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Is "A ディバイディッド・バイB イコールC" the correct Katakana translation of "A ÷ B = C"?

AYA
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  • Is there any special reason you want a "katakana translation"? Do you know people normally read ÷ without katakana? – naruto Jun 01 '20 at 05:52
  • @naruto Thank you for sharing this. I would like to teach Math in English to English Language learner students. I just think that this might help them read the word "divided by" as the translation of "わる". – AYA Jun 01 '20 at 05:55
  • Also, your equation uses B, but the wording uses 3. – istrasci Jun 01 '20 at 05:56
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    @MAK so is what you're asking for a translation (Japanese written in katakana) or a transliteration (English written in katakana)? – Leebo Jun 01 '20 at 07:16
  • @Leebo I would like to kindly ask the transliteration (English written in katakana). Thank you! – AYA Jun 02 '20 at 05:02

1 Answers1

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This question is a little more interesting than it seems because convention vs pronunciation is always an issue when discussing the choice for transliteration of foreign words.

"Equals", as in A+B equals C, is pronounced with voiced s, so it should probably transliterated as イコールズ. However plain イコール is sometimes used in Japanese language too, both in mathematics and in figurative usages. Both is possible, but イコールズ might indicate that you do care about the actual pronunciation (ref. 原音主義).

Divided is pronounced with -/id/, so it would most naturally be transliterated with ディバイディッド. For this word there's no established convention either. However, we somehow tend to be tricked by the spelling --- one famous being money vs マネー --- and some people might choose ディバイデッド instead. Actually, the game "Deus Ex: Mankind Divided" is sold under the label of デウスエクス マンカインド・ディバイデッド.

In this case the choice is yours (I, for one, am eager to endorse the original pronunciation: thus I'd use ディバイディッド and イコールズ). イコール might sound more natural as Japanese. Using イコールズ and ディバイデッド alongside can be inconsistent.

Edit: I didn't recognize your comment in the question. For teaching English learners how to read the equation, definitely use イコールズ and ディバイディッド. However it would be more beneficial for them to avoid katakana at all, because they'll soon be stuck with multiple difficulties. Refer, for example, the oxford dictionary for a sensible style for expressing the pronunciation. If they're learning English, let them learn in English, rather than having them mimick it.

Yosh
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