Katakana Analysis Draft

Here are the categories of katakana use which are most clear (by which i mean that the usage is fairly straightforward):
1) Loan words from other languages
2) Names from other languages (similar to 1)
3) Onomatopoeia
What is more interesting is the use of Japanese words.  So far we have been mostly categorizing these as "emphasis".  What exactly does this mean?


My two examples will fall into this category.  The first comes from a book title, "日本タテヨコ" which literally means "Japan Length and Width".  It is a bilingual guide to Japan, the English name is Japan As It Is.

I will throw in a couple photos from my day in Japan.  Here is another example, take a look.  What word dominates (at least in katakana)?

 カラオケ: Karaoke!
And I will post one more, just for good measure (which I consider more or less the same type as above)

This was taken from the Narita Express from Narita to Tokyo station.  A fair number of the signs are in katakana, and at least for me they are much more legible than the characters--at least when one is on a moving train.  I think this speaks to some of the usage of katakana, especially in advertising, newspaper headlines et cetera.  The simplicity and style of the strokes of katakana have significant impact at a glance (in comparison to hiragana or kanji).  I am not sure how this reads for fluent/native Japanese speakers (readers).  Is this more subtle when all three writing systems are legible at a glance?  The Ro-maji in the above photo also stick out (at least for me).


So what exactly does emphasis mean?  Does it strike anyone else that, having three writing systems, Japanese seems not only to have basic rules for which words fall into which category, but also employs the use of the systems in more ephemeral ways (i.e. what I am calling "emphasis")?  A non-katakana example could be the choice to use relatively advanced kanji to appear more scholarly/educated.


In looking through my photos and my husband's photos from Japan, I actually found it difficult to pick out katakana that I felt were being used for emphasis.  Or at least difficult to find "impressive" examples.  Most of the katakana was loan words.  I am also sure that I missed some because of the basic level at which I can read Japanese.  I thought I would find more examples where Japanese food names were written in katakana (as menus are "supposed" to be one use of katakana for impact), but the opposite was true.  I will show you an example of where I did not find katakana (apologies if it is not super clear, but if you can read Japanese you should be able to see what I am talking about):

Is the menu of fish available written in hiragana to seem more Japanese?  Is this in opposition to the many examples of loan words and katakana used in pre-packaged foods?  Maybe this "negative" example can contribute as well.  Yet the reasoning behind the choice for hiragana is not immediately apparent to me here (at least beyond those two questions).


I don't know that I can make any definitive statements at this point.  Perhaps reading other people's blog posts on this will help.  And I think this somewhat elusive categorization speaks to potential differences in the way that katakana use is taught.  I am not at all surprised to hear that different Japanese language textbooks describe it differently.  Maybe I will know more when I've completed the literary work using katakana.  Or maybe it will never quite be reducible to one explanation, and that the subtlety of use is part of the fun!