Katakana Analysis Draft

The first words that I found written in katakana were "サッポロビール株式会社". This translates to Sapporo Beer. I found this word in the local Asian supermarket M2M on a Japanese can of beer. This is an example of a loan word or a foreign word. ビール or beer is thought of as a drink of Western or European origin, thus it is the reason for the use of katakana as a loan word. However, the name of the company Sapporo is written in katakana as well. Sapporo is a Japanese company that originated and is based in Japan. It would make sense for the company name to be in kanji or hiragana. Perhaps the reason for this is the presentation choice of the product. The company most likely chose this for marketing purposes, with the katakana Sapporo acting as a logo. Also worth noting is that another beer company, Asahi, also markets their beer product primarily in Romaji. They also use katakana though, and "アサヒビール株式会社" can be seen on their beer cans as well. These are companies that market and produce beer, so it makes sense to market beer in katakana as well. The Sapporo Beer Company may have chosen to differentiate their product from the actual city of Sapporo in Hokkaido. The effect of the use of katakana on beer products such as Asahi and Sapporo is primarily one of recognition. Katakana stands out from kanji and hiragana because of its straight, bold lines and catches the eye easily. Because of this, beer companies could have possibly chosen to use katakana as an elaborate marketing device which acted as a catchy and flashy brand name.

The second word I found is from the manga Detective Conan. It is "ドコッ". Dokoo was the sound that was made when a globe that was kicked by Kuduo Shinichi hit an escaping assailant in the head. This word is an example of an onomatopoeia word. There are many other onomatopoeia words like this that indicate noises in manga. The manga Dragon Ball is also a good example of using katakana to represent onomatopoeia words. The use of katakana might also be for emphasis. All of the katakana sound words are meant to be dramatic and this emphasis can be conveyed through the use of katakana. The shape of katakana, being rigid and mostly straight, could also add to the dramatic nature of the onomatopoeia being conveyed.

One major reason for the use of Katakana in the Japanese language is globalization. English has become a global language that is recognized around the world and, in addition, it is the most widely spoken language. Because of this, Japan's use of katakana may be seen as a shift towards acceptance of English as the global marketing language. As the world becomes more and more westernized it makes sense that Japan would also begin to use katakana to describe the increasing amount of western influence on their culture. It has been discussed that the increasing use of katakana is moving the Japanese language further away from the base of its complex nature. Katakana is much more simplistic than hiragana or kanji, and this shift can be likened to the massive influence of western words in Japanese culture. Katakana can show the extent of western influence in a number of ways. Look at the prevalence of katakana in Japan today. Katakana can be found in advertisements, newspapers, signs, and books.  For example, in almost every Japanese language textbook katakana is taught to students with similar goals. These goals are to help the student understand that katakana is used to represent foreign words. In our textbook that Columbia University Japanese 1 students use, katakana for foreign words is primarily stressed. The fact that this is the primary goal of textbooks in teaching katakana shows the prevalence of western influence in the Japanese language.

Citation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asahi_Breweries
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapporo_Brewery

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