Since Lamen is really spelled and pronounced with L and L sound, should we change spelling to LAMEN?

Japanese made a huge mistake when they spelled LAMEN as ramen in English. The Chinese word is pronounced LAMEN and that is what the Japanese thought they were saying, since their ABC does not have an L sound but only a R sound so they spelled the word LAMEN as “ramen” but it is totally totally wrong. Shouldn’t all lamen lovers of the world unite to get the word spelled correctly now in English. It’s LAMEN, folks, not ramen.

Do we spell language as ranguage? No.
Do we spell love as rove? No.
Do we spell Lolita as Rorita? no.
So it is time to get all English language signs, menus and books and newspaper articles to spell LAMEN correctly.

Do you spell LONDON as RONDON? No.
So what do you say, Japan? You made an innocent mistake. Now please tell the world you made a faux pas and ask everyone to spell lamen as LAMEN.

See my PR campaing notes at the forum under shop talk. I need your help.

Lamen lovers unite, you have nothing to rose but your rovely ramen spelling…

http://www.rameniac.com/forum/viewthread/83/

see notes here. I am totally serious.

of course, we are all used to RAMEN spelling now, but it is wrong.
It needs to be corrected to LAMEN. this will take time. of course.
but it can be done.

danny broom

I know the style guides and menus and signs all say “ramen” but in fact, the food is actually called LAMEN in Chinese AND Japanese, always was and always will be, but the Japanese, who so popularized the dish worldwide, made a huge mistake by transcribing the word LAMEN as “ramen.”

Why did they do this? Because in the Japanese syllaby that writes the word LAMEN in katakana, there is no L sound, no L letter, so they only had the R letter and R sound to use for the word, which they took directly from the Chinese, who DO spell it and pronounce it correctly.

So just as London is not spelled Rondon in English, but is pronounced that way in Japanese, shouldn’t LAMEN be rescued from its faux pas heritage and be spelled with an L and pronounced as “LA-MEN”, which is the correct way, after all?

I know AP and UPI and Reuters and the NYTimes and the WAPO disagree, but they are wrong. In this case, LAMEN is the correct spelling in English. Or should be. Ask any Japanese person.

Question is: how to right this wrong?

RAMEN OR LAMEN, which is it?

there is a restaurant in NYC called TOKYO LAMEN..........

http://www.rameniac.com/forum/viewthread/83/

an EMAIL from a veteran language man, a reporter/editor in NYC:

Dear Tampopo,

What a GREAT question you raise here!

I suspect—but have no reason to know—that this happened a lot with other transliterations as well.

You may have to concede this one, though.

Every English dictionary I can find—including the venerable Oxford English Dictionary—accept “ramen” with no qualifications.

Only Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary lists an alternate spelling, and it won’t make you happy, either: “Also called larmen.”

(There, is however, a restaurant in Greenwich Village called Tokyo Lamen.)

When the horse is that far out of the barn, there’s no going back.”

[TAMPOPO ADDS: But this editor also said that maybe this lamen/ramen brouhaha is worth discussing, if only to see where it leads.... Yes, let’s see where this discussion leads. Chances of getting the English speaking world to change the spelling of RAMEN to the correct LAMEN are slim, very slim, quixotically slim, impossibly slim, slin as a LAMEN noodle, but hey, let’s try. That’s what language is all about: trying to set things right!]

BTW, my friends in Paris tell me that in French it’s spelled LAMEN and pronounced LA-MEN. The USA is wrong wrong wrong.

Yes, I share your desire for correctness. But I think “ramen” has become established in the lexicon, and uprooting it might take more work than it’s worth. However, we might appeal to our favorite noodle shops to use the “L-word” to differentiate the tasty authentic stuff from the cellophane-wrapped crap you can buy for 15 cents at any grocery store… just a thought

trimfit says

Hmmm true about the use of la, though it kinda sounds a mix of both ra/la.  as for “tokyo lamen”, it has a kinda ghetto-ish look outside so it never attracted me to go eat there.  maybe i’ll take rameniac there to try it since he’s visiting good ol’ NYC.