Word Compounding

[Michealin]

Thanks for the help you've offered thus far.

My roleplay setting's main language has some Japanese influences, such as compounding, due to contact with a more Japanese-inspired language. While looking up how to compound for a casino's name, I noticed the two options below. Is there a practical difference between them, and are they the only two ways to accomplish the task?

[word transliteration]-ōtākajino
[word transliteration] mizu kajino

Now that I think about it, this post is probably better as its own topic is a different forum because it's not asking for a translation. Could a mod please move this to a topic titled Word Compounding in the appropriate forum because I can't delete the post after copying it? Thanks in advance.

 

[Toritoribe]

What do you mean by ōtā? Is that a variation of ウオーター, i.e., the transliteration of water?
Also, what does mizu represent, the name of a location, clan or like that?

 

[Michealin]

Thanks for the topic split and helpful questions, Toritoribe.

Ōtā must be water's transliteration. In this case, mizu represents part of a location's name, one of which may be a surname as well. For example, the words I looked up, with and without spaces were Bilgewater (purely a location) and Primewater (location and potential name). The results are below.

Biruji-ōtākajino/Puraimuu-ōtākajino
Biruji mizu kajino/Puraimuu mizu kajino

 

[Toritoribe]

The combination "loanword + mizu" is extremely odd. It should be "loanword + ōtā" (i.e. "loanword + loanword") or "Japanese translation + mizu/sui" (i.e. "translation + translation"). Also, you should know it's quite rare that loanwords are used as a location name (except Chinese or Ainu words, of course). The only exception I can think of now is 先斗町（ぽんとちょう） in Kyoto. It's said that 先斗 is originally from a Portuguese word "ponto", but almost all Japanese people wouldn't feel it's a loanword anymore, unlike ブリッジ or ウオーター.

The same goes to surnames. An English man William Adams became a samurai in the early Edo period. His name was changed to 三浦按針 Miura Anjin, i.e., a common Japanese surname, not "Adamusu" or the like.

In conclusion, I would use Hashimizu(橋水) Kajino and Shusui(主水) Kajino, respectively. (Incidentally, the surname 主水 really exists. It's usually read もんど, though.)

 

[Michealin]

Okay. Thanks again. So, it looks like Japanese compounds are formed exactly like those in English (one word; nominative + nominative), as opposed to those from Latin (two words; nominative genitive).

 

[joadbres]

I am not sure if it is relevant to what you are doing, but bilgewater in Japanese could be expressed in any of the following ways:

kansui 淦水
aka 淦
akamizu 淦 or 淦水
funayu 船油

 

[joadbres]

Also, you should know it's quite rare that loanwords are used as a location name (except Chinese or Ainu words, of course). The only exception I can think of now is 先斗町（ぽんとちょう） in Kyoto.

Another is ニュータウン, although it is usually used as only part of a name, appended to something else.

 

[Buntaro]

Two more:

Takanawa Gateway Station (高輪ゲートウェイ駅)

Toranomon Hills Station (虎ノ門ヒルズ駅)

 

[Toritoribe]

Well, I don't think the OP is talking about the names of (public) facilities like セントレア空港 by "location name". 南アルプス市 Minami Arupusu(= Alps) shi is a real location name that has a loanword, but these very recent examples would be considered exceptions, I think.