Cross posting to tumblr because I once again spent way too long writing a reddit essay and I wanna get the full social media milage out of my efforts to be witty XP
Topic: translating Kansai-ben ( the Kansai region local japanese dialect) to english
As an American I tend to equate Kansai Ben with either a state-side accent or English from another majority english speaking country like Britian or Australia or New Zealand. And I tend to separate kyoto, kobe and Osaka kansai-ben because that's what my Tokyo based language teachers always did. :P Ymmv
If we're assuming Tokyo Ben as the default modern japanese then imo Kyoto Ben should be more vintage and aesthetic sounding if that makes sense?
So since I'm from ohio, to me that lines up with the upper class Southern Belle style or the trans-Atlantic accent from the Golden age of Hollywood. Prim but with warm undertones. A bit old fashioned but articulate, peppered with familial informalities like calling everyone "dahling"/"dawling" and colloquial metaphors like "prettier than a magnolia in may", or "jumping like a cat on a hot tin roof". The trans Atlantic accent also seems to enjoy alliteration more than most, like "you positively primordial perverted pilferer!" Multisyllable words too, to show off that upper class education & cultural refinement. Lilting, musical, sonorous. Transatlantic is more chipper and clippy than southern Belle, which has much more of a breezy draaawwwl. It's too hot to go fast, and besides, you're already in the south, the prettiest location on earth surrounded by luxury. Why rush anywhere? Is the southern belle mentality. XD
Outside of the states, it's probably closer to "speaking posh" in England or (to my ear) new zealand accent over casual Australian. Actually new zealand probably works for all of Kansai- although I admit I have no expertise in the Austronesian regional dialects, so gain of salt.
Osaka is known for its comedy and industrial scene, while being super casual so more like new yawker, or urban south. AAVE loanwords throughout, although in this case watered down significantly from their real life counterparts. AAVE is a rightfully delicate subject with a lot of historical weight to it, specifically American black history, and I wouldnt wanna reduce that too far out of its context by putting it into the mouth of a character in a majority population group. 😬
But there are plenty of urban southernisms not exclusive to black folks.
"Y'all," "whassup", "fixing to get some food", "bless your heart", "for sho'". Combining words into new portmateaus or Shortening words but still using those cultural metaphoric references. For example; "tea." "Spilling/pouring tea" means gossip, from the mental image of a bunch of ladies all gathering in a parlour to chat over drinks and snacks. Iced tea, in the south. Usually everyone is sharing titillating stories and privileged information as a social bonding activity that reinforces the 'in group' (the storyteller and the listeners) vs the 'out groups (the absent party the gossip is about). Since most southerners know the tea party metaphor, the time-is-money gotta go fast city dwellers shorten the phrase to just "tea" or "T". It's basically another layer of "in group"/outgroup" division. You get the slang or you don't. Plenty of cultures do this of course, it's not limited to the USA by any means. But the south where I encounter it the most. (A half my family are from raleigh NC, the other from Louisville KY.)
I really like "idjit" for the aho/baka conversion. Also seen it written as "idget" "igiot" "idjet". (Its "Idiot" with a short I & either sped thru or slurred into a soft juh). That's the southern idiot, anyway. A new York idiot is more of a "iddit", almost pronouncing the d twice. Id-di-it or even id-di-et". New York is pretty similar to Osaka in the comedian and fight club department, but it's more like our Tokyo in the population and urban sprawl department.
Boston accent is a bit like a new Yorker that tried to migrate south but fell in love with the letter A and walking in the middle of the road, so it's probably not a bad alternative to Osaka Ben. Especially because they also love sports and have a chip on their shoulder about their northern-east neighbor city being way overrated. A Boston aho would be an "iddiat".
In England this may be closest to a Bristol or Liverpool accent. Mad about their pet sports team despite its dubious win record, famous sense of humor, stereotyped as majority working class blue collar type...and pirates. Oops I meant totally legit aboveboard honest sailors. Clips and shortcuts words, dropping consonants and homogenizing vowels. It's wet and cold and everyone is on the clock, so while there is a drawl in the vowels
It comes off as speedier than most. The frontal H sound was jus' a freeloadin' deadwait anywy. And wa-aisle were a' i', tha'said, the back 't' is be'ind on de rentals, chuck tha' off the side, we've work needs doin'. The back g doesn't go anywhere near the docks if it knows what's good for it. Besides, who can afford an entire verb suffix in this economy?
I realise that advice is better for someone trying to mimic the accent out loud than on paper but a few dropped consonants will probably get the idea across.
I might also consider Australian-isms for Osaka ben. Some of the most direct and casual English on the planet, like osakan is to japanese. They'll tell us what's up, and with plenty of swears added like verbal emojis, both malicious and affectionate. Long rounded vowels because feck it, it's too feckin hot to be fast here, but not as long as southern American drawl because you don't fuck around sipping lemonade (sprite) in Australian heat. You go hunt down some water and shade. Or beer and air conditioning, anyway. Everyone is your pal until they're your *threatening undertones* "pal".
I might be wrong and kobe is a better fit for Australia than Osaka, because the rural 'if you dont like it theres plenty elsewhere you could be' confidence is inseparable from the average Australian accent. Osaka isn't as "forced to be polite because we're all crammed in here together and privacy is at a premium" as Tokyo but it's no outback pioneer either.
I know less about kobe other than it's reputation as being more rural and raising excellent steak. So I can't argue with all the times I've seen it professionally translated as being a Texan accent. I do know Texas though, and it fits the bill of a big rancher state that people forget also has majorly dense cities among all that arable land. They're slower talking, proud and casual with an ironic mix of direct and indirect language.
If anyone is more up on what kobe Ben feels like to a Tokyo-ite I'd love to be corrected <3 language is fun!!!
