There have been a few comments about Ranma's difficulty pronouncing
Allison's name. I contacted her this morning, and she (after laughing her
head off) directed me to some notes from her journal, which appear on her
web page. Here is the excerpt:
Japanese kids have issues with my name. I don't know what they find so
difficult about "Allison," but whenever I introduce myself to a class for
the first time, they are bound to repeat it in perplexed tones, usually
getting it wrong, sometimes with hilarious results.
Often, upon hearing my name, they simply test out variations on it,
murmuring "Arisa??" or "Arisu??" amongst themselves.
But sometimes, I get responses like "Arashi?!?" which means "storm," and is
also the name of a current teen idol pop group. (kind of like Backstreet
Boys) I usually respond by laughingly singing a line from their hit song.
:D But that's not all...I had one student call me "Amazon." It DOES sorta
sound like the Japanese pronunciation of my name (Arison). Yep, that's me...
Assistant English Teacher Warrior Princess!! Amazon. And then today I got
called "BISON." Ehhhhh?!? Bison?! Hmph, thanks a lot, kid!! Heheh oh well.
:)
They all learn my name eventually... I am always impressed when I see some
of my students around town, and they actually remember my name correctly.
Considering that I see each class once or twice every term, and I don't get
to know any of their names, I really am pleased when I hear
"Arison-senseiiiii!!" called out on the street. My students are so cute. :)
thought you might appreciate that!
June