Katakana Analysis Draft

かたかな　or カタカナ　is a japanese syllabary and is also a component of the Japanese writing system along with ロマジ、ひらがな and かんじ。The word katakana means "fragmentary かな", as the かたかな

scripts are derived from components of more complex かんじ.

Katakana are characterized by short, straight strokes and angular corners, and are the simplest of the Japanese scripts.

e.g: 　ア(a)　イ(i)　ウ(u)　エ(e)　オ(o)

In modern Japanese, katakana are most often used for transcription of words from foreign languages. katakana is also used for country names, foreign places, and personal names. For example, France is written as フランス。

Katakana are also used for onomatoepia (words that represent sounds).
e.g: in the manga below "ズォ” is used to represent the sound of paper being torn apart.

Technical and scientific terms, such as the names of animal and plant species and animals are also commonly written in katakana. 

Katakana are also often, but not always, used for transcription of Japanese company names. For example Suzuki is written スズキ, and Toyota is written トヨタ. Katakana are also used for emphasis, especially on signs, advertisements, and hoardings (i.e., billboards). Words the writer wishes to emphasize in a sentence are also sometimes written in katakana, mirroring the European usage of italics.

On the above billboard, one can see the Japanese metal band "The Gazette" with its katakana translation "ガゼット”。The idea is to market the band as a brand name in itself while at the same time creating emphasis.

"フルーツバスケット" is the title of the Japanese Manga by Natsuki Takaya Fruits Basket. The shoujo manga is very popular in Japan and has been translated in English, French and Spanish. The Katakana word is a loan word from English used by the author to express the genre of the manga. The reason why the author decided to use an English title instead of simply using the direct Japanese translation of "Fruits Basket" is because the author wanted to emphasize the importance of the title in the plot. In fact, the fruits basket game (apparently popular in Japan) introduces the heroine of the manga, Tohru. Often bullied by her classmates she was once called "rice cake" or "おにぎり” by her friends instead of being given the name of the fruit in the fruits basket game. while different fruit names would be called so that each player could in turn join the game, "おにぎり” was never called out. This represents the fact that Tohru is the odd one out - the rice ball in a game of fruits. The emphasis in Katakana of this title represents the author's desire to express Tohru's stigma and thus esposing the major dilemma she faces.


The use of Katakana here also makes her manga stand out since not many manga's in Japan have titles in Katakana. Perhaps this gives it an edge over others, because it sounds more foreign. More and more mangas in Japan are adopting Katakana titles. The popular manga "Naruto" for example is also  written as 　”ナルト” probably because the manga by itself is a worldwide phenomenon and brandname that sells incredibly well in most fields i.e. entertainment, games, toys...etc.


Japan's products ( beverages, tea and even candy) never cease to amaze me. Like this one below:

An ice cucumber flavored pepsi drink? WOW!
The creativity of the drink itself I believe is expressed in the  use of the katakana itself. Because Katakana reflects modernity and perhaps the "cool factor", hence the presence of "アイスキューカンバー" on the Pepsi bottle. Also since pepsi in itself is an American brand, by writing the flavor in katakana, it emphasizes its foreign nature, thus enticing more interest on the Japanese market.


Sources: wikipedia and googling pictures on the internet.


Because I am a big fan of manga in general, here is a list of common onomatoepia words found in popular mangas: http://www.japansugoi.com/wordpress/common-japanese-onomatopoeia-word-sounds-found-in-manga/