Rikku and Riku?

[Forever Fantasy]

I just got Kingdom Hearts and I have had Final Fantasy X and X-2. But what I don't understand is that "Rikku" and "Riku" are pronounced the same. I would think that there would be a difference in the pronunciation because of the extra "K" in Rikku. Did anyone else notice that?

Open comments, please!
Miranda

[silentenigma]

nope.

[Tavrobel]

You'd think so, but it's not that big a deal, nor is it that important.
If any at all, the difference would be subtle, and not noticable. Any difference in pronunciation would be in the extra K of Rikku.
John Dimaggio does a good job in his voice acting when ever he yells at her, (Wakka) adding the subtle difference in the sound. Instead of having only one K sound, he makes two, even if they sound as one.
But if you took the time to notice all of that, I'd say you have WAY too much time on your hands.

[~SapphireStar~]

Im sure everyone who has played any of those games knows their names and the fact that one has 2 Ks and the other has 1 ... A K doesnt really make all the difference.

[Tavrobel]

Blasphemy! Everyonek KNOWS kthat K kis morek importantk kthan A, E, I, O, and U kcombined andk taken tok 2 kto kthe sixty-fourth. k

[DeathKnight]

You should know that English is messed up language by now :irked:

[ljkkjlcm9]

"I have a girlfriend named Lynn. She spells her name L-Y-N-N. And my old girlfriend's name was Lyn, too. She spells her name L-Y-N. Every now and then I fuck up and call my new girlfriend by my old girlfriend's name. And she can tell because I don't say "n" as long."
Mitch Hedberg

.....just found that joke appropriate for this thread....

THE JACKEL

[Forever Fantasy]

It's not so much that I have a lot of time on my hands, it's just that I'm going to college for American literature next year. So everything that I see written is stored away in the back of my mind.

I have heard Wakka (FFX) yell Rikku's name and it did sound like he added an extra K, but I haven't heard anyone speak Riku's. I just thought it would be kind of like "Rye-ku."

Well, anyway, thanks for clearing that up with me. And after all, they're all Japanese-made games...right?

Miranda

[Markus. D]

Rikku is in KH2 aswell... right?

[Fynn]

That's where the problem begins... Or maybe they used the fact that the names are prenounced the same? Like, Y.R.P. say, are waiting for Rikku, and they talk about it and then Sora hears that and thinks they saw Riku? It would make a nice confusion:D

[Captain Maxx Power]

Generally in the English language double-consonants usually mean an extended pronunciation of the sound. So the main difference between "Riku" and "Rikku" is the emphasis on the first part of the "coo" sound of her name. "Riku" would probably be pronounced "Re-coo", while "Rikku" would be more along the lines of "Re-k-coo". In this case I'd go as far to say that the first "k" would be distinctly pronounced compared to the second "k" that runs into the "u". However on the other hand sometimes it's acceptible to double-up letters without any changes to the sound of the name, since usually the added letters are merely present for grammatical purposes rather than for the pronounciation of the word. In this case however it's hard to conclude this, since we can't apply the normal rules of English to what is essentially a translated name from Japanese, which is notorious for following grammatical rules that are dramatically different to the rules found in English.

[Jack]

I have three friends called Amy, Aimee & Amie.
Different spelling, same name, same prounciation. Relax.

[RedCydranth]

I always called Rikku, Ree-koo and I call Riku, Rick-oo. A slight difference due to the K thing.

And that Mitch Hedberg quote is great! Why's he have to go?!?!? :tear: