1. チケット (tiketto) This katakana word was used for "ticket" and is from a flier advertising a film festival that Ferguson San brought to class. I think it's interesting that this word was chosen, when there is already a perfectly usable Japanese word for ticket, きっぷ (切符). "tiketto" is thus a loan word that was imported not to make up for a lack of such a word, but to contrast with an already existing word. I feel that often katakana is used even despite there already being a native Japanese word for something in order to draw the reader's attention, as the harsh and crisps lines of katakana contrast with the flowing nature of hiragana and the complexity of kanji, and to make something seem more modern. "kippu" might give the impression of a more formal ticket for a more Japanese event, while "tiketto" has a modern and youthful edge. This can be seen elsewhere, as with the use of ブック instead of ほん (本). It's not so much that the Japanese are scorning their native words for the foreign alternatives, but often these alternatives better suit the situation, which reflects their society's take on westernization.
2. アルバイト(arubaito) This katakana word was used for "part time job" in the beginning of our lessons (アルバイト をします). The reason that I find this particular word so interesting is its origin and use. This word comes from the German word for work, "arbeit". I think it is important to note that not every single loan word in Japanese comes from English, although clearly the majority does. I think the source of a loan word reflects both the impact the outside culture had on Japan and the way Japan took this impact. The Japanese could have chosen to borrow the word for "work" from Polish, Greek, or Hindi, but the fact that they did so from German reflects their historical interactions and impressions with German people in Japan. In this way, katakana can often help us discover more about a word and the way it came into use, such as "pan" meaning bread, which comes from Portuguese, but is interestingly enough not written in katakana.
I think different textbooks portray katakana in various ways depending on the author and the message they hope to get across. The rules for katakana apply to everyone, but its uses are very subjective. Katakana allows for some wiggle room in an otherwise strictly sealed and complex language.
はじめまして！プリンストン大学の三年生です。マーガレットと言います。どうぞよろしくね。
ReplyDeleteおもしろいカタカナをみつけましたね！You make some really good points about the nature of katakana words: how they are more attention-grabbing when they replace kanji and how not all of them come from English.
About the example of "pan" not being written in katakana, where did you find it written in hiragana? In the Japanese wikipedia page for "pan" http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%91%E3%83%B3, katakana is used. Maybe "pan" is an example of a once-foreign word that has become so familiar to the Japanese culture that sometimes it is written in hiragana now? (much like たばこ)
日本語はむずかしいですが、がんばってくださいね！
Hey, I am interested in your analysis on アルバイト(arubaito). I can not remember where I get the information but it is said that ドイツ comes from Dutch "duits". Sometimes we can see how foreign culture give impact on Japan from period to period through katakana loanwords .
ReplyDeleteこの意見は本当におもしろいですね！
ReplyDeleteI've thought a lot about loan words as I've studied Japanese as well. I agree that there is a kind of youthful and cool appeal to using foreign words, especially English and even occasionally other foreign words. It makes more sense for words like 'pan' for bread, in which the item described has been imported (there is a certain us-them mentality embedded in that), but it's even more interesting to look at it when the item described isn't exclusively foreign.
日本語の勉強、がんばれ！
おもしろい意見、よく読みました。As you have pointed out, Katakana seems to be mainly used for writing foreign words or words of foreign origin, such as チケット、クラス、アルバイト、ペン、パン、etc. I guess these words are widely used even though some have japanese words for it, because of western influence. Some of these words have become so common that it is more natural to use the foreign word than the japanese word, and some are used because young people think it's cooler or less formal to use a foreign word. It's also interesting to note that the word "arubaito" is also used in Korea to refer to part-time jobs. The fact that the word "arubaito", which stems from German but isn't a German word, is used in both Korea and Japan also shows how the geographically close Asian countries influence each other in importing and changing foreign words.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there are some words of foreign origin that normally isn't written in Katakana, such as かばん、which stems from portuguese. Maybe it will be interesting to research why this word isn't written in Katakana!
I know other people have already said this, but I really like your point about arubaito--it was something I noticed in class when we discussed it. I also think that your point about how the Japanese borrowing from the Germans shows their history and relationship with the Germans is really good. I find it interesting that all of the katakana words we've seen so far have been borrowed from Western countries. That is partially because a lot of the stuff from China is written as if it were native (an interesting commentary on Sino-Japanese relations) but so far we haven't seen any katakana words from India or South East Asia, even though those cultures must have also influenced the Japanese. I would guess that this reflects the fact that when the Japanese began to modernize, they were trying to emulate the West.
ReplyDeleteAh.... the analysis of the ticket and the more youthful use of the loan words is very interesting. i didn't know that before, but it does make some sense; Westernization is coming into many asian countries.
ReplyDelete