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.
Made-up words are very interesting in Japanese. Katakana seems to be used to make foreign words easier to understand for native Japanese speakers and easier to express for non-native speakers. However, in this case it simply makes things more confusing for non-native speakers.
답글삭제Onomatopoeia is also much more common in Japanese writing than in English. I see it all the time in manga.
Very interesting break down of usages of Katakana in the Japanese language, pointing out that it is not only for "borrowed" words from other languages but can also be used for a lot of different functions. A lot of the sounds that you mentioned are indeed mostly written in katakana, but sometimes if written in hiragana would have some different meaning
답글삭제작성자가 댓글을 삭제했습니다.
답글삭제初めはして。日本語の五年生のフーです。よろしくお願いします。
답글삭제I think you have definitely used great examples (especially the example of こくさんタバコ) to illustrate the point that Katakana is not only used to write out foreign words, but also to put emphasis on some "local" words of Japanese origin. When I was in Japan I did feel that Katakana words stand out more to me, probably also because of their more angular shapes.It is really interesting to see how businesses like cigarette companies can easily make their products more appealing to consumers by their clever choice of writing system.
Both of your examples are very interesting. The made up word seems to be a large way that katakana is used. The second example was even more intriguing because it is a mix of hiragana and katakana. Do you have any more examples of this. I liked your reasoning behind the mixing of the two i'm just not sure if that is the case.
답글삭제Great analysis and examples!
답글삭제The mix of カタカナ と ひらがな reminds me of a vocab word we were introduced earlier on: けしゴム. I remember asking the drill section 先生 at the time if there was a straightforward explanation for this, but the response was that it was often tricky to decide where and when to use which system. Certainly the exotic-ness grants a certain appeal to using カタカナ in an advertising or business setting, but the hybridization of the two is even more interesting!
It took me some time to figure out which button is the "COMMENT" haha. I noticed that a lot of you chose katakana words from manga. I think Onomatopeia might be very interesting when you first look at the manga, but later on you'll be able to realize how the authors enjoyed using katakana to reflect some more nuances.
답글삭제For example, in name setting, I've raised this example in some other student's blog, too. If you watch Naruto, think about Naruto（ナルト） and Sasuke（佐助） in Japanese. I think the name setting sort of differentiates them from each other (novel vs. traditional).