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Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2005 11:41 pm
by Boeing 737-400
Wow, I never knew they were called Ace Tone!
So, could someone spell out how a Japanese person would say "Roland" and put me out of my misery!
Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 1:19 am
by OysterRock
I don't think you can spell it out in English. The Japanese language doesn't have "L" or "R" sound, but rather something in between the two that doesn't exist in English. Watch some subtitled Japanese movies to find out what I mean. I recommend "FLCL" or Furi Kuri" or Fooly Kooly" as a starting point
Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 8:06 am
by hieronymous
Boeing 737-400 wrote:So, could someone spell out how a Japanese person would say "Roland" and put me out of my misery!
Actually, now that I think about it more, it's not all that mysterious - I don't know the origins of the name, but it's probably borrowed from the regular name "Roland" - maybe it was the name of a character in a book that the founder liked. In Japanese both sounds are pronounced the same, which is what threw me off initially...
Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 7:30 pm
by Sweep
Roland is a hero in Medieval romances. The Japanese guy who started the company wanted something that sounded European, so he chose something that most Europeans have never heard of.
He also registered the name of Roland's arch-enemy so none of his competitors would use it.