This is an attempt to bring some accuracy and consistency to names of non-western actors and actress to the DVDP community. The problems inherent with converting non-western names to western centric program such as DVDP are that the alphabets and conventions are vastly different. Chinese, Japanese, and Korean names are written using unique Asian characters and cannot easily be input into current version of the program due to absence of unicode support. Even if the program was fully unicode compliant, you would not neccessarily want to solely input Asian names in their native characters, because they would be unreadable to any one who is unfamiliar with the language.

Japanese names are more complex than Korean names but not nearly as difficult as HK/Chinese names.

1. As with all Asian names, Japanese names are written Surname followed by Given name. (ie. Mifune, Toshiro; Kurosawa, Akira)

2. There are three common romanization system for Japanese. They are modified Hepburn, Nihon-shiki, and Kunrei-shiki. Modified Hepburn is the best known system in the western world. (refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romaji)

3. Pseudonyms are common, but English names are still relatively rare.

I propose the following for romanizing names of Japanese actors/actresses into the master name database.

1. All names for Japanese actors and actresses will be written using the modified Hepburn romanization system, with the following adjustment: long vowel sounds will be written using the waapuro variation for kana spellings rather than using macrons or circumflexes (eg: Toukyou, tooi, kyuu).
Mifune, Toshirou instead of Mifune, Toshiro

2. All actors and actress will have their name parsed into surname - Last name and given name - First name. Accuracy of parsing will rely on native experts, but may be challenged with proof of error.

3. When native actors and actress also have a western name or a nick name they would be placed into the middle name field (nickname in "")

4. All names will be input into the cast list using above rules unless there is an English version of their name on the credit screen, in which case, credited name would be inputed into the database using the "as credited option" and properly linked to the official name in the main database

5. All roles should be translated unless they are proper names

6. Many actors and actress use pseudonyms. When they sound like conventional names, standard parsing of names into surname and given name should be applied as above.

7. Some actors and actress use pseudonyms that utilize what sounds like given name only. In this case, the name should be parsed into First name field with no Last name.

8. Although these rules attempt to account for most scenarios, there are going to be some ambiguous names from time to time.  Common sense and intent of these rules should be used when names are ambiguous.

Some examples follow (They are in Last Name/First Name format, but there is an option in the program to display names in First Name/Last Name format):

Kurosawa/Akira/
Mifune/Toshirou/
Miike/Takashi/
Kitano/Takeshi/Beat

I welcome your input. I know this effects very few of you, but this is an important issue to some of us who collect these movies.

Thank you for reading,

AGAIN!!!! Some more and still????

xradman as I raed this you are attempting to redefin the entire structure for ONE cultural norm. I don't see any place that you are suggesting this does NOT take precedence over AS CREDITED or to use the Credited AS (Alias) system. We make NO provision for ANY cultural norms, EXCEPT whatever the norm that is applied by the filmmakers. The determine the cultural norm. We don't make any provision, for French norms or German norms, except through the Alias system. I am not interested in watching the database tuirned into an unworkable mess just to satisfy a cultural procilvity.

We don't do François when the credits say Francois other than through the Alias, nor do we do Björn when the credits say Bjorn. Now IF and only IF you are referring to the Alias system, maybe, but otherwise keep it local.

Skip 

I remembered the post but didn't catcjh that it had been bumped. Sorry about that xradman.

Skip

Quoting reybr:

Quote:
Skip, you did notice that xradman posted this back in March? This isn't a post he made now. It was bumped by Professor Desty Nove

And it is about the common name and not about the credited as name. And then it's about names written with characters which are not supported in profiler and have to be romanised.

Quoting skipnet50:

Quote:
NO we don't.

Skip

Is this the five minutes argument or the full half hour?

No argument, that's THE answer.

Skip

What is cultural proclivity?

Quoting Martin_Zuidervliet:

Quote:
Indeed, it has to be FRANÇOIS for that.

In French the capital letter matching "ç" is "C".