Kana for kids!

Today I'm working on Japanese children's books because, well, as I've mentioned before, I'm the only one here who knows how. (And--as I've doubtless also mentioned before--it's a sad day indeed when I'm your kanji expert.) Right now I'm looking at what must be the crudest internationalisation job ever. We have here the regular Japanese edition--cover all in kana--with English text printed on what look like Post-Its pasted over the Japanese text. As a co-worker remarked, it's sure to teach kids the languages since they'll yank off the slips in no time and be left with nothing but hiragana.

I also have to wonder if anyone told the translators where the text was going. The grammar is flawless, bu there is much talk of catching and eating "sillaginoids". (As another co-worker said, "I vaguely recognise that as a term referring to a form of life." "Good thing we teach 'em phonics!" I replied.) The frickin' OED doesn't even have this word! However, a quick web search finds that you can easily buy merchandise with the corresponding kanji. Be the first on your block to advertise your sillaginoidophilia!

Ex ano meo CJK!

I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling I've got the most tech-unsavvy boss on the planet.

Just now, she came by and asked if I had "Asian fonts" and, if so, could I look at this URL for her. I do. (I actually had to make a formal request for installation of CJK character support because of a local computing policy so numbingly restrictive...forget it, rant for another time.) I did. She asked, "How did you get them?" I said I'd requested them. The site didn't come up, for reasons I don't (care to) understand, but I demonstrated my MAGICAL ability to read characters by Googling the Chinese title of The water margin. Ta da! She asked again,
"How did you get them?"
"I requested them."
"But who'd you request them from?"
"From IT."

Playing dumb would've been much more entertaining:

"Oh, I got them from the skeevy-looking guy what hangs out by Government Publications. He had them on a floppy."

"I dunno where they came from. They just appeared overnight."

"You need to put a character dictionary between the monitor and the CPU."

Edit: (Suggested by coworker) "It was a dream request. When I awoke, there were Asian fonts on my pillow!"

But evaluation time is here again, so I'd better not taunt happy fun ball.