One example I found is the use of katakana to achieve a play on words. See the writing below on a sign near the Yodo River in Osaka. The text encourages people not to litter in a way that incorporates the frog through the use of katakana.
The word, ゴミ, means "trash" and is usually written in hiragana. The next phrase, according to the blogger who took the above photo, is usually written in a mixture of kanji and hiragana and means, "to carry something back with you". But the cute picture of the frog, maybe intended to catch people's eyes and get them to read the sign, is tied into the message by writing that kanji/hiragana phrase phonetically with hiragana (もち) and katakana (カエル）。カエル means "frog" in Japanese! So the sign still phonetically means, "Take your trash back with you," but also ties in the picture of the frog.
Katakana also seems to be frequently used for product and company names. Sanrio, which makes cute character products, takes its name from the Japanese word for three, "san," which is usually written in kanji and "rio," the Spanish word for river. Sanrio is written in katakana as, サンリオ. In part, katakana might be used for Sanrio's company name because it includes a foreign word. However, I found lots of other examples of companies and products with Japanese names that are written in katakana. For instance, the hair-care product company, Hoyu, writes their name in katakana as ホーユー, even though the intended meaning of the word (according to a statement on the company's website) is the word for "friend" or "companion," which can be written in kanji or hirgana (as ほうゆう). An example of a product named by a Japanese word but written in katakana is "hokkairo," which are pocket warmers. The word "kairo" (かいろ) is Japanese for "pocket heater," but every place I could find an ad for or picture of the product, "hokkairo" was written in katakana as ホッカイロ.
Below is a funny, VERY THOROUGH description of how to use hokkairo :)
It seems the uses of katakana are not limited to the categories outlined in Japanese textbooks (foreign words, onomatopoeia and "technical terms" etc.), although those categories might be the broadest and most common uses of katakana. Katakana also seems to be useful to Japanese as a tool for jokes or plays on words and for promoting the salience of product or company names. The textbook definitions of katakana are useful for foreign students in that they help cue us to read for a sound or a non-Japanese word when we see katakana, but they are by no means exhaustive definitions.
After doing this little bit of research, I'm sure I'll be more aware of when and where katakana is used!
3 comments:
おもしろいしゃしんですね！The picture of the frog is very cute. I'm sure it's eye-catchy so that people bring their trash back. My question is... why is カエル written in katakana instead of hiragana/kanji? What do you think?
I agree that a lot of companies' names are written in katakana just as you explained. Again, why are they written in katakana?
We can use uppercase letters to draw attention to signs written in the Roman alphabet, so it seems like using the katakana is the equivalent in the case of the frog sign. What a funny play on words! If I only noticed "trash" and "frog" at first glance, I'd be confused...and I would come closer to investigate!
Sanrio does business overseas so katakana provides global appeal, a clear format, and it follows the trend of use for modern items. The company could have chosen any script, so it's probably the most strategic for business.
I think that the use of katakana (カエル) on the sign cues readers to look for a word in the message that might be missed. If the mix of kanji and hiragana that are usually used for the phrase "bring back with you" were written, readers might not see the hidden word "frog" in the message. I guess it would be similar to writing a word but highlighting a word within it using capital letters or italics (e.g. postAGE or aLABastar).
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