Mixing
![Does complaints about leaving hours inappropriate? [closed]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjbpfN9tAutmK93bJRC3ZoROZzi2TJDms5n8_qJuhgE0a9b52OOHayv3NGT8igAdFL7byXNst-_1DZK5SjrIJ28_6RQPUpBROqMs5s6jo-ZsjX8kjDwfxJufIitH3TaQRXWaGSQKRQib-f/s72-c/1.jpg)
Why are police boxes labeled Koban (in roman letters) in Japan?
Clash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP
up vote
22
down vote
favorite
I understand that the word for police box is Koban or 交番 in kanji, but why is the signage always in roman letters - Koban.
My guess would be to make it easier for foreigners to read, but wouldn't they just put the English word instead - "police box"?
Just wondering if anyway knows of a real reason for this.
culture rÃ…Âmaji
asked Aug 20 at 23:36
Mac
455312
add a comment |Â
up vote
22
down vote
favorite
I understand that the word for police box is Koban or 交番 in kanji, but why is the signage always in roman letters - Koban.
My guess would be to make it easier for foreigners to read, but wouldn't they just put the English word instead - "police box"?
Just wondering if anyway knows of a real reason for this.
culture rÃ…Âmaji
asked Aug 20 at 23:36
Mac
455312
add a comment |Â
up vote
22
down vote
favorite
up vote
22
down vote
favorite
I understand that the word for police box is Koban or 交番 in kanji, but why is the signage always in roman letters - Koban.
My guess would be to make it easier for foreigners to read, but wouldn't they just put the English word instead - "police box"?
Just wondering if anyway knows of a real reason for this.
culture rÃ…Âmaji
asked Aug 20 at 23:36
Mac
455312
I understand that the word for police box is Koban or 交番 in kanji, but why is the signage always in roman letters - Koban.
My guess would be to make it easier for foreigners to read, but wouldn't they just put the English word instead - "police box"?
Just wondering if anyway knows of a real reason for this.
culture rÃ…Âmaji
asked Aug 20 at 23:36
Mac
455312
asked Aug 20 at 23:36
Mac
455312
asked Aug 20 at 23:36
Mac
455312
asked Aug 20 at 23:36
Mac
455312
455312
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
up vote
26
down vote
accepted
The answer is right on the è¦視庠(metropolitan police department)'s website.
Basically it says that it is common to use foreign words as-is if there is no similar cultural counterpart, using sumo and kabuki as examples. Koban is an unfamiliar idea in most cultures, so that's why they decided to go with using "koban" as is. The koban system has been introduced in the west.
They also make an effort to reinforce this on their English website.
While "police box" is often used as the closest translation, police boxes are actually very different from koban, in both size and purpose. The MPD probably wants to make this distinction. Also, not every Japanese resident can think up the words "police box" and this can hinder communication with a non-Japanese speaker; they would most certainly be able to point a lost tourist to the nearest "koban".
edited Aug 21 at 12:23
Kobi
20728
answered Aug 21 at 1:06
Jimmy
2,4281610
I did a quick Google search, but go figure the answer was right there. Thanks for hunting this down. Perfect answer!
– Mac
Aug 21 at 12:53
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
I cant comment, but according to
wikipedia
The name kÃ…Âban derives from the name of the earliest structure built in 1874, which were indeed simple boxes meant for standing watch (立番 tachiban) in rotation (交替 kÃ…Âtai), thus creating a compound word consisting of kÃ…Â (交) and ban (番).
Citied from here (archived version) I added the wikipedia cite since, the original is only in japanese.
answered Aug 21 at 9:57
Git
111
3
But how does this explain why it's often written in Romaji?
– muru
Aug 21 at 15:02
add a comment |Â
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
26
down vote
accepted
The answer is right on the è¦視庠(metropolitan police department)'s website.
Basically it says that it is common to use foreign words as-is if there is no similar cultural counterpart, using sumo and kabuki as examples. Koban is an unfamiliar idea in most cultures, so that's why they decided to go with using "koban" as is. The koban system has been introduced in the west.
They also make an effort to reinforce this on their English website.
While "police box" is often used as the closest translation, police boxes are actually very different from koban, in both size and purpose. The MPD probably wants to make this distinction. Also, not every Japanese resident can think up the words "police box" and this can hinder communication with a non-Japanese speaker; they would most certainly be able to point a lost tourist to the nearest "koban".
edited Aug 21 at 12:23
Kobi
20728
answered Aug 21 at 1:06
Jimmy
2,4281610
I did a quick Google search, but go figure the answer was right there. Thanks for hunting this down. Perfect answer!
– Mac
Aug 21 at 12:53
add a comment |Â
up vote
26
down vote
accepted
The answer is right on the è¦視庠(metropolitan police department)'s website.
Basically it says that it is common to use foreign words as-is if there is no similar cultural counterpart, using sumo and kabuki as examples. Koban is an unfamiliar idea in most cultures, so that's why they decided to go with using "koban" as is. The koban system has been introduced in the west.
They also make an effort to reinforce this on their English website.
While "police box" is often used as the closest translation, police boxes are actually very different from koban, in both size and purpose. The MPD probably wants to make this distinction. Also, not every Japanese resident can think up the words "police box" and this can hinder communication with a non-Japanese speaker; they would most certainly be able to point a lost tourist to the nearest "koban".
edited Aug 21 at 12:23
Kobi
20728
answered Aug 21 at 1:06
Jimmy
2,4281610
I did a quick Google search, but go figure the answer was right there. Thanks for hunting this down. Perfect answer!
– Mac
Aug 21 at 12:53
add a comment |Â
up vote
26
down vote
accepted
up vote
26
down vote
accepted
The answer is right on the è¦視庠(metropolitan police department)'s website.
Basically it says that it is common to use foreign words as-is if there is no similar cultural counterpart, using sumo and kabuki as examples. Koban is an unfamiliar idea in most cultures, so that's why they decided to go with using "koban" as is. The koban system has been introduced in the west.
They also make an effort to reinforce this on their English website.
While "police box" is often used as the closest translation, police boxes are actually very different from koban, in both size and purpose. The MPD probably wants to make this distinction. Also, not every Japanese resident can think up the words "police box" and this can hinder communication with a non-Japanese speaker; they would most certainly be able to point a lost tourist to the nearest "koban".
edited Aug 21 at 12:23
Kobi
20728
answered Aug 21 at 1:06
Jimmy
2,4281610
The answer is right on the è¦視庠(metropolitan police department)'s website.
Basically it says that it is common to use foreign words as-is if there is no similar cultural counterpart, using sumo and kabuki as examples. Koban is an unfamiliar idea in most cultures, so that's why they decided to go with using "koban" as is. The koban system has been introduced in the west.
They also make an effort to reinforce this on their English website.
While "police box" is often used as the closest translation, police boxes are actually very different from koban, in both size and purpose. The MPD probably wants to make this distinction. Also, not every Japanese resident can think up the words "police box" and this can hinder communication with a non-Japanese speaker; they would most certainly be able to point a lost tourist to the nearest "koban".
edited Aug 21 at 12:23
Kobi
20728
answered Aug 21 at 1:06
Jimmy
2,4281610
edited Aug 21 at 12:23
Kobi
20728
edited Aug 21 at 12:23
Kobi
20728
edited Aug 21 at 12:23
Kobi
20728
20728
answered Aug 21 at 1:06
Jimmy
2,4281610
answered Aug 21 at 1:06
Jimmy
2,4281610
answered Aug 21 at 1:06
Jimmy
2,4281610
2,4281610
I did a quick Google search, but go figure the answer was right there. Thanks for hunting this down. Perfect answer!
– Mac
Aug 21 at 12:53
add a comment |Â
I did a quick Google search, but go figure the answer was right there. Thanks for hunting this down. Perfect answer!
– Mac
Aug 21 at 12:53
I did a quick Google search, but go figure the answer was right there. Thanks for hunting this down. Perfect answer!
– Mac
Aug 21 at 12:53
I did a quick Google search, but go figure the answer was right there. Thanks for hunting this down. Perfect answer!
– Mac
Aug 21 at 12:53
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
I cant comment, but according to
wikipedia
The name kÃ…Âban derives from the name of the earliest structure built in 1874, which were indeed simple boxes meant for standing watch (立番 tachiban) in rotation (交替 kÃ…Âtai), thus creating a compound word consisting of kÃ…Â (交) and ban (番).
Citied from here (archived version) I added the wikipedia cite since, the original is only in japanese.
answered Aug 21 at 9:57
Git
111
3
But how does this explain why it's often written in Romaji?
– muru
Aug 21 at 15:02
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
I cant comment, but according to
wikipedia
The name kÃ…Âban derives from the name of the earliest structure built in 1874, which were indeed simple boxes meant for standing watch (立番 tachiban) in rotation (交替 kÃ…Âtai), thus creating a compound word consisting of kÃ…Â (交) and ban (番).
Citied from here (archived version) I added the wikipedia cite since, the original is only in japanese.
answered Aug 21 at 9:57
Git
111
3
But how does this explain why it's often written in Romaji?
– muru
Aug 21 at 15:02
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
I cant comment, but according to
wikipedia
The name kÃ…Âban derives from the name of the earliest structure built in 1874, which were indeed simple boxes meant for standing watch (立番 tachiban) in rotation (交替 kÃ…Âtai), thus creating a compound word consisting of kÃ…Â (交) and ban (番).
Citied from here (archived version) I added the wikipedia cite since, the original is only in japanese.
answered Aug 21 at 9:57
Git
111
I cant comment, but according to
wikipedia
The name kÃ…Âban derives from the name of the earliest structure built in 1874, which were indeed simple boxes meant for standing watch (立番 tachiban) in rotation (交替 kÃ…Âtai), thus creating a compound word consisting of kÃ…Â (交) and ban (番).
Citied from here (archived version) I added the wikipedia cite since, the original is only in japanese.
answered Aug 21 at 9:57
Git
111
answered Aug 21 at 9:57
Git
111
answered Aug 21 at 9:57
Git
111
answered Aug 21 at 9:57
Git
111
111
3
But how does this explain why it's often written in Romaji?
– muru
Aug 21 at 15:02
add a comment |Â
3
But how does this explain why it's often written in Romaji?
– muru
Aug 21 at 15:02
3
3
But how does this explain why it's often written in Romaji?
– muru
Aug 21 at 15:02
But how does this explain why it's often written in Romaji?
– muru
Aug 21 at 15:02
add a comment |Â
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fjapanese.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f61001%2fwhy-are-police-boxes-labeled-koban-in-roman-letters-in-japan%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
