The three examples of Katakana that I found (you can find them in my last post) are quite varied. In two of them, the reason for usage is quite simple. One is a menu from a pizza restaurant. The menu has many offerings which originate in foreign languages, so of course Katakana is used. For example the "mixed" pizza, mikkusu, is spelled with the Katakana ミックス, and the Ham & Egg pizza is spelled ハム＆エッグス. Even though Japanese clearly has words for some of these, eggs for example is "tamago" spelled in the hiragana たまごthe katakana is used in this case. This is probably because while there is a Japanese word for egg, the phrase "ham and eggs" is an English phrase so katakana is used.
The second example is also fairly straightforward. It comes from an issue of the manga: Naruto. There are a few examples on the page that represent two uses of katakana. One use is the sound effects of actions. In the final frame for instance we see "Ba" and "Wan" used, both in the katakana: バ ＆ ワン. Also on the page katakana is used to represent movement. In one frame we see ゴゴゴゴゴゴ to show the opening of a gate, and in another ズオオオオ shows the motion of a fireball flying through the air. Katakana is used in both of these cases rather than hiragana or kanji.
The third example is more puzzling. In an advertisement for a taxi company the word "Nippon" appears. Nippon is of course a Japanese word (meaning Japan) and does not fall into any of the usual categories for katakana use. However in the taxi service advertisement it appears in katakana as ニッポン. Perhaps the katakana in this case is used as a sort of emphasis. While it seems unlikely that the ad for a taxi service would want to specifically emphasize the word "Nippon", perhaps katakana is used to draw the eye to that part of the advertisement, perhaps to get the reader to notice more closely the kanji that follow. It may also be a purely stylistic choice, allowing the graphic designer who made the add more opportunity to shape the advertisement into exactly the look he or she desired.
I actually find Katakana to be pretty amusing sometimes, especially with the pronounciation. Like in your 2nd example, using Katakana for sound effects in mangas. I just find Katakana a little confusing sometimes, especially when trying to spell out the sounds. For me, I find Hiragana easier.
ReplyDeleteI think your third example of ニッポン is actually a radio station called ニッポン放送. So it's hard to say what the function is. I guess it is probably for emphasis since the radio station wants to catch the eyes of potential listeners.
ReplyDeleteMarisa - Totally! I love that Wowowowowowo somehow is the sound a "gate" makes? very funny.
ReplyDeleteYorkie - that is very interesting. I hadn't heard of that radio station. Even Park Sensei was a bit mystified by that example, but maybe that helps explain it.