Thursday, November 3, 2011
Katakana Analysis Draft
Two phrases that I found interesting in Katakana are スズキ and ヒト. Suzuki is probably in Katakana so that everyone knows that it does not just refer to the name Suzuki like a person, but something different. In this case, that something different is a company. The usage of Hito in Katakana is a little more subtle, where writing it in Katakana implies a specific scientific usage, and not just referencing a random person. In these cases, Katakana is used to emphasize that the word is not being used in a normal way so that the contextual meaning is more obvious. Different textbooks probably explain Katakana usages in various ways because there are so many potential reasons to use Katakana (many different aspects of the language to emphasize). It can be used for foreign words, sounds, names, and even to show that person writing or speaking is not native Japanese. Each textbook would focus on the aspects they find most prevalent and easy to understand from a foreign perspective.
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Good points! Its also good that you observed that katakana has so many uses that most textbooks cannot cover every single usage. I'm also curious where you found the second example for hito. - すぎもと
ReplyDeleteマイルスさん、こんにちは。 This is a nice analysis to start. Try to think why Suzuki choose katakana whereas some companies choose their company name in Kanji or hiragana. Also Suzuki uses their logo in romaji or katakana. How do kanji, katakana, hiragana, or even romaji give different impressions? to whom?
ReplyDeleteAbout ヒト, this is also interesting example and as すぎもとさん says, it would be more interesting if you find another uses of ヒト.