Composition 3

ニ＋ねんまでにわたしはだいがくをおわります。アキテチュのしごとがあります。ニューヨークのちさいアパートがあります。アパートのなかにピーグルのいぬがいますそしてきれいなへきががあります。わたしはあまりおかねとものがありません。でもわたしとおっとはとてもゆかいです。まいにちアーキテクチュのしごとをします。おっとはがしつがあります。がしつでたくさんオイルペインテインがあさからばんまでします。わたしとおっとはばんごはんをいっしょにします。いっしゅうかんにいっかテートをいきます。デートがすきです。まいばんわたしとおっとはおおきいベッドでねます。おおきいベッドはとてもおもいです。

カタカナ Analysis Final

According to text book information, カタカナ is used for loanwords, emphasis, onomatopoeia, and furigana (the little characters next to kanji characters explaining their meaning). However, listening to my classmates I have discovered that カタカナis used in many cases that don't directly apply to any of the listed reasons above. Oftentimes, especially in the case of marketing titles, カタカナ is used to look more modern or fresh, and as a means to draw attention. In one article I read, カタカナ was compared to the use of bold in english typography.

To find words in Katakana, I went online and found the Japanese version of Nylon magazine. After browsing through a couple articles, a found two examples of Katakana that interested me:

The First: ボーイフレンド (Boyfriend)

Why Katakana? 

The article was about the movie, "A Single Man," a homosexual romantic tragedy directed by Tom Ford. I think because it is a movie about a gay romance, the word "boyfriend" is written in Katakana to accentuate the main character's homosexuality and the core essence of the film. Based on the comments from my original piece, I have found that others think boyfriend holds more weight than かれ, which is used for both boyfriends and male friends and in general. ボーイフレンドclarifies that the main character is gay (not just accompanied by a male friend). This case can be considered an example of katakana being used to create a bold emphasis on a particular word. Another commenter on my analysis suggested that perhaps the use of katakana in this case could reflect a connection between vocabulary in american gay culture and japanese gay culture. After looking at wikipedia, I discovered there are a lot of slang words similar to American slang for gays that are almost always written in katakana. For example, ニューハーフ (literally, new half) is used to describe transsexuals. I think Japanese culture is using american slang to accommodate their need for vocabulary pertaining to a more openly gay culture.

コマアシャルのシングルマン

The Second: アーティスティック (Artistic)

Why Katakana?

I found this word in an article reviewing M.I.A's most recent album, "MAYA". I think Katakana was used in this case to accentuate the fact that her music is atypical and she is a musical artist, not just a musician. It's really interesting that the word "artistic" is stressed here, and I think it holds a very different meaning from "good" or "talented". The word エスニック (ethnic) was also used because it is an important aspect of her musical style and identification. Looking at other articles about music albums and artists, I've noticed that Katakana is constantly used for adjective. In a review of Ke$ha's new album, the words ハイペース (high paced), エレクトロやロック (electro rock), ポップ (pop) and バラード (ballad) were all written in katakana. I think the reason for this is that when reading a review of something, the easiest way to get a sense of whether you'll be interested in the subject being critiqued, is to see the adjectives that best describe it. With these words written in katakana, it is easy for the reader to quickly skim the article and see whether the type of music being review matches his or her tastes. This makes it easier to flip through articles and find the ones that seem worth reading all the way through. 

チいさいねこ。

やまだのてがみ。

やまださんへ、
おはよございました。おげんsきですか。わたしわクリオです。コロンビアだいがくのいちねんせがくせいです。コロンビアだいがくわきれいですがしずかです。クラシュのにほんごわいそがしいですがすてきです。わたしわにほんごがすこしわかります。わたしわルモメトとりょうのへやあります。わたしのルモメトわすきですがへやわとてもちいさいです。わたしわちっかのひこうきかいました。ろくがつここのかいきます。アメリカからときょうまできじょうきでひとりでいきますそしてときょうからおさかまでシンカンセンでいきます。あそこにちわとてもいそがしいです。ありがとうございました、じゃまたろくがつ。よろしくおねがいします。

クリオさん

１１がつ９にち

かたかな。

According to text book information, カタカナ is used for loanwords, emphasis, onomatopoeia, and furigana (the little characters next to kanji characters explaining their meaning).

To find words in Katakana, I went online and found the Japanese version of Nylon magazine. After browsing through a couple articles, a found two examples of Katakana that interested me:

The First: ボーイフレンド (Boyfriend)

Why Katakana? 

The article was about the movie, "A Single Man," a homosexual romantic tragedy directed by Tom Ford. I think because it is a movie about a gay romance, the word "boyfriend" is written in Katakana to accentuate the main character's homosexuality and the core essence of the film. 

コマアシャルのシングルマン

The Second: アーティスティック (Artistic)

Why Katakana?

I found this word in an article reviewing M.I.A's most recent album, "MAYA". I think Katakana was used in this case to accentuate the fact that her music is atypical and she is a musical artist, not just a musician. It's really interesting that the word "artistic" is stressed here, and I think it holds a very different meaning from "good" or "talented". The word エスニック (ethnic) was also used because it is an important aspect of her musical style and identification.

せんしゅうどようび

どようび　にともだち（KatieさんとEllisさん）は　ヌーヨクへでんしゃできました。KatieさんとEllisさんの　だいがくは　こんしゅう　やすみます。ごごしちじから　ごごくじはんまで　KatieさんとEllisさんとわたしは　あるいて　ヌーヨクへ　いきました。くじはんに　でんしゃで　ぴんすとんへ　かえりました。わたしのかぞくは うれしい　です。KatieさんとEllisさんは　わたしのうち　ねました。

Katieさん

Ellisさん

The Boy At The えきのばす。

This weekend, きんようびからにちようびまで, I went up to Providence, Rhode Island to visit my boyfriend at RISD だいがく。At the えきのばす at Penn Station, a boy came up to me and asked me whether I'd sell my ticket to him for よんじゅ dollars (I had spent いち dollars for mine). I said すみません, my boyfriend was expecting me to meet him I couldn't skip the trip since we don't get to see each other that often. The boy said he understood really well since he was also trying to get to Providence to visit his girlfriend who goes to Brown だいがく。He had left from American だいがくin Washington D.C at ごぜんろくようじ and on his way to New York the ばす broke down and left them stranded for a couple hours. Because of this, he missed his second ばす leaving for Providence and had been stuck in New York for hours because the next one wasn't until ごじごじゅぷん, which was the ばす I was taking. We talked for a while and then he left to try to find someone willing to sell him their ticket for the ばす since the でんしゃ was too expensive. He wasn't on board when we left, and I don't know what happened to him or whether he was able to get to Providence, but I have never met someone that had made such an impression on me in such a short conversation. The whole ride all I could think about was whether he was able to find a ticket and see his girlfriend, who he gets to see more rarely than I see my boyfriend. I just wish I had been able to help him and maybe one day we'll meet again so we can make this trip together as two kids just trying to reach the people they care about.

Why I Decided To Take Japanese

The first time I studied Japanese was in kindergarten, and even though I only took the class for a year, I still remembered most of the things that I learned throughout high school. I also have a strong interest in architecture, especially the values behind the simplicity of modern Japanese architecture. When deciding on what language to take, I chose to return to my kindergarten interest in order to one day travel to Japan and be able to really experience the culture and aesthetics as they were intended. I believe that the minimalist psyche that Japanese architecture so commonly refers to is the future of creating functional and sustainable living spaces, and so I want to educate myself in this practice as much as possible. It's my hope to visit Tokyo with my boyfriend by the end of graduate school, so we can both experience a completely different culture and find inspiration for our arts. Until then, all I can do is work hard :)

はじめまして！

おはよ　ございます！

おなまえ　わ？　Clio-です！

なんさい？　じゅはち　さい　です！

ころおんびあ　 だいがく　の　いちねん　にほんご　の　がくせい　です。

わたし　わ　あめりかじん、かれきました　Princeton, New Jersey.

こちら　こそ　よろしく！