Is the convention to use a single quote to divide the "on/kun" readings in"重箱読み{じゅうばこよみ}?


When I have written "音読み{おんよみ}" and "訓読み{くんよみ}" in romaji as: "onyomi" and
"kunyomi" I have been almost always corrected. "Onyomi" is changed to
"on'yomi", and "kunyomi" is changed to "kun'yomi".

(1) Are these corrections made because "音読み" and "訓読み" are 重箱読み{じゅうばこよみ}?

(2) Is inserting a single quote between the "on" and "kun" readings in a
"重箱読み" a standard convention (and not just the editor's preference)? A url
link to information regarding this convention would be appreciated. I'm
interested in any/all conventions for writing in romaji.

(3) If I am indeed being corrected because they are 重箱読み、 then by extension
_all_ 重箱読み, when written in romaji, should have a single quote between the
"on" and "kun" readings, right?




As I'm sure you're aware, there are a number of different systems of
romanization in use. One system is "modified Hepburn", a revised version of
Hepburn's original system which first appeared in _Kenkyusha's New Japanese-
English Dictionary_ , 3rd and 4th editions, which used romanization for its
headwords. (The revised 5th edition in 2003 switched to kana.)

This modified Hepburn system is in fairly widespread use, and it's been
adopted by the Library of Congress (of the United States). You can get a PDF
describing the system from
[loc.gov](http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/roman_japanese_revision_Mar2012.pdf),
which says:

> Transcribe the apostrophe ( ' ) between syllables when the first syllable
> ends with the letter n and the following syllable begins with the letter a,
> i, u, e, o, and y and when it is necessary to separate romanization.

The apostrophe is also prescribed in an [official Japanese cabinet
announcement](http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/nc/k19541209001/k19541209001.html)
(thank you Pteromys for the information!):

> はねる音を表わすnと次にくる母音字またはyとを切り離す必要がある場合には、nの次に’を入れる。

For example, the name しんいち would be written Shin'ichi in this system. This
prevents anyone from misreading the romanization as しにち. And the same goes for
_on'yomi_ , which prevents people from misreading it as おにょみ. It's not a
requirement that you use this system (and you'll notice many people in Japan
do not), but it is helpful to prevent confusion.

It has nothing to do with 重箱読み or whether the readings are _on_ or _kun_.




As I'm sure you're aware, there are a number of different systems of
romanization in use. One system is "modified Hepburn", a revised version of
Hepburn's original system which first appeared in _Kenkyusha's New Japanese-
English Dictionary_ , 3rd and 4th editions, which used romanization for its
headwords. (The revised 5th edition in 2003 switched to kana.)

This modified Hepburn system is in fairly widespread use, and it's been
adopted by the Library of Congress (of the United States). You can get a PDF
describing the system from
[loc.gov](http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/roman_japanese_revision_Mar2012.pdf),
which says:

> Transcribe the apostrophe ( ' ) between syllables when the first syllable
> ends with the letter n and the following syllable begins with the letter a,
> i, u, e, o, and y and when it is necessary to separate romanization.

The apostrophe is also prescribed in an [official Japanese cabinet
announcement](http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/nc/k19541209001/k19541209001.html)
(thank you Pteromys for the information!):

> はねる音を表わすnと次にくる母音字またはyとを切り離す必要がある場合には、nの次に’を入れる。

For example, the name しんいち would be written Shin'ichi in this system. This
prevents anyone from misreading the romanization as しにち. And the same goes for
_on'yomi_ , which prevents people from misreading it as おにょみ. It's not a
requirement that you use this system (and you'll notice many people in Japan
do not), but it is helpful to prevent confusion.

It has nothing to do with 重箱読み or whether the readings are _on_ or _kun_.

