Will technodelic Japanese group SIRO-A win this season of 'America’s Got Talent?'

'Shiro' not Siro. Siro has no meaning in Japanese. 'Sa shi su se so'. Somebody should have advised them before they plumped for a silly name.

Anyway, all the best to them.

That was pretty cool.

Matt, the choice of si vs shi (or tu vs tsu, for that matter) is a legitimate stylistic choice. Siro have used the Nihon-shiki (or Kunrei-shiki) Romaji conventions instead of Hepburn.

Hepburn is popular with those learning Japanese because of the 'closer' transliteration it affords. I'll be damned if I use it for Romaji input when writing a Japanese document, though, cause life's too short.

Matt, the choice of si vs shi (or tu vs tsu, for that matter) is a legitimate stylistic choice.

I disagree. What is the point of using the Roman alphabet and not using the pronunciation of those letters? 'S' is not pronounced 'sh'. 'Siro' is pronounced 'seeroh', not 'shiro'.

What is the point of using the Roman alphabet and not using the pronunciation of those letters

I agree whole-heartedly! A while ago, I got into it with JT for insisting the the Japanese pronunciation of "Godiva (chocolates)" as "go-deeva" was incorrect according to the CEO and the head chocolatier of the Godiva Co. They just insisted "That's how it's pronounced in Japan"

"America’s Got Talent?"

No really

I disagree. What is the point of using the Roman alphabet and not using the pronunciation of those letters? 'S' is not pronounced 'sh'. 'Siro' is pronounced 'seeroh', not 'shiro'.

Surely that's up to the artists' - not our - discretion?

Spot on Kenny Iyekawa,....

If SIRO-A wins over the judges and secure the audience vote, will Cowell correct the misrepresentation and graciously rename the 'reality' show 'Japan's got talent'.

Controversy and fakery seem constant by-products with Cowells 'shows'. UK media regulator, Ofcom ruled that, Cowell and broadcaster ITV were guilty of materially misleading audiences, leaving the broadcaster with the prospect of having to return/refund a proportion of the revenue from the use of premium rate numbers.

Winners from the latest incarnation of 'Britain's got talent', 'Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse' and performing hound and harpy act gave the impression only one dogs would be competing, in reality Matisse had a virtually indistinguishable 'double' Chase switched during performances. This was not revealed at any time to the voting audience.

The whole idea of using romaji is so that foreigners can read it. Japanese people usually only ever use romaji for names. Siro A, if read by the average (so to speak) American (America's got talent) would not correspond to shiro (white) and thus have no meaning.

Anyway...Good Luck SIngularly RObotic A

The whole idea of using romaji is so that foreigners can read it

Wishful thinking, but -in most instances - an inflated sense of our importance as a consumer demographic.

SenseNotSoCommon: "Matt, the choice of si vs shi (or tu vs tsu, for that matter) is a legitimate stylistic choice. Siro have used the Nihon-shiki (or Kunrei-shiki) Romaji conventions instead of Hepburn."

When people write something using Nippon-shiki it's not a style choice, it's a mistake. They learned at some point using Nippon-shiki, so they literally wrote it out that way in Roman characters. No one in their right mind is going to choose to have their name CONSTANTLY mispronounced, given that pretty much no one in the world outside of Japan knows about the differences between Nippon and Hebon-shiki, nor what pronunciation is intended when Japanese people use Nippon-shiki, same as if Koreans write their names with a 'B' instead of 'P' (using direct written 'translation' of hangul characters); they can't expect people in another nation to know that Busan = Pusan, or Jeju = Cheju.

Anyway, regardless of whether they are talented or not, them winning ensures the show is popular in Japan, which in turn boosts sales.

I watched these guys when they paid a visit to London during Christmas 2013, it really is a fantastic show and they even have audience participation which is done it a totally fantastic way. I highly recommend you give them a try if you ever get the opportunity.

smithinjapan,

it's not a style choice, it's a mistake

By that rationale, are the Turkish name 'Cem' pronounced like 'gem' and the Brazilian currency Real 'hay-oh' (plural Reals 'hay-ice') also mistakes, for failing to conform to some Anglophone orthodoxy?

Leave your pith helmet in the Tardis, old bean?

Kenny Lyekawa

American got Japanese Talents. Kenichi Ebina was pretty cool too.