Some Katakana I choose to look at:
シマウマ-shimauma- zebra
I think that writing this word in katakana, even though it is not a loan word places emphasis on the fact that it is a combination word. Shima means stripe and uma means horse- having the word for zebra meaning striped horse.
キッチン-kicchin- kitchen
This word is a loan word so that would be why it is written in katakana. This has the effect of explicitly letting you know that it is a loan word and you cannot confuse it.
I think each textbook explains katakana use differently because there are so many different ways in which katakana can be used. The books for the most part said the same things with one or two differences- which would possibly have to do with the material covered in that book.
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Interesting analysis. So, combination words are written in katakana for emphasis. Have you seen other combination words written in katakana? BTW, why do they have to be emphasized? Just because they are combination words?
ReplyDeleteYes, katakana is used for loan words! I think キッチン is one of them. So, if we don't use katakana for loan words, we get confused and maybe we can't distinguish original Japanese words and loan words? What's the reason to know if this word is Japanese original or imported from other countries?
I think it 's the really interesting that you chose shimauma. Compared to some of the other frequently seen uses of Katakana, this is less common and unique. Thanks for sharing with us.
ReplyDelete@ Hamada sensei: I haven't actually seen any other combination words written in katakana but I might have and just not noticed. I think it is interesting how the loan word is in katakana and think that maybe it was put that way to show that it is two words, and if not then it is just a weird coincidence.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of any reason for loan words being put into katakana except to distinguish them from the original japanese. I can hypothesize two reasons this may be- to separate the loan words so they don't "corrupt" the original japanese or as marketing purposes. Especially in ads and commercials we see katakana being used to emphasize products, even if they are words that are usually put into original japanese. So that would be an argument for emphasize.