I’ve noticed recently a few examples of people in pop/internet culture with names that sound like they’re mimicking Japanese, but are comprised of sounds I’ve never actually heard in Japanese.
Think “Pokimane” or “Tekashi 6ix9ine”.
Is this reverse-Engrish? Have you seen others?
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/12b5vnr/reverseengrish/
4 comments
They’re just nicknames, it’s not that deep. People have been using Japanese-adjacent handles for as long as the internet has existed.
For Pokimane her real name is Imane(pronounced ee-mon) she just added the PO so it sounds like Pokemon.
All the sounds of “Pokimane” (assuming ぽきまね and not poki-mayne, Iunno how she pronounces it) and “Tekashi” exist in Japanese, I’m not sure what you’re getting at with saying those are comprised of sounds that aren’t in Japanese.
As for other examples, there’s literally thousands, especially in the music world. Some people like Japanese-“sounding” names. It’s inevitable folk will make stuff up that falls into that category.
Wouldn’t that normally be where folks get “dickhead” tattooed on themselves, back-to-front, in kanji, but the tattoo artist swore up and down that Keith at the Buddhist temple around the corner told him that the template said “Immortal Wakizashi Thruster”?