[OT?] What is a kawanaga? (I'm Japanese!)

[ninthcouncil]

The appearance is definitely Japanese rather than Chinese, and indeed the elements have some meaning in themselves; "kawa" means "river", I believe, while poking around online Japanese resources threw up "naga" in several compund words where it appeared to mean "long".

Syunsuke - have you ever even seen the word written in kanji, or only in English sources?

Apart from a couple of instances as a Japanese surname, I could also find only a few references, all in the context of ninja. Given the poor signal-to-noise ratio in western writing about ninja, this isn't much assistance.

 

[tarchon]

Actually, all chinese (and vietnamese if anyone cares) pronounced correctly are monosyllabic. But in order to describe something, they usually link 2 or more words together to get a name. Each word has a meaning, and combined, makes a distinct name.

It depends on what you want to call a word. Most, though not quite all, of the fundamental structural units (morphemes) in Mandarin are monosyllables, but as you say, most expressions are disyllables. It's usually difficult to translate the English "word" into Chinese, since the traditional analysis of language in China doesn't really divide utterances up in the same way it's traditionally done in the West.
It's pretty irrelevant to analyzing the language of kawanaga though. Whether a Chinese "word" looks monosyllabic or polysyllabic depends on how you want to write it. Dianhua or dian hua, whichever. Kawanaga is actually a Japanese surname, so I don't think there's much doubt that the origin is Japanese, however strangely it's been interpreted by ninja movie fans.

 

[alsih2o]

Actually, all chinese (and vietnamese if anyone cares) pronounced correctly are monosyllabic.

i am admittedly working from a limited base, but ceramic textbooks and several chinese potters have all told me that "gama" means whole, and it has 2 syllables....

 

[Balgus]

tarchon:
It's usually difficult to translate the English "word" into Chinese, since the traditional analysis of language in China doesn't really divide utterances up in the same way it's traditionally done in the West.
Whether a Chinese "word" looks monosyllabic or polysyllabic depends on how you want to write it. Dianhua or dian hua

I completely agree. That was my point actually- I gues I am not as good at explaining my thoughts.

Balgus:
Actually, all chinese (and vietnamese if anyone cares) pronounced correctly are monosyllabic.

OK- maybe I shot myself in the foot by saying "ALL", because we all know that these statements are almost always false.

 

[alsih2o]

oops, the words i quoted were japanese, major brainfart on my part, apologies all around

 

[WizarDru]

OK- maybe I shot myself in the foot by saying "ALL", because we all know that these statements are almost always false.

That's got to be the most ironic thing I've heard all week.

Is it possible that the name is purely invented, possibly with a root meaning based on Japanese, but not actually factual? None of my weapon or Japanese history texts are here at work, so I couldn't search if I wanted to. Call me cynical, but ninja web sites somehow don't strike me as, well, reliable....

[slashing sound is heard....thin line of blood appears at WizarDru's neck...head starts slidding off...]

"Utsukushi....a perfect....cut....."

[thud]

 

[alsih2o]

Call me cynical, but ninja web sites somehow don't strike me as, well, reliable....

thus my quotes, implying derision

 

[Balgus]

wizardru:
That's got to be the most ironic thing I've heard all week

I know. it kinda irks me too whenever I have to say that. Butit is true- there is always an exception to every statement- and you can always think of a situation that can prove a statement false.

ok- i will stop at that...

 

[jfiz]

heh....all I can think of.

In reading this thread, with the *cough* veiled *cough* references to ninjas all over the place, all I can think of is a headline from the onion I read some time ago...

Disgruntled Ninja slays co-workers. Film at 11.

 

[Syunsuke]

Thank you for your replays.

Kawanaga sounds Japanese, but isn't.
As a surname, though not so comon, Kawanaga isn't strange.

Some Japanese RPG use the word "Kawanaga" as a joke, but it's always written in katakana,phonogramic letters, and accompanied by expanation "a strange foreign RPG lingo, that means fook with rope and is supposed as Japanese". I haven't seen kawanaga written in Kanji.

I think possible etymology of KAWANAGA is KAGINAWA.
KAGI means a hook and NAWA means rope.
But I think tarchon's "strangely interpreted surname" theory is interesting.
Probably most RPG designer don't confirm this word