelling, so I'll stick with it for the time being.
It does make sense to base it off the official spellings, but to me it doesn't fit with the rest of the names... nearly all the rest are based off real European/Mediterranean names. Judo just seems... out of place. *shrug* Just a nagging feeling, nothing more.

That one is a mystery: the only official spelling I ever saw was _"Rickets"_ (from the anime artbook).
Could it be that Miura wanted the character to be called "Rickets", but it just didn't sound good in Japanese ("ketsu")? ^___^;;;
I think a debilitating disease is just as bad a connotation as slang for a body part is. ;) I have no idea if Miura thought so too, but he probably did. :>

I'd chalk it up to bad romanization instead. ^_- Lord knows how many *official* sources I've seen that list the main character of Slayers as "Rina Invers", master of the "Drug Slave". ;)

I've never seen another official spelling. And I don't have a problem with his name being "Zoddo"? ?_?
It's another one of those "just doesn't look right" things, at least to me. Seems like if they *really* meant to have an "o" at the end, they would've spelled it "zoddoo" with a long "o"? To me it's analagous to seeing an official spelling saying "Goddo Hand". One of those repeated mistakes in romanization. ^^ But there's just no way of telling... "Zoddo" could be exactly what Miura intended, as well. *shrug*

It comes from the "Chô Aniki" game series, so if there's a way to find the official spelling of the game character? ^_^;
The "other brother" of the game was "samuson" (probably "Samson") as well, by the way. ^^
You can take it further though, as I seem to remember the game creators took both names from Japanese gay magazines. ^0^;;

LOL! There's another silly reference that I would've never found on my own =D It seems pretty obvious that the Japanese gay magazines would be taking the names of famous muscled men or heroes, and both those names have origins in that, I'm fairly sure. ^^

The only official spelling I ever saw was "Ganon" (anime artbook), if I remember well ('didn't check).
I seem to remember seeing that too, but once again, odd kana to use for it! o.o


The only official spelling I ever saw was "Bosscon" (anime artbook).
That makes it look like someone with a "Boss complex", ne? =p~ I agree with the Lensman thing (another reference I didn't know!)

I like "Godot". Beckett's Godot is spelled the same way in Japanese, anyway. ^^

Another good reference... you have a Godot convert. ^^

But the word "wild" would be spelled "wairudo", in kana, not "waiarudo"... That's why I spell it "Wyald". But I've never seen any official spelling, unfortunately.
Yeah, it seems that the kana would be different, you're right. (speaking of which, I misspelled the kana in my original post! o.o)

Then again, words can be romanized two different ways, sometimes. Take "energy", for example. Usually one sees "enerugii", which is a spelling romanization. But every once in a while you'll see "enajii" instead, which is more correct, in English at least. (I don't *think* they got "enerugii" from any other language, at least... o.o) Maybe they were trying for a more correct version of "wild" pronunciation-wise... more often than not you hear the first part of the "l" as "ul".

Thoughts on this?

"Isidro" is the only official spelling, as far as I know.
Haven't seen an official spelling for this o.o Where?

The only official spelling I know is "Niko", actually.
An official spelling... off the OGST, you mean? I wouldn't trust it completely... the OST had a track called "Gats", after all.

But "Rocks" would probably be "rokkusu", not "rokusu"...
"St Roch" is "Sei Rokusu", in Japanese, so if Miura got the name from that...
Aww damn, he's right! No Rocks after all... =p~
Yup, St. Roch is spelled "rokusu" in kana. However, "Locus" is also spelled "rokusu". To complicate things, Gustav Lochs is spelled "rokusu" as well. o_O; What to do, what to do??

As for Sonia, Mule, Irvine, and Grunbeld, I'm not positive on any of their kana, so I couldn't make my own judgments... if it's "sonia", "myuuru", "aabain", and "gurunberudo", then yeah, I agree completely with at least Mule and Irvine, Sonia could be Sonya or Sonja as well, and lord knows on Grunbeld. ^_^;

Anyway, thanks for the insight! =D
 
just to add on to this, ive seen the homeland of Adon and Samson spelled "Chuda", though i have reason to believe it may be "Tuda". wasnt there a war between Tuda and England (France????) long, long ago? so could this be what Miura intended? i mean, he did mean for it to take place in a real time frame at first, right?
 

Graywords

Bettychu, I choose YOU!
Haven't checked on "Tuda", but I know there was some speculation that he was basing it on the Tudor dynasty.
 
Hmm... and that seems to actually be a name... so yeah, that's possible.  Although I wonder why they spelled it how they did in kana...
It doesn't seem _that_ weird to me?
It does make sense to base it off the official spellings, but to me it doesn't fit with the rest of the names... nearly all the rest are based off real European/Mediterranean names.  Judo just seems... out of place.  *shrug*  Just a nagging feeling, nothing more.
I guess, but then again, names ending in "o" aren't that uncommon in Europe... Judo isn't necessarily from a "England", "France" or "Germany"-like country, after all. ^^
And we have that guy called "Serpico". ^^
I'd chalk it up to bad romanization instead. ^_-  Lord knows how many *official* sources I've seen that list the main character of Slayers as "Rina Invers", master of the "Drug Slave". ;)  
Yeah, I tend to trust official spellings, but this one just doesn't fit. There may be some kind of explanation, but for now, I still use "Rickert".
It's another one of those "just doesn't look right" things, at least to me.  Seems like if they *really* meant to have an "o" at the end, they would've spelled it "zoddoo" with a long "o"?
Not necessarily? Why?
To me it's analagous to seeing an official spelling saying "Goddo Hand".
But I've never seen that. ^_^;
I seem to remember seeing that too, but once again, odd kana to use for it! o.o
Is it? ^^;
I don't know, I'd think it could work...
"Genon" too may look "weird", as you could say that like in the words "gene" or "germany", for example?
That makes it look like someone with a "Boss complex", ne? =p~
That, or a "boss convention". ^^
Then again, words can be romanized two different ways, sometimes.
'Dunno. I looked for the word "waiarudo" in kana on Google Japan, and I seem to remember that apart from Berserk pages... Well, it just didn't look like it was used for the word "wild", anyway.
I _think_ there was a minor Gundam character whose name was spelled "waiarudo" too, but I really don't know if it comes from that, and even if it does, I'm not sure there's a way to find out how it's supposed to be spelled in alphabet in that context... ^^;
Take "energy", for example.  Usually one sees "enerugii", which is a spelling romanization.  But every once in a while you'll see "enajii" instead, which is more correct, in English at least.  (I don't *think* they got "enerugii" from any other language, at least... o.o)
Actually, they did. ^_^;
It comes from German, and it's generally more commonly used than the "English" "enaji-".
By the way, did you know why  there are two different spellings, "garasu" and "gurasu" for "glass" (matter) and "glass" (container)? "Gurasu" does come from the English word "glass", but "garasu" actually comes from the Dutch word "glas". ^^
My point being: it's not always English, even when it kinda looks like it. ^^
Haven't seen an official spelling for this o.o  Where?
On a telecard, some time ago.
An official spelling... off the OGST, you mean?
No, I wasn't thinking about that. As a matter of fact, I think the tracks are written in Japanese, not in alphabet?
But it was spelled "Niko" on the official website, and all the other spellings fit ("Guts", "Casca", "Puck", ... "Zoddo" ^_- ), so...
Yup, St. Roch is spelled "rokusu" in kana.  However, "Locus" is also spelled "rokusu".  To complicate things, Gustav Lochs is spelled "rokusu" as well. o_O;  What to do, what to do??
I don't know either. ^^;;;
As for Sonia, Mule, Irvine, and Grunbeld, I'm not positive on any of their kana, so I couldn't make my own judgments...
It's "so-nya", "myu-ru" and "a-vain".
I'm pretty sure about "Irvine", and "Mule" is probably correct as well.
As for "so-nya"...
On Google Japan:
"So-nya" (kana) and "sonia" (alphabet) -> 54 pages
"So-nya" (kana) and "sonja" (alphabet) -> 64 pages
"So-nya" (kana) and "sonya" (alphabet) -> 72 pages
(but I think "sonya" gets more hits because some people just went with the kana spelling ^_^;; )
So far, I like "Sonja" better, because it looks like "sonia" is generally written... well, "sonia".
"Sonia" (kana) and "sonia" (alphabet) -> 2000 pages
"Sonia" (kana) and "sonja" (alphabet) -> 82 pages
"Sonia" (kana) and "sonya" (alphabet) -> 165 pages
That, and there's "Sonja Blue". ^^;
But there's no way to tell for sure, really... -__-;;
and lord knows on Grunbeld. ^_^;
Yep... For all we know, it may turn out to be something like "Groeneveld"! ^^;;
Anyway, thanks for the insight! =D
You're welcome, I actually like doing some research about all that. ^^
Haven't checked on "Tuda", but I know there was some speculation that he was basing it on the Tudor dynasty.
For a good reason: "Tudor" is written "chu-da-" in kana, just like in Berserk. I'd say it definitely comes from that.
 

Graywords

Bettychu, I choose YOU!
It doesn't seem _that_ weird to me?
I guess you're right, the name itself isn't that weird, not any weirder than Corkus or any other name we've come up with. ^^ I was just remarking on the "Ko" kana translating to "Ka"... wasn't something I see every day. But I'm certain it's possible, especially considering the mention I made about Greek romanization on another thread. There are some weird rules, depending on the language you're romanizing ^.^

I guess, but then again, names ending in "o" aren't that uncommon in Europe... Judo isn't necessarily from a "England", "France" or "Germany"-like country, after all. ^^
And we have that guy called "Serpico". ^^
True. Of course if we just knew exactly what he was trying to base it on... if only searches on "Judo" weren't so saturated with martial arts! ^^;

If you can find an example of the name "Judo" used in ANY country in the Europe/Mediterranean area, let me know. I'll do the same.

Judot is starting to sound good, for some reason... o.o

Yeah, I tend to trust official spellings, but this one just doesn't fit. There may be some kind of explanation, but for now, I still use "Rickert".
"Rickert" sounds good enough, anyway. "Rickelt" is also possible, it's a real name, and arguably it fits the kana better ("rikka-to" being one possible way to spell "Rickert").

Not necessarily? Why?
No, not necessarily, but it does make sense. *Most* words ending in "ddo" or "tto" are going to be ending on just a single or double consonant, as opposed to the "o". I can't think of *any* other examples offhand of any romanized words that end in "tto" or "ddo". "Godot" and "Judo" both have long vowels after their d's to confirm the pronunciation of the o's, ne?

Note that I'm not talking about Serpico or Isidro here, since "ko" and "ro" are never used to complete words ending in "c" or "r". That would be "ku" and "ru". ^^

To me it's analagous to seeing an official spelling saying "Goddo Hand".


But I've never seen that. ^_^;
Me either, but seeing "Zoddo" in English letters looks about as weird to me as if I were to see "Goddo". And I wouldn't be surprised to see "Goddo" somewhere ^.^

All in all, considering there are several official sources that have "Zoddo" listed, it's more than likely the correct spelling... but it still bugs me as looking "off". Not because I'm used to any particular spelling, but because it looks like "bad engrish". ^_^

Besides, Miura could've been a Superman II fan! =p~ That general was pretty sci-fi ;)

Is it? ^^;
I don't know, I'd think it could work...
"Genon" too may look "weird", as you could say that like in the words "gene" or "germany", for example?
It's just strange to me to see a "ga" in one language converted to a "ge" in Japanese. Then again, I'm probably too spoiled on English to realize that it could be common in other languages!

'Dunno. I looked for the word "waiarudo" in kana on Google Japan, and I seem to remember that apart from Berserk pages... Well, it just didn't look like it was used for the word "wild", anyway.
Yeah, I just took a look too, I didn't look very closely but I didn't see much either.

Maybe we're overlooking something? Some other variant on how to spell it? There's about nothing but Berserk hits on the English "Wyald" as well...

Of course, not every name has to have a reference, I suppose... and "Wild" still sounds possible to me.

Actually, they did. ^_^;
It comes from German, and it's generally more commonly used than the "English" "enaji-".
By the way, did you know why there are two different spellings, "garasu" and "gurasu" for "glass" (matter) and "glass" (container)? "Gurasu" does come from the English word "glass", but "garasu" actually comes from the Dutch word "glas". ^^
My point being: it's not always English, even when it kinda looks like it. ^^
I stand corrected. ^_^ Note that I did recognize the possibility that "enerugi-" was from another language after all, I just didn't know about it. Thanks for the info!

No, I wasn't thinking about that. As a matter of fact, I think the tracks are written in Japanese, not in alphabet?

Not on the OST, at least. "Gats" was a glaring error ^_^; Not sure about the OGST.

But it was spelled "Niko" on the official website, and all the other spellings fit ("Guts", "Casca", "Puck", ... "Zoddo" ^_- ), so...
See, I didn't know about Berserk back when the official website was around, sadly ;_; Anyone have a cached copy of it laying around from ancient times?

It's "so-nya", "myu-ru" and "a-vain".
And "gurunberudo"? If so, I'll update my original post =)

So far, I like "Sonja" better, because it looks like "sonia" is generally written... well, "sonia".
With "So-nya" written like that, I'd definitely have to go with either Sonya or Sonja, and I admit that I like Sonja better as well. ^_-

Yep... For all we know, it may turn out to be something like "Groeneveld"! ^^;;
You found that page too? Very interesting, I think it might be Groeneveld after all =D
http://members.tripod.com/~Groeneveld_Families/Names-association-Groeneveld.htm

You're welcome, I actually like doing some research about all that. ^^

That's what makes translating so fun, sometimes. :p ;D
 

Lliugusamui

around the corner
Yep... For all we know, it may turn out to be something like "Groeneveld"! ^^;;

If I may, i'd say Groeneveld is a too recent name
Moreover, there was a king of burgundy ( around Lyon, Soissons, Dijon... ) who was given a clepsydra by Theodoric the Great ( well that's not important ) of the Ostrogoths. He was a 5e century ruler, brother of Chilpéric and uncle of Clothilde ( the future wife of Hludwig = Clovis of the Franks ).
He's well-known for his laws ( Montesquieu tell us about it, if I remember well ) as the laws of the duels and some stuff... I believe that he was not very loved in his family, far from it.
Well, I barely forgot to name him : Gundebald.
 

Markaveli

Peace out, homie!
.Re: Berserk names, revisited!

Groeneveld is a Dutch word, it litteraly means "Green Field". (If you take the 'e' at the end of 'Groene' away)
It sounds like the last name of a Dutch person.
 

Lliugusamui

around the corner
And it can't be the correct spelling, sorry. ^^;
indeed i'm not a specialist, but if Graywords is right with the "gurunberudo",
could not it be a "r" which is kinda liquid ( hey, i understand myself ! ) disappeared to make appear the occidental morph, and the 2 u transcripted in a long germanic spelling
maybe i'm wrong, but i still hope
you know what : the coming of miura in such threads could be really useful and determinative, plz come on ! :-*
oh ! and i guess also that there used to be a R in Gundebald, for it may have the same origin as Groeneveld , seing the v/b connection, and the "gun" may have been grun, like the deutsch grün, so there'd be a link with groene.
you could argue with the middle D ... the fact is when a d is near a b, it often disappear, as in Robert ( Hrod + Bert ), and the ND form of a word could not be totally stranger to us.
hey don't kick with that pseudo-pleonasme i'd made with grund ( the ground )and bald ( here the field )
 
This is slightly off-topic but I was curious about the pronunciation of words with vowels one after another. I've read that in Japanese you pronounce each letter individually and two of the same vowel in a row just make a longer sound. According to that you would pronounce "kawaii" as "kah-wah-ee"("ee" as in cheese), right? However I don't understand why people say "Jubei" as "jew-bay" and not "jew-bay-e" ("e" as in "me"). Is the second vowel just ignored sometimes if there aren't three consecutive vowels ? I know "Gattsu" sounds like "Gatts" in the anime so are ending vowels not pronounced in general?  ???
 

Spike

"AAghh! Get off of me you crazy bitch!" - Bruce C.
Two vowels together do indeed make the sound longer. The two ii's in kawaii ;) elongates the length of the ii sound to two syllables instead of only one.
And for your other question, I'm not entirely certain, but when it comes to the "extra" vowels sounds on the end of a word or name: i.e. Gattsu; the extra u or oo is pronounced, only it's a very subtle prouncing. It's a whispered sound instead of a pronounced sound; because of every Japanese syllable being composed of a consonant and a vowel, (with the exception of the 'n' sound) the extra a's, i's, u's, and o's, are unavoidable even in katakana (extraneous words). In short, the vowels at the end are pronounced, only subtley. And, generally, to a non-native speaker, are too subtle to hear. Whoo... :p
 

Graywords

Bettychu, I choose YOU!
Another explanation is how you write them in symbols. In the Hiragana chart, the vowels 'i' ("kawaii") 'a' ("aaiu") and 'u' ("kuukan") become double-vowels. The other vowels are generally different. Long e's are usually "ei" ("Jubei"), and long o's are usually "ou" ("ohayou"). Of course, there are exceptions to these too... "ee/yes" and "ookii/big" are two examples.

In Katakana it's different, and long vowels are almost ALWAYS represented by a dash mark instead, eliminating the problem of differing long-vowels. Note that long vowels are pretty much always pronounced the same, no matter what kana or spelling you use.

Is this confusing? o_O I've been up a LONG time...
 

Spike

"AAghh! Get off of me you crazy bitch!" - Bruce C.
Don't worry, it makes since. But instead of the "ei" and "ou" for the double vowel sound in hiragana, wouldn't it be better to just add a small "tsu"?

Damn finals... :-X
 
Don't worry, it makes since.  But instead of the "ei" and "ou" for the double vowel sound in hiragana, wouldn't it be better to just add a small "tsu"?  
Small "tsu" have nothing to do with long vowels, they're used to "double" the following consonant.
 

angelene

( out of the blue)            into the dar k.
the only problem with spelling ZODD's name as 'ZODDO' is that... what it brings up to my mind is... 'ZORRO'...

And those ridiculous opening titles of the telefilm from the 80s.

oh my... don't make me think about it, I could die  out of endless giggling...  

:D :D 8)
 

Graywords

Bettychu, I choose YOU!
Don't worry, it makes since. But instead of the "ei" and "ou" for the double vowel sound in hiragana, wouldn't it be better to just add a small "tsu"?


Small "tsu" have nothing to do with long vowels, they're used to "double" the following consonant.

I think I know where that comes from... the only time you hear the small "tsu" pronounced as a long vowel, is during music/songs. I'm not sure exactly WHY they pronounce double-consonants as double-vowels in songs, but it's something I've noticed ever since I started listening to Japanese music. *shrugs*

In everyday conversation, the small "tsu" is never used to indicate a long vowel, as Olivier said.
 

Spike

"AAghh! Get off of me you crazy bitch!" - Bruce C.
Small "tsu" have nothing to do with long vowels, they're used to "double" the following consonant.

Yep, my error ;)

what it brings up to my mind is... 'ZORRO'...

heeheehee

the only time you hear the small "tsu" pronounced as a long vowel, is during music/songs. I'm not sure exactly WHY they pronounce double-consonants as double-vowels in songs, but it's something I've noticed ever since I started listening to Japanese music.

I'm thinking that the singer probably does it to make the word(s) fit into the song...however, that's only a very uneducated guess...
 
R

Radzeke

Guest
Graywords said:
^_^Well, a long, long time ago, in a thread far, far away, I tried to get the Berserk community to agree on names for all the characters, by trying to find out what the most likely spellings that Miura had found were. Using trial and error, and our 1337 google skillz, we found that one of the most common possibilities for "gu-ru-n-be-ru-do" was "Groenveld". Hence, I used it in my recent translation. ^_^ Note that I did the same in an older translation as well for "Rosine". It's not the most popular translation of "ro-shi-i-nu", but it's one of the possibilities with the most google hits. ^_^; Not that that *means* anything, it's just statistically a likely spelling.

(if anybody can find that old thread, it'd be much appreciated... no luck here @_@;)

You're welcome, I was just thinking about this thread the other night too.
 
O

Ozmo

Guest
Hmmmm...

Void -> Bloyd

Perhap t'is what he as called before he became a God Hand? ;D

I think Rakshas could be at the very least a reference to Rakshasa, a errr... common fantasy cliche monster.
 
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