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.