Katakana Analysis Final

   キウィグミ is a phase that means Kiwi Gummy. I found it on a snack package from a grocery store. One effect may be to make the snack sound exotic, and to emphasize the main ingredients. I think the purpose is to draw attention to the snack, because the company wants to profit by making their product seem individual.

   ハリーパットー is a loan word that means Harry Potter, a character from a famous book series. The purpose of his name being in katakana is because he is a foreigner, and the book series is also foreign. Potential buyers may be affected by this foreign title and become more interested in the book. Speaking of books, there are many textbooks that try to explain the history and use of katakana. Here there will be an analysis of the four texts on the Japanese writing system that were given in class.

   The first example text explaining katakana said it is usually used "for writing loanwords and foreign names." This text also describes katakana as having mostly straight lines. Our sensei says the straight lines are because katakana was originally used by Buddhist monks, while hiragana is more rounded and feminine because it was used by women. This description of katakana is for the purpose of a short summary and comparison with hiragana and kanji. This explanation of katakana use shows why Harry Potter's name is writing in katakana, because he is from England.
   The next text explains katakana as being used mostly for words borrowed from other languages and words for sounds. This text does not place much importance on katakana at all, instead going into a much more detailed description of hiragana. This is probably because the process of learning Japanese may be more focused on learning Japanese words specifically, so loan words are not as important. However many advertisements, such as キウィグミ feature katakana so it is essential to understand it as well as hiragana and kanji.
   The third excerpt of text emphasizes the phonetic nature of katakana, also saying they are typically used for foreign names and loan words. This is also a very brief mention of katakana mostly used to show the variety of alphabets used in the Japanese writing system.
   The last text is the most in-depth and complete description of katakana out of the four. In addition to the information already mentioned in the other texts, there is a mention of how the katakana system can be used for words the writer wishes to emphasize. The influence in popular culture of the use of loan words is also discussed, which is important because it brings to light how commonly katakana are used, and the large number of katakana words that exist, so many that "entire dictionaries are devoted just to foreign words and to onomatopoeia words." This text definitely gives the most complete explanation of katakana.

   Katakana has the same number of letters as hiragana, but there exist clear differences between them, from their origin to the present day. Use of katakana in advertising and marketing is significant, as well as in anime and manga in the form of onomatopoeia. I am not sure whether the use of katakana will increase or remain the same, but because of it's current popularity I would think that the prevalence of katakana may increase.