Was Aeris a mistranslation?

[Mirage]

Aeris sounds better, so i don't really care if it's not official!

[cloud21zidane16]

Aeris sounds better, so i don't really care if it's not official!

Yeah i agree, Aerith is fine too but ive known it has Aeris for years so i like it like that

[Big D]

Naming someone Bruce after... Bruce Forsyth is fair enough

No.

[EagleDelta1]

There's nothing stopping Japanese people from pronouncing the "th" sound as we would in English. The structure of their language only inclines them towards doing it their way.

Similarly, the capital of France is named Paris whether you pronounce the S or not. It's not Paris in some places and "Pari" in others.

Many Languages are like that - for example my name, David, is pronounced as Dav-eeth in Hebrew and Dav-eed in Spanish, but in english it's pronounced as Dave-id. Either way the basic spelling is the same - the hebrew equivalent to "d"(dalet) has 2 sounds - that of a "d" and that of a "th". Just b/c its pronounced differently in another language doesn't mean you should change the spelling.

Point is I think the FFVII "Aeris" translation is wrong, especially considering it was spelled as "Aerith" in not only Kingdom Hearts, but also in FFVII: AC.

[Aerith's Knight]

doesnt matter.. she rulezz either way

[Holylulu]

I think it's a misstranslation in FF VII.

[escobert]

I could care less anyways. I name her jail bait everytime anyways,

[hhr1dluv]

You know, does anyone in any of the FF7 or KH games actually say Aeris/th's name? I like using the Aeris spelling because even if I spell her name as 'Aerith,' I'm going to pronounce the 'th' sound as an 's' sound because I think it sounds better. Either way, one can pretend that her name has special meaning. As Aeris, she's an 'heiress' as a Cetra. As Aerith, her name looks similar to 'Earth' and links her with the lifestream and such.
Kingdom Hearts isn't infallible with names, however. The first Kingdom Hearts royally screwed up what I thought the 'Tidus' pronunciation was. In KHI, Wakka says 'Teedus.' But in KHII, Selphie says 'Tie-dus.' But hey, I'm sure everyone has their own interpretations of name pronunciations anyway. For example, I pronounce 'Celes' as 'Suh-LESS'...like CELEStial, or Celeste minus the '-te.'

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

There's really no room for interpretation. The official pronunciation is correct, and any others are not.

[Big D]

Kingdom Hearts isn't infallible with names, however. The first Kingdom Hearts royally screwed up what I thought the 'Tidus' pronunciation was. In KHI, Wakka says 'Teedus.' But in KHII, Selphie says 'Tie-dus.'

'Teedus' is closer to the pronunciation of his name in various Japanese materials, from what I'm told.[q=hhr1dluv]I pronounce 'Celes' as 'Suh-LESS'...like CELEStial, or Celeste minus the '-te.'[/q]Me too, more or less. After all, Celes is a real name with a real origin and pronunciation. It's handy to have a guide like that.

[Crossblades]

I prefer her to be called Aeris tbh. Saying it as "Aerith" makes it sound like you have a lisp or something. But that's just me

[Roogle]

I am inclined to believe that the localization process should take into consideration the pronounciation and presentation of certain names. I agree with Kawaii Ryûkishi. The character name is, officially, Aerith Gainsborough; however, I believe that Aeris Gainsborough is much more aesthetically pleasing to the Western audience.

I understand that it was never the creators' intent for her name to be Aeris Gainsborough in international releases, but Japanese writers tend to use names that are seen as symbolic or fashionable to Japanese audiences, yet can be taken literally to Western audiences if a translation is direct or literal. I can think of one example of this is in the tri-Ace and Square Enix title, Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. Maria Traitor was renamed to Maria Traydor in the localization process. This is an example of a good change because someone with the last name Traitor — no matter how symbolic — is seen as cliché and unoriginal.

[Boney King]

I could care less anyways. I name her jail bait everytime anyways,

Correct answer.

[Jessweeee♪]

I dunno! I say Aeris and think Aeris, but when I write or type the name I spell it Aerith.

[EagleDelta1]

doesn't matter to me, but I do name her Aerith in FFVII now, just to keep continuity w/ AC and the upcoming Crisis Core.