Katakana Literary Work

サトさんはサラリーマンです。にねんまえにブラジルからとうきょうへきました。月曜日から金曜日までかいしゃではたらきます。しごとはまいにちごぜん９じからごごごじはんまでです。サトさんはともだちが少しいます、しゅうまつうちにいます、なにもしません。ちきどきパチスロをします。サトさんのせいかつはとてもおもしろくありません。

てがみ

やまださん、おげんきですか。


をたしはミッシェルです、シンガポールじんです、いまコロンビアだいがいくのだいがいくいんせんです。にかげつまえニューヨークへきました。このまちはとてもにぎやかから、わたしはニューヨークがすきです。しごとはいそがいしですが、おもしろいです。まいしゅうげつようびからもくようびまでクラスがあります、わたしはにほんごをならいます。あまりやさしくありません。そしてきんようびにとしょかんでべんきょうします。たいへんですよ！どようびとにちようびはやすみです。ときどきともだちとレストランでごはんをたべます。わたしはにほんのりょうりがすきです。わたしはにほんごをならいますから、らいねんのしちがいつなのかににほんへいきます。

どうぞよろしくおねがいします。


ミッシェル
10月31日

Katakana Analysis

The most obvious use for Katakana would be for the writing of foreign words and this was also my only understanding of the use of Katakana before embarking on this project. After some research, here are some of the other functions of Katakana in the Japanese language:

1. For emphasis

The use of Katakana is similar to the use of italics in English, it essentially has the effect of emphasis. I am not sure how this works actually buy my guess is that since most of the words in the Japanese language uses Hiragana and Kanji, Katakana would stand out amongst the Hiraganas and Kanjis? Furthermore, some say that it also because Katakana is easier to understand. Personally I would definitely agree to this statement when I compare Katakana with Kanji but I am not so sure for Hiragana. Hiragana looks more complicated than Katakana perhaps but I always felt that Hiragana was easier for me because we were taught Hiragana first and spend most of our time reading them (and so we are more likely to memorise them better?)

2. Onomatopoeia 

I guess why Katakana is used here is probably because of wanting to achieve the effect of emphasis.

Examples include (and I chose these because you can't really identify what sounds these words actually represent!) :パクパク (chomp-chomp) and プンプン (to represent anger) but I supposed different languages have their own ways to interpret how things sound! 

3. Amalgamation 

Interestingly, perhaps for the purpose of convenience (especially since I feel that the Japanese language uses more words to bring across the same meaning as compared to English), the Japanese language contains words that are essentially a combination of 2 borrowed (foreign) words and these words are expressed in Katakana. 

Examples include: オーエル (OL, female office lady), サラリーマン (salaryman, white-collared worker) and ヘルスメーター (health meter, weighing scale)

In fact, some of these amalgamation have the words combined and shortened in ways that it becomes quite difficult to know the meaning!

Examples include: ドンマイ(I don't mind!), パチスロ (pachinko and slot machines) and マイカー (my car)

These English constructions not used in by native English speakers but that appears in Japanese are know as (わさいえいご) wasei-ego. Was looking through some of them on the Internet and I must say that the Japanese are really quite creative!