Now it’s time to analyze how Katakana is used in Japanese Language! We have learned in the first week of the semester that there are three writing systems in Japanese: hiragana, katakana and kanji. In this analysis, I will focus on katakana. Referring from Nakama I (by Hatasa and Makino), Katakana’s main function seems to be for loan words, many of which are borrowed from English. The word テストis an example.
However, the definition in Wikipedia is more extensive, “[Katakana] is used for transcription of foreign language, loan words from English, representation of onomatopoeia as well as technical and scientific terms and the names for plants and minerals.” Examples of onomatopoeia include コキッ(the sound of the baseball bat hitting the ball in Japanese Manga, Tachi) and キユウウウウウウ、バチチチチチ (the sound of electrical sparks in Japanese Manga, Naruto). The differences in their definitions demonstrate not only the variety in katakana use but also how Japanese scholars interpret katakana with their own perspectives.
In this section, I will give two examples to show multiple uses of katakana. First, on the flyer of the cleaning supply Duskin, this phrase was written: ラクラクーキレシ。いろんな トコ. This phrase could be translated as Convenient, Clean and Can be used everywhere. Interestingly, this does not fit into any categories outlined above so I classified it as a Made-Up Word. At the first glance, as a second-language speaker, it is hard to understand what this phrase means. However, it seems reasonable to argue that using Katakana is various ads can not only create emphasizing effects but also make the ads look more fashionable. Who knows? You might invent a new katakana phrase in advertising and make the sales of products skyrocket. A similar example includes ピリ マメバーガー, meaning Spicy Hamburger in Mos Hamburger Chainstores.
Second, I will use the example of こくさんタバコ, meaning Domestic Cigarettes (Source: Mild Seven Super Light Package). This example is very interesting. Domestic part is written in hiragana; Tobacco part is written in katakana! Here, my argument is that by using hiragana, businessmen appealed to domestic (or national) sentiment; on the other hand, by using katakana, businessmen tried to appeal the exotic nature of Mild Seven cigarettes. How ingenious! Even within the same word, emphasis can be given to a certain part by using katakana.
I hope this analysis will bring more debate into how people use katakana differently.
Thank you for reading this.
