Pokemon related translation help needed

[White Phoenix]

I own a Pokemon site so I wind up testing out the games and accessories. The new Pokedex 3D has a neat feature which allows you to hear the pokemon names in six languages. They use the voice actors that narrate the anime for each language. However, I guess not everyone follows the script. There are pokemon called unown that are shaped like letters of the Latin alphabet plus an exclamation point and question mark.


In Japanese the letters come out fine, but instead of kantanfu and gimonfu other words are used instead. It wouldn't be so bad except I cannot find any translation for them. They are not spelled out in the Pokedex, so I have to go by how it sounds. I even tried Google Translation.


The closest I could come is it might be transliterating the English word 'cry' into katakana to create 'ni kurai' (にクライ) which is for the exclamation. The question mark I have no clue. It sounds like 'hatera' or 'hatēra'.

 

[masaegu]

I own a Pokemon site so I wind up testing out the games and accessories. The new Pokedex 3D has a neat feature which allows you to hear the pokemon names in six languages. They use the voice actors that narrate the anime for each language. However, I guess not everyone follows the script. There are pokemon called unown that are shaped like letters of the Latin alphabet plus an exclamation point and question mark.


In Japanese the letters come out fine, but instead of kantanfu and gimonfu other words are used instead. It wouldn't be so bad except I cannot find any translation for them. They are not spelled out in the Pokedex, so I have to go by how it sounds. I even tried Google Translation.


The closest I could come is it might be transliterating the English word ﾂ'cry' into katakana to create ﾂ'ni kurai' (窶堙家誰ﾆ停?ｰﾆ辰) which is for the exclamation. The question mark I have no clue. It sounds like ﾂ'hatera' or ﾂ'hatēra'.

I know nothing about Pokemon but the colloquial/slangy names for the exclamation and question marks are, respectively, ビックリマーク and ハテナマーク. ハテナ may sound close to 'hatera' but I do not know how close ビックリ sounds to にクライ.

If there is a way for me to hear these directly, I should be able to give you a more authoritative answer.

If there is a way for me to hear these directly, I should be able to give you a more authoritative answer.

 

[White Phoenix]

Well, I found a way to record my 3DS onto the computer as a WMA file. It sounds good, but I don't know how clear it is.

Some of the consonants are hard for me to hear.

 

[Angel Valis]

Sounds like "Unknown ビックリ" and "Unknown ハテナ" to me, and my listening ability is quite poor.

 

[Toritoribe]

That's right. That's exactly what he said.

 

[White Phoenix]

OK. Thank you. I was wondering if I was missing the sounds of some letters and later on I started thinking that maybe it was a double consonant for the ﾂ'k'. I have only been at this for about a week or two, maybe three. I guess I need more practice.

ﾂ"Annōn Bikkuriﾂ" translates to ﾂ"Unown Surprisedﾂ" which is appropriate for the exclamation point. I still cannot get Google to translate ﾂ'hatena' though. Ha! Wiktionary to the rescue:

hatena
Japanese
Interjection
hatena (hiragana はてな)
Alternative form of はて.
See also
はてなマーク (hatena māku) ("question mark")

Well that's dumb Google will translate はてなマーク, but not はてな.

Usage notes
This interjection indicates surprise at something strange, and that the speaker is taking a moment to think about it.

Which makes it more of a question, I guess. Sort of like when we are surprised by something strange and say "What?" or "What's that?ﾂ" Google cannot translate it, since there is no real English equivalent. Well, I really don't need the English translation for my pronunciation guide. Just better hearing.

Thanks to all of you. You have been a great help.