Having taken Japanese for a semester and having learned the rudimentary basics of the language, it's time that I start analyzing the construction and style of the language in more depth. One interesting element of Japanese is its use of an entirely different writing system, Katakana, for certain words and phrases. Katakana is explained in a variety of ways, but most textbooks state that it is primarily used for foreign names and loan words. Words such as ハンバーガー (hamburger) or アレックス (Alex), which obviously don't have an existing Japanese translation, are almost always written in Katakana. In addition, a number of textbooks mention that Katakana is also used to express onomatopoeia. For example, a sheep makes the sound バーバー (Baa Baa). Finally, those textbooks that emphasize more of the cultural side of Japanese recognize that Katakana is often used to emphasize specific words or to make the writing look sophisticated, modern, or cool. The differences in the textbook explanations probably stem from differences in the authors' perspective on the Japanese language, or differences in opinion on what is important to teach beginning Japanese students.
To show specifically how Katakana is used in actual Japanese writing, I'll now give a couple of examples. First, the March 3, 2008 cover of ViVi Magazine contains the Katakana word ガールボヘミアン, which is presumable translated as Girl Bohemian. While it is true that these are both loanwords from English, it seems that the primary purpose in using this Katakana was to make the model seem more modern and fashionable. In addition to their connection to Western culture and fashion, the Katakana characters themselves are sleeker and look more forceful than those of Hiragana, giving the words a more powerful look. This further adds to the appeal of using Katakana, especially in popular culture media. For a second example, I analyzed an online article from Asahi Shinbun from February 12, 2012. The article uses the Katakana スマートフォン (smart phone) as it discusses new technology. In this case, the use of Katakana is motivated purely by the fact that there is no logical existing translation for smart phone in Japanese. The author of the article used Katakana to discuss new technology that was popularized in the West and so was given an English name. While this second example of Katakana is perhaps more straightforward than the first, it represents a much more common usage of Katakana, and so is also worth analyzing. There are obviously innumerable examples of Katakana throughout the Japanese language, but hopefully these two examples serve to foster discussion on the interesting and changing role of Katakana.
I think it is quite humorous when magazines use katakana for words like "Girl Bohemian," since "Girl Bohemian" isn't even something that you would say in English! ヒヒヒ！I agree that the primary purpose for using katakana in this case is to seem more fashionable and modern. Also, since youthful Japanese are very fascinated by Western culture, I think that this would help the magazine sell to their intended readers.
ReplyDeleteI think it is fascinating that the Japanese language has a specific, structured alphabet that can be employed in so many ways- one of them you mentioned as serving to keep up with the latest technology. Even if smart phones were initially popularized in the West, Japan is also a leader in technology and computers, phones and gadgets, etc. Katakana makes it possible to add these words to the arsenal of the Japanese language.
ReplyDeleteNice analysis! It is very interesting how the Japanese people employ Katakana in their lives. One interesting question I just thought of: Would the reason for the Japanese people to use a separate alphabet for foreign words be that they want to keep foreign things separate in their language? For example, in English, there is no way for the reader to distinguish between a loanword and an English word just by looking at their spelling.
ReplyDeleteYou offer a great in-depth analysis of katakana usage! Haha, I used to read ViVi in the past! I'd have to disagree with your point that the main reason katakana was used was for making the model look more modern and fashionable. I believe the primary reason why hiragana was used in this situation was because there simply is no traditional word in Japanese that equates to the meaning of Bohemian. I looked on the dictionary too: http://jisho.org/words?jap=&eng=bohemian&dict=edict
ReplyDeleteThere are simply some cases where a concept or item was introduced to Japan relatively late in its development, so the language lacks a hiragana-based word for it. A good example would be broccoli. When I was shopping with my host-mom in Japan, the word ブロコリ stood out in a sea of hiragana, so I asked my host-mom why only broccoli was written in katakana, and she told me that Broccoli was foreign to Japan and introduced relatively late. Who would have known!