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I'm really confused about the difference. This is what I think: If it's written in English such as "Alabasta" on the log pose ( to my knowledge it wasn't a subtitle), it has to be AH LAH BASTA and Kaizoku must of realized this but figured it would be detrimental to their work since until that point they used "Arabasta" which I guess would also be AH RAH BASTA. I've gotten into a little debate with a friend and would love to clear this up, thanks!
He says that L and R are interchangeable and I tell him that nothing in roman letters is interchangeable to my knowledge because when something is written a certain way officially, you can pronounce it anyway you want due to country accent but it can only be written ONE way and that's whatever way is official to Romaji. is this correct or no? Thanks!
I hope to clear this up soon.
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For japanese the R and L are interchangeable. You have to keep in mind that kanji/romanji is nothing like the roman alphabet. If you wish to know how it is officially pronounce just listen very carefully when they say it in OP and stick to it ![]()
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Although Arabasta is romanized in the manga on the eternal pose as "Alabasta," it is romanized as "Arabasta" pretty consistently in the manga everywhere else. KF decided to go with the romanization Oda used the most consistently.
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It's my understanding that the "L" letter doesn't exist in Japanese. It's the reason why, in some countries, "Luffy" is written as "Ruffy" and "Zoro" as "Zolo".
I could be wrong, since i'm Portuguese: i'm sure some Japanese dude or other better informed dude can explain this better.

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So even if it's written down, it can never be set in stone? This is my understanding, correct me if I'm wrong? Maybe I'm really confused. xD
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No, although the Japanese is ambiguous, the author (Oda in this case) can decide whether he wants it spelled in Roman alphabet characters with an L or an R. It is a made up word, after all, so it is the author's right to decide how to spell it. Aside from the very first time the word appears romanized on the eternal pose, every other time it has appeared Oda has spelled it "Arabasta," so as far as I am concerned that is the intended spelling. Some mangaka are much less consistent with their romanizations, and in those cases it is harder to pinpoint an "official" English spelling, but Oda does a pretty good job at spelling things the same way.
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