Xinnamin
Mrs. Austin
So, like with many names in the Zelda series, Fi's name is pronounced in several different ways by fans. Normally, we just agree that it comes down to preference, but Fi's name is rather interesting. Some people say Fee, some say Fie, but it may be that neither is right. English-speaking Nintendo officials pronounce it as Fie, but localization can make mistakes. Let's break it down.
In Japanese, her name is ファイ, which romanizes as Fai. This would normally be pronounced roughly as Fie. What's funny though is that some translators pronounce the katakana as Fay. Looking at some other localizations, like French and Spanish, her name is Fay in those regions. But then again, we have other localizations being closer to Fie. It gets more confusing.
Translating that katakana and we find that ファイ is actually the Greek letter Phi: Φ
Recall that before we got Fi's actual spelling, we were spelling it as Phi. How is Phi actually pronounced? Well, people say both Fee and Fie on this one. I've looked around for a definitive answer on how Phi is pronounced, but all sources are telling me either goes, which doesn't help much.
Normally I'm inclined to go with whatever the Japanese pronunciation comes out as, but if Fi's name is truly derived from the Greek Phi, then I'm not so sure anymore. Japan has made their own translation pronunciation errors, like how they say ocarina like oh-carina. Silly language barrier.
Given all that, how do you guys think Fi's name is REALLY pronounced?
In Japanese, her name is ファイ, which romanizes as Fai. This would normally be pronounced roughly as Fie. What's funny though is that some translators pronounce the katakana as Fay. Looking at some other localizations, like French and Spanish, her name is Fay in those regions. But then again, we have other localizations being closer to Fie. It gets more confusing.
Translating that katakana and we find that ファイ is actually the Greek letter Phi: Φ
Recall that before we got Fi's actual spelling, we were spelling it as Phi. How is Phi actually pronounced? Well, people say both Fee and Fie on this one. I've looked around for a definitive answer on how Phi is pronounced, but all sources are telling me either goes, which doesn't help much.
Normally I'm inclined to go with whatever the Japanese pronunciation comes out as, but if Fi's name is truly derived from the Greek Phi, then I'm not so sure anymore. Japan has made their own translation pronunciation errors, like how they say ocarina like oh-carina. Silly language barrier.
Given all that, how do you guys think Fi's name is REALLY pronounced?
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