Kana for kids!

[muckefuck]

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!

Comments

[carneggy.livejournal.com]

And a deeper websearch points to the fish classification of "Family Sillaginidae - Smelt-whitings":

Here's a good link, too.

Apparently a lot of the species of that family are called variations on 'sillago'.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Mmm, the more you know, the tastier they sound! "Forget the fatty tuna--do you have any smelt-whiting?"

[niemandsrose.livejournal.com]

Here it is!

[carneggy.livejournal.com]

Smelt-whiting sounds like toothpaste technology.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

"With the world's first great taste of FISH!"

[snowy-owlet.livejournal.com]

Oh thank goodness. That word was driving me MAD!

[niemandsrose.livejournal.com]

"Fishbase.org" sounds like a good place to look for tasty soup! But it is not.

[carneggy.livejournal.com]

Sure, but I've very rarely encountered any sort of fish-soup that I'd consider 'tasty'.

Crustacean-based soup, that's a different kettle of, er, nevermind! That's a tasty soup indeed.

[niemandsrose.livejournal.com]

...mmmm, Nabe-Udon.

[cpratt.livejournal.com]

How... weird. I did notice that "sillag" is in the OED, which is apparently a synonym for "sillock", which is "a young coal-fish." Now, a coal-fish is God knows what - cod? pollock? sablefish? And does that have any relation to any Sillago proper?

Language is hard. Let's go shopping!

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

AFAICT from Fishbase, any relationship would be at the level of Order (Perciformes). Sillago looks Latinate, but I can't find a Latin etymon, so perhaps it is derived from dialectal English sillago. It gets tough, after all, to come up with fresh names for all them fishies!

[niemandsrose.livejournal.com]

Well, Fishbase (new toy! new toy!) says a coal-fish is a pollock, in the cod family. It also says it's harmless. Thank goodness!

(I'm off to see if I can just look up all the *dangerous* fishes now!)