 |  |
The two words that I have chosen are クックダッセ from the package of cookies by さんりつ, and アウトソーシング from the presentation to the Prime Minister. I believe that the first かたかな word, which is a phonetic representation of “couque d’asses”, produces a “Western” effect of sorts. The company most likely used French words in order to convince customers that its product is a high-quality, delectable European treat. According to Barbara Mueller, a professor and contributor to the Journal of Advertising Research: “Japanese manufacturers are said to have a ‘marked preference for foreign-sounding brand names because they are supposed to lend a touch of class or prestige to the product’…” (Mueller 16). This becomes even more obvious in the case of “couque d’asses”, which is neither a dessert nor a coherent French expression; but because the phrase sounds French, it may appeal to curious Japanese consumers.
Some Japanese fashion magazines also do this with the English language, and go as far to string together English words to invent brand new loanwords: "Some loanwords found in...Japanese magazines do not even exist in English. Instead, Japanese speakers have coined them as a way to provide a cachet of authentic English words" (Tamaoka 70).
The second word, アウトソーシング, is the かたかな for “outsourcing”. In 2002, minister for public management かたやま とらのすけ delivered a speech to Prime Minister こいずみ じゅんいちろう about Japanese IT strategies. According to an article in Japan Inc. magazine from July 2002, かたやま used “about 30 katakana business terms” (PM Blows Lid 5) before the Prime Minister interrupted the speaker to ask about these words. The minister for public management explained to the PM that “the Japanese language just doesn’t have the vocabulary yet for relatively new business concepts like outsourcing, back office, and incubator” (5). Thus, the reason for かたかな use here is practical. Some words are written in かたかな until a native equivalent is developed and agreed on. The Prime Minister argued that there was no point in using these words if Japanese citizens had no idea what they meant. However, they do suffice for businessmen who know English, and these are the people who use these terms regularly.
As some commenters have rightly pointed out, there are other uses of かたかな, such as emphasis and onomatopoeia. However, I chose to stick with loan words because I feel that they bring other important issues to the surface that aren't explicitly linguistic (e.g. the impact of the West on Japanese culture). While an author's particular use of emphasis with かたかな may be equally riveting, loan words are probably a more useful indicator of cultural trends that natives have seen.
2) Also, think why there are such effects/purposes.
While both sources use かたかな to represent foreign loanwords, the effects that they create are different. The chocolate cookies may appeal to consumers because they contain elements of Western culture. Of course, this does not imply that Western cuisine is inherently superior; for Westerners also admire and have a fascination with Japanese culinary delights like すし, さしみ, うどん, and そば. I believe that since Japan ended its policy of isolation at the start of the Meiji Era, and especially since its extended encounter with Westerners in World War II, Japan has grown curious about culture on the European and North American continents. With regard with the katakana-laden speech delivered to the Japanese Prime Minister, the effect is not so much psychological as it is linguistic. It addresses the issue of incorporating a flood of new English vocabulary into the Japanese lexicon. かたかな seems like a convenient and practical way to describe business concepts like “outsourcing” until new words are developed. But there is a chance that foreign words can undermine the effectiveness of native Japanese, as the Prime Minister pointed out.
3) Think about why each textbook is different in explaining katakana, and why the textbooks explained katakana in the manners that they did.
In class we received material from several different textbooks explaining the Japanese writing systems. All of them were very general in describing かたかな as useful for writing (1) foreign loanwords, (2) onomatopoeia, and (3) emphatic words. I feel that the two books I used to analyze the かたかな above give us much insight into the first and perhaps most common of the categories that I listed. The other two uses are also important; onomatopoeia use かたかな because the words themselves are nonsensical, and should not be misread to have any meaning; and emphatic words use it because かたかな is bolder and more easily noticed than ひらがな
The first book, which I used to analyze the cultural appeal of foreign words, is the Journal of Advertising Research. This particular article, titled “Standardization vs. Specialization: An Examination of Westernization in Japanese Advertising”, was published in the January/February 1992 issue. It makes sense that this source explained かたかな from a cultural/psychological perspective because it comes from an advertiser’s point of view. Advertisers look for ways to tap into the consumer’s psyche and get him/her to buy a product. Thus, the journal writers probably saw the “Western” effect immediately and determined that かたかな was commonly used for this purpose.
The second source was an article called “PM Blows Lid over Katakana Terms” in the July 2002 issue of J@pan Inc. magazine. J@pan Inc. is targeted towards foreigners living in Japan who want information on IT companies and trends within various Japanese industries. It makes sense that such a magazine would see かたかな as it relates to the business world: a practical means by which to acquaint Japanese businessmen with new business lingo. It also makes sense that the magazine would expect its English-speaking audience to be familiar with the terms “outsourcing” and “back-office”.
Thus, these two sources show us that both cultural curiosity and practical necessity are two important motivations for using かたかな.
Sources
Barbara, Mueller. Standardization vs. Specialization: An Examination of Westernization in Japanese Advertising. Journal of advertising research 32.1 1992: 15. Cambridge University Press. 29 Oct 2010.
PM Blows Lid over Katakana Terms. J@pan Inc. 33 2002: 5. LINC Japan. 29 Oct 2010.
Tamaoka, Katsuo. The cognitive processing of Japanese loanwords in katakana. Japanese psychological research 45.2 01 May 2003: 69-79. Blackwell Publishing. 30 Nov 2010.
