Ronny Hedin wrote:
Well, that's because Sayonara doesn't really translate properly to
"farewell." It's my understanding that people only say "sayonara" when
they never expect to see that person again. Otherwise, you're right,
"farewell" would have sufficed... under other circumstances.
Now, beyond the school-bench, my practical experience of Japanese
only comes from watching more anime than is healthy (and too many
volumes of manga, judging by the amount of squeezing required on my
bookshelf), but based on that, I would say that added sense of
finality in "sayonara" as compared to "farewell" is not enough to
warrant it's use here.
Well, I have Nodoka say "sayonara," because she means "goodbye forever,"
so I think that alone warrents its use. However, I welcome any
suggestions for a succinct English word that conveys the same meaning.
My brain is fried at the moment, so I can't think of a thing. ^_^
Krista