OBJECTIVES:

Furigana (used for Japanese) is a phonetic notation which accompanies the traditional Japanese Kanji characters in the form of small symbols alongside or above the original character. These symbols aid the reader to pronounce characters out phonetically to understand the meaning of the text, principally employed in texts for children and language learners. This study concentrates on its application and importance of use in COAs intended for children.

METHODS:

To understand the relevance and application of furigana within COAs, research was conducted into its cultural use to assess the necessity of its presence in the final translation. Academic studies and feedback from 32 native speakers/developers were collated. This data was analysed to verify if the use of the phonetic notations is applicable in COAs for children. The results were set into 3 items of preference for learners of kanji, ‘text with furigana’, ‘no furigana’ or ‘other (descriptions)’.

RESULTS:

Considering furigana usage for respondents, 65.6% reported that if there was no furigana to assist in reading, a page with a high density of kanji was considered daunting. When asked if they preferred ‘text with furigana’, ‘no furigana’ or ‘other’, 63.3% of respondents opted for text with furigana.

CONCLUSIONS:

The results highlight that the safer option is to apply furigana to the translations; ensuring children can easily understand each character and reduce the risk of misinterpretation. Expert feedback showed that furigana is seldom used in most texts for adults and is usually used for clarification and pronunciation. However, it is frequently used in books for children or non-native speakers learning the language and therefore should always be considered when translating COAs aimed at children into Japanese.