Greetings all Japanese lovers, let us embark on an adventure exploring all the different ways Katakana is used in the Japanese language! Surprisingly enough, Ktakana is more than a linguistic liaison between Japan and foreign countries. It is actually a means for the language to branch out into a myriad uses, such as hiragana emphasis, onomatopoeia, scientific/technical usage, condensing, unifying, and more. Check out below all the different uses of Katakana I found! -
1. Non-English foreign words
Before we branch into other ways of using Katakana, first let us discuss the other half of loan words - words that come from languages other than English. Contrary to popular belief, not all Japanese Katagana is from English words. Katakana is a very hybrid and versatile Japanese language. Roughly half of words in Japanese originally come from Chinese. The other half derives from European (or American) words - the Japanese imported these words since coming into contact with the Europeans. For example, the import of Portuguese words was done in the 16th century, then Dutch ones from the 17th to mid-19th century, as the Dutch were the only Westerners allowed to trade with Japan during most of the Edo period (1600-1868).
After the Meiji Restoration (1868), a whole slew of German, English and French words entered the Japanese language. Sometimes words in these languages were very similar to each other, and a word like "virus", is even spelled the same in English, German, French or Latin, but has a different pronunciation in each language. Because this word was imported both from Latin and German, it was rendered in Japanese as ウイルス and ビールス, not following the English pronunciation (ヴァイラス). This is important to understand because foreign or English speakers think that Katakana English is just a deformed form of English, but it is actually not because of its European derivation. They are not mistranslations - they do not come from English. Here is a short list of imported words in Japanese that do not come from English. These words are written in Katakana because they are obviously foreign.
After the Meiji Restoration (1868), a whole slew of German, English and French words entered the Japanese language. Sometimes words in these languages were very similar to each other, and a word like "virus", is even spelled the same in English, German, French or Latin, but has a different pronunciation in each language. Because this word was imported both from Latin and German, it was rendered in Japanese as ウイルス and ビールス, not following the English pronunciation (ヴァイラス). This is important to understand because foreign or English speakers think that Katakana English is just a deformed form of English, but it is actually not because of its European derivation. They are not mistranslations - they do not come from English. Here is a short list of imported words in Japanese that do not come from English. These words are written in Katakana because they are obviously foreign.
2.. Technical and Scientific words
Technical and scientific words are often written in Katakana too. For example, ガン (cancer) is nearly always written in katakana, even though it has a kanji (癌). Another example is how Homo sapiens, as a species, is written ヒト, rather than its kanji 人. This is because the western scientific term of human is Homo sapiens (ホモ・サピエンス ) and the Japanese people want to stick with that. Perhaps writing a technical and/or scientific term in Katakana makes it sound more important and cutting edge, since in the 20th century, the West represented technological advancement and new innovations. Thus, the Japanese want to connect their science and technical terms to the West to make it sound more impressive.
3. Shortening/Simplification
Simplification is also another usage of Katakana, since many foreign words, including both Chinese (Kanji) and English/European languages are difficult and long. For example, インフラ is a shortened version of infrastructure. Medical terminology, which is difficult to write in Kanji, is commonly written in Katakana. For example, the first two character of ヒフ科 (skin doctor) are written in katakana for simplicity. Furthermore, in the word 皮膚科 hifuka (dermatology), the second kanji character, 膚, is considered difficult to read, and thus the word hifuka is commonly written 皮フ科 or ヒフ科, mixing kanji and katakana. This shows how katakana always comes in handy in the Japanese language - it serves as a way for Japanese people to make their language more efficient and easy to learn.
4. Japanese words in Katakana for Emphasis
Some Japanese words are just written in Katakana for emphasis, especially exclamations such as "great!" which is スッゴイin Katakana Japanese. "Cool" in Katakana Japanese is カッコイ. This is used simply for emphasis - "great" in Hiragana isn't enough, it has to be written in Katakana to make it even greater.
This is especially apparent on Japanese signs, advertisements, and billboards. It is possible to go out on the streets in shopping districts to see ココ koko (here), ゴミ gomi (trash), or メガネ megane (glasses). This is the Japanese way of italicizing. This is really quite intriguing, the Japanese don't use a different font to emphasize, they use a completely different way of writing (alphabet).
Some Japanese words are just written in Katakana for emphasis, especially exclamations such as "great!" which is スッゴイin Katakana Japanese. "Cool" in Katakana Japanese is カッコイ. This is used simply for emphasis - "great" in Hiragana isn't enough, it has to be written in Katakana to make it even greater.
This is especially apparent on Japanese signs, advertisements, and billboards. It is possible to go out on the streets in shopping districts to see ココ koko (here), ゴミ gomi (trash), or メガネ megane (glasses). This is the Japanese way of italicizing. This is really quite intriguing, the Japanese don't use a different font to emphasize, they use a completely different way of writing (alphabet).
5. Japanese Company Names
Katakana are also often, but not always, used for Japanese company names. This is quite a novel discovery for me because I would think that Japanese company names with Japanese meanings would use Hiragana to write their names. However, many use Katakana. For example Suzuki is written スズキ, and Toyota is written トヨタ. I fathom that this is used instead of Hiragana because the companies want to seem more internationally connected - perhaps having this name makes the company more sophisticated and large, more immersed in the global community.
6. Unusual Accents
Katakana is also frequently utilized in comics or cartoons to show a character having a weird or unusual accent, such as robots or foreigners or ghosts. For example, in a manga, the speech of a foreign character or a robot may be represented by コンニチワ konnichiwa ("hello") instead of the more typical hiragana こんにちは. This is very interesting because it is emphasis, but with a twit.
This is the end of my Katakana analysis! After all this research however, a question I still have is, why is the super popular Chinese loanword "rāmen", written in katakana as ラーメン in Japanese, but never written in kanji (拉麺)?
Katakana are also often, but not always, used for Japanese company names. This is quite a novel discovery for me because I would think that Japanese company names with Japanese meanings would use Hiragana to write their names. However, many use Katakana. For example Suzuki is written スズキ, and Toyota is written トヨタ. I fathom that this is used instead of Hiragana because the companies want to seem more internationally connected - perhaps having this name makes the company more sophisticated and large, more immersed in the global community.
6. Unusual Accents
Katakana is also frequently utilized in comics or cartoons to show a character having a weird or unusual accent, such as robots or foreigners or ghosts. For example, in a manga, the speech of a foreign character or a robot may be represented by コンニチワ konnichiwa ("hello") instead of the more typical hiragana こんにちは. This is very interesting because it is emphasis, but with a twit.
7. Unification
Another usage of Katakana is to create new meaning out of two foreign words. For example, スキンシップ is a combination of "skin" and "ship" to create the meaning of "close physical contact." It describes the close emotional bond between mother and child by physical contact. Another example is ジョンアップ, which is a combination of "version" and "up" to create the meaning of "upgrade." Sometimes traditional Japanese words aren't enough to describe something like "upgrade," so Katakana is used to combine two words that in a way describe that word. Once again, unification is another way Katakana comes in handy.
This is the end of my Katakana analysis! After all this research however, a question I still have is, why is the super popular Chinese loanword "rāmen", written in katakana as ラーメン in Japanese, but never written in kanji (拉麺)?
Conclusion
Each textbook is different in explaining katakana because being the versatile language that katakana is, a myriad interpretations can result. As I said above, I found katakana words that were foreign, onomatopoetic, scientific, unifying, and shortening. Because of all these possibilities to use katakana, how can a textbook summarize sufficiently what katakana is exactly used for? Therefore, they have their own interpretations of what katakana essentially is, where it comes from, and what people use it for. For example, some textbooks might say that katakana is used because Japanese people think of it as more trendy and sophisticated, others might claim that katakana allows more convenience, by shortening words or emphasizing words. Others may say that katakana should strictly be used for foreign words and nothing else. This is what makes the katakana and the Japanese language so exciting and fulfilling to learn and utilize - its multifaceted aspects allow us to endlessly explore the possibilites where we can use the language.
