name-db
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Sinitic and Japanese names should be handled differently
First of all, I'd like to say this is a cool project. It's just that I think the schema is suitable for names that are not Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese.
- Homophones tend to be an issue when dealing with such names.
- Take the file
mei.jsonfor instance. According to the file, "mei" means "plum" in Chinese. This is only true if the word is said with the correct tone (Chinese is a tonal language) and within a context where it would be implied that "plums" are being discussed. Disregarding tone, another possible candidate for the definition would include "beautiful." - I will use the file
sora.jsonas another example. At first glance of the file, it is clear that there are multiple candidates for the Japanese translation in the form of kanji. I would suggest using kana instead of kanji. One kanji could have multiple homophones that are names, by either its on or kun reading.
- Such names are usually not monosyllabic or just a single character.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_name (Korean and Vietnamese names follow Chinese conventions to a great extent. Japanese does to less of an extent.)
While I admit that this is a lot to take in, I would strongly suggest that you research this. Thank you for your time.