How do you feel when you hear a (fellow) gaikokujin say "roMANji" instead of "romaji"?

Question

I feel embarassed and usually I just let it slide. Usually they're being proud about knowing the word, so I don't want to hurt their feelings.

Some of them say it so blatantly wrong though, really stressing the "MAN" part: roMANji.

It's kind of surprising how many people find that "n" that's not in the word "romaji". Sort of like how so many people say "sherbert" instead of "sherbet". That mysterious "r" that appears for the illiterate.

It sort of reminds me of the people who write "definately" instead of "definitely" in English.

Answer 1

Mispronouncing romaji has much less potential for embarrassment that say...confusing baiten and baishun.

Answer 2

When I lived in Japan I was only ever embarrassed by other gaijin when they were doing something really obnoxious, like whooping at women on the street. A minor mispronunciation like this wouldn't have provoked any response from me at all. I doubt I even would have noticed "romanji" instead of "romaji".

I think you should stop worrying about such unimportant things.

Answer 3

I don't worry.
It is not his problem, it is a problem of his Japanese language teachers. Many of them teach Japanese just for the chance to stay overseas without paying anything, and don't have proper qualification.
The had to teach him 1. Proper pronunciation. If he pronounces the word "rooma-ji", the stress usually falls on the first syllable, and it is easier to pronounce it without the "n" at the end. 2. What "roman" means in Japanese, and what roman-ji would mean.
I feel sorry for that person and wish to help him/her, but sometimes it is better just to leave them alone. Roman-ji is not such fatal mistake, after all.

Answer 4

They are stupid and need to be corrected. Ignorance is not a virtue, no matter what some of the boobs on YA say.