Katakana Analysis Final Draft

The word デニムベスト was used in a fashion magazine ad for a denim vest. The use of katakana could be to indicate that the denim vest fashion came from another culture besides Japan in order to distinguish between classic Japanese attire and that from another country. I think katakana has this effect because in modern day Japan one of the common roles that katakana plays is to write words from foreign languages and cultures¹. Katakana can hint that a certain fashion isn’t from Japan because people expect that when katakana is used to describe the features of the clothing (not the name of the clothing company) then it might mean that that type of clothing came from another country.

I chose the word ドゴオッン from the manga Rurouni Kenshin because it is a good example of how katakana is used in a fight scene. I think katakana is used in almost all manga fight scenes because it brings the action to life by imitating the sounds that would be made in real life. Katakana does this better than kanji because it is easier to read, especially for children; and it does it better than hiragana because katakana it is more sleek and sharp (like weapons). Using katakana draws more attention to the page when the characters are plastered all over it because they are appealing to the eyes in their simplicity (lines put together to make characters). I think all of these traits of katakana makes the action more “in your face” when it is used.

References: 1) Yookoso! An Invitation to Contemporary Japanese 1st edition McGraw-Hill 1993, page 29 "The Japanese Writing System (2) Katakana" 

Katakana Literary Work

This one is called:

シクネス

ウイルスは
ひどいですが
クレームじゃ
ありませんか。
バクテリア
もらいました。
フルにエア、
フルになか
いますか。
ありますか。

Katakana Analysis Draft

1) The two word that I chose for my katakana analysis are デニムベスト (denim vest) and バイキング (buffet).

The word デニムベスト was used in a fashion magazine ad for a denim vest. The use of katakana for denimubesuto could be to indicate that the denim vest fashion came from another culture besides Japan in order to distinguish between classic Japanese attire and that from another country.

The word  バイキング, pronounced baikingu, is written in katakana but does not come from the English word for buffet. This might be because the idea for buffet was brought to Japan from another culture other than American and so this might be the word for buffet in that country or it might be a word that reminds Japanese speakers of where the idea came from.

2) I think the common purpose between the two word that I picked is to indicate what culture or country a loanword comes from. It seems to be an important aspect in the Japanese language to make note of where an idea or a new invention came from by keeping its original name or a reference to its origin.

3) I think each textbook explains katakana differently because there is no definitive situation where katakana should be used. So textbooks give the most used circumstances to give a general idea of the importance of katakana in the Japanese language.

Racheal Johnson