Here is my Katakana Analysis Draft:
1. ソフトサラダ
Source: Rice cracker wrapper
Category: Loan word
Meaning: soft, with salad flavor.
Apparently, "salad" flavor is pretty common in Japan; it's basically a combination of sweet and salty, not unlike the taste of ranch dressing. "Soft" refers to the fact that the cracker isn't too hard (here, the manufacturer displays concern for the teeth of elderly consumers). Reasons for Katakana use in this case include loan words and advertising emphasis.
2. チャックべり
Source: Old concert poster/advertisement, found on the internet
Category: Loan word
Meaning: Chuck Berry
This particular use of Katakana is not only for a loan word (the artist's name) but also for advertising emphasis.
As for the differences in textbook explanations, I can't say I found much of a difference.
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ReplyDelete日本語のＴＡのアーントです。ソフトサラダって何ですか? is it a candy that is salad-flavored? or an actual salad that is not firm? 後、チャック ベリーはit is in カタカナ because it is a foreign name, such as mine! Although sometimes people assign kanji characters to foreign names as well, it is possible! Have you thought about why PR would want to include カタカナ for emphasizing their products, even Japanese brands and companies? カタカナ is also used for onomatopoeia as well, what do you think about the effect of that over ひらがな？
ReplyDeleteI think your choice of katakana words are pretty interesting. From the context I can't tell what they mean by ソフト サラダ, so it'd be interesting to know what type of food item they were referring to. As for why they used ソフト, what type of impression do you think they would be left with if the makers decided instead to use Japanese adjectives in hiragana or kanji?
ReplyDeleteHaha チャックべりはうたがじょうずです。 わたしのプロジェクトもloanwordsをします。 I think it's interesting to look at how Japanese companies decide when to use loanwords and when to use native equivalents. And the textbooks were two sheets that まついせんせい gave out a few weeks ago. I didn't use them either until she recommended that we write a sentence or two about them.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the food product that was advertising a soft salad flavor? As for チャックべり, I recall the advertisement also stating the genre in katakana, ロックンロール.
ReplyDeleteI like how you pointed out how salad refers to a kind of flavor in Japan that isn't necessarily what we would consider a "salad" flavor. Don't be disappointed when you buy a box of salad Pretz (a kind of long stick cracker) and it tastes nothing like veggies! However, real salads are also referred to as サラダ. Why do you think both of these are katakanized words in normal speech?
ReplyDeleteRegarding ソフト, in the case that the snack is targeting the elderly who are less familiar with western words, why do you think katakana still has an appeal? Do you think the age group a specific ad is geared towards has an affects the amount of katakana words used?
Another angle to consider perhaps is the popular culture view of katakana. On top of applying emphasis to certain words, katakana may also seem "cool", which would be desirable in an advertisement, whether it's a poster or food.
ReplyDeleteAlso, perhaps you can consider what kind of effect ソフト has in the onomatopoeic sense? Soft is a sensory adjective, which may play a part in why katakana was chosen for this particular name.
very interesting analysis! i totally agree with you that textbooks we read in class showed not much difference in explaining katakana usage.
ReplyDelete