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
いいポイントですね。When it comes to keeping the record of origin, I think this idea is very interesting. However, most of the Japanese people don't even think about where all these words are coming from when they use them. I didn't even know the origin of ライチ was China until I read someone's blog!
ReplyDeleteThere was someone in your class who wrote about the origin of the word バイキング. Check it out!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAs you wrote, katakana words are come from many countries, and I think it’s one of the interesting points of katakana words. As you wrote, katakana words are used to indicate loanwords, but sometimes it is not. For example, I live in Hiroshima, and we usually use kanji to indicate Hirosima(広島), but sometimes use katakana, ヒロシマ. There are different means between 広島 and ヒロシマ. If you are interested in it, please research it!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first learned about the concept Katakana, I was very surprised since none of the languages that I aware of, use another character to represent the foreign origin word. For example, in Korea, we adopt the word denim vest and make it fit into our original character.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning, I thought it was very troublesome that I have to memorize another character. However, I come to think of it as another way of keeping their own tradition and origin in the midst of foreign culture flowing in.
バイキング actually translates as smorgasbord. this translation probably gives a better idea as to the kana. im not really sure but i think it comes from viking as in viking style of eating.
ReplyDeleteI think that kingmichael is right. バイキング refers to some conception of vikings as big eaters, thats why they refer to buffets that way. バイキングはたくさん食べますからね。
ReplyDeletePerhaps katakana not only reminds readers of where a word or foreign idea comes from, but I think in some cases, through the writing of the word in katakana, it is filtered and made more Japanese at the same time.
ReplyDelete