Flavors of “I”: Adapting First-Person Pronouns Between Japanese and English

 By Robbye Raisher, GlobalSaké NextGen Roundtable Member

Anyone whose first language is English or another non-CCJK language knows that Japanese is difficult to study, and by extension to translate. When localizing popular Japanese media (such as manga, anime, or video games) for an overseas market, it is important to keep these language-specific localization challenges in mind.

To me, the linguistic portrayal of gender is one of the most fascinating ways in which Japanese differs from English. In English, gendered pronouns such as “he,” “she,” and “they” are used to indicate the gender identity of the person referenced, but the first person “I” is used universally without any variation. For example, in the sentence “she went to the store,” it is easy to tell that the subject of the sentence is female; on the other hand, in the sentence “I went to the store,” there is no way to know anything about the speaker’s identity.

In contrast, Japanese uses a wide variety of gendered first-person pronouns that can indicate not only the gender, but also the age and sometimes even the personality of the speaker depending on the context. The following examples are just a few of the variations of “I” used in Japanese and their distinctions:

• 私 (watashi): Gender-neutral when used in formal settings, more feminine when used in casual settings

• あたし (atashi): Female only, more casual 

• 俺 (ore): Male only, cannot be used formally, has a masculine/harsh impression

• 僕 (boku): Male only, more casual, softer and also used by children

• うち (uchi): Kansai-regional, popular with young girls 

How do we as localizers tackle this nuance? Consider the following table, in which each of the above first-person pronouns is used in a Japanese sentence and then translated to English:

Japanese Sentence	Romaji (English Pronunciation)	English Translation
私は店に行きました。	Watashi wa mise ni ikimashita.	I went to the store.
あたしは店に行きました。	Atashi wa mise ni ikimashita.	I went to the store.
俺は店に行きました。	Ore wa mise ni ikimashita.	I went to the store.
僕は店に行きました。	Boku wa mise ni ikimashita.	I went to the store.
うちは店に行きました。	Uchi wa mise ni ikimashita.	I went to the store.

In Japanese, each of these sentences uses a different first-person pronoun, and thus portrays a slightly different nuance about the speaker. However, in English, the literal translation would be exactly the same each time, as “I” is always expressed in the same manner. 

Translating this nuance in both directions can be difficult, and a mistranslation of gender-specific language can break the reader’s immersion. One example arises in the Japanese translation of the game Fallout 4, in which the player can choose to play as either a male or female character. However, because the Japanese dialogue defaults to a masculine speech pattern, the experience is jarring for Japanese players who choose to play as the female character. In another example, in the popular life simulator Stardew Valley, the inconsistent localization means the characters switch back and forth between male and female speech — sometimes in the same dialogue. On the other hand, when translating from Japanese to English, although diverse first-person pronouns do not exist in English, characters can still express these identities and personality traits in other ways. For example, since a man using the pronoun 俺 (ore) might be portrayed as rougher or less refined, the localization might reflect this by having the character use stereotypically rougher words in English. 

One way localizers can avoid awkward and unnatural language is to put together a style guide of characters’ personality traits and speech patterns before beginning the localization process, ideally checked for cultural acceptability by speakers of both the source and target language. By building such a framework and treating the process of portraying different identities with respect, we can maintain consistency in our translations and provide a better user experience.

For more in-depth examples of gendered translations (and mistranslations) in games, I would recommend the Legends of Localization article on the topic.