Wednesday, 5 March 2014

Matthew 1.1 - 1.16 how about using English pronunciation?

Let's take a look at Bible from Matthew.  At the begging of the chapter (1.1 - 1.16), names are listed.  In Japanese bible, these names are based on Spanish (or Portuguese?).  Let's me show you the example. 

David is "ダビデ (dabide)
Issac is "イサク" (isaku)
Jacob is "ヤコブ (yacobu)
Joseph is "ヨセフ (yosehu)

I can say confidently that Japanese speaking people are much more familiar with English pronunciation of these names than Spanish one.  

For example, most Japanese people know David because they know David Beckham or David Bowie.  Issac is famous because of Issac Newton, and Jacob is the name of clothing store in the mall. 

On the other hand, most Japanese people have not heard of the names of   "ダビデ (dabide)" or "イサク (isaku)" in our daily life.

So why don't we use English names instead of traditional Spanish names?
In this way I think that people can relate to Bible more and want to read it more.


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