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Is there any significance to the "accent" Japan tends to give their "Chinese" characters? Let me clarify; the two character that I could think of at the top of my head are "China" from "Hetalia" and "Jam" from Guilty Gear (Yeah, i know, -not an anime-, but bear with me here. ^^; ) Both of them use the word "aru" (possibly the "dictionary" form of "arimasen"?) at the end of their sentences as well as a few other utterances that don't fit into the standard "hyojungo" that I suppose most characters use :/ Is this some sort of dialectal accent? And if so, why this one in particular?

I know I've hear this manner of speaking from other characters as well, but I just can't pin point them atm. Any insight would be great! This question's been on my mind for a while now, and I finally cracked and decided to ask about it (Sorry if it's in the wrong topic...)

midnighteve wrote:

Both of them use the word "aru" (possibly the "dictionary" form of "arimasen"?)

Dictionary/base form of "arimasu". "Arimasen" is the polite negative.

midnighteve wrote:

Is this some sort of dialectal accent? And if so, why this one in particular?

It's sloppy Japanese. Why? Because it's a convention that Chinese speakers mangle Japanese in this way, whether true or not. It's like any other theatrical version of "furriners" -- they always "talk funny". In the immortal words of Mario the Plumber: "That's-a just-a the way it is."

There are plenty of other theatrical dialects, e.g. the "ninja/samurai" style, where you use "sessha" as personal pronoun and "de gozaru" as standard copula verb. It's not realistic, it's stylized theatre.

- abunai

Thanks so much for the clarification! Very Happy

That question's been bugging me for a while and it doesn't help when the most helpful thing one's grandmother can come up with (after having her read the manga) was "It sounds like a Chinese person to me. Who cares about your baka manga anyway" *hides head in hands* Thanks grandma. Ugh. Embarassed