二十年ごの私

わたしは　二〇一九年に　けっこんしました。
こどもが三人います。おとこのこが一人と　おんなのこが二人　います。
そして　いぬがいっぴきと　ねこがいっぴき　います。
いっしょに　日本に　すんでいます。　
わたしのうちは　ちいさいですが、かいてきです。
うちのちかくに　えきやスーパーなどが　ありますから、とてもべんりです。
わたしのしごとは　じょうにかのいしゃです。
毎朝　九時から五時まで　しごとをします。
日よう日は　休みです。 日よう日に　かぞくと　こうえんで　あそびます。
まいとしに二かい　りょこうをいきます。

Katakana Analysis Final Draft

According to textbook information and online sources, the common カタカナ usages are:
1. For foreign names of people, countries and companies.
2. Transcription of words from non-Chinese foreign languages (English, German, et cetera)
Foreign phrases are usually transliterated with a middle dot separating the words.
3. Emphasize on a particular word (like italics in English – it can also mean "words spoken by a foreigner", or "with a foreign accent")
4. Onomatopoeia (for example hii ヒー means "sigh")
5. Furigana: giving the pronunciation of a word written in roman characters, or for a foreign word which is written as kanji for the meaning, but intended to be pronounced as the original.
6. Indication of sarcasm or other feelings by replacing ひらがなor 漢字with カタカナ.
7. Names of animal and plant species.

 
Acuvue Oasysis is written in カタカナ on the lower left corner as アキュビューオアシス. Transcribed into カタカナ on the box, カタカナ is used here as a loanword, which usually brings about a sense of 'foreign-ness'. However, since the words in カタカナ are already seen as part of the Japanese vocabulary, it has lost its sense of 'foreign-ness'. Rather, this shows how Japanese culture is slowly adopting western culture and traits and making it a part of their own. Many Japanese people preferred to transcribe a loanword as closely as possible to the pronunciation of the original words. The words in カタカナ help emphasize the merging and blending of language and culture between Japanese and western culture. And such, the カタカナ carries a sense of 'longing' that Japanese people have toward western culture – especially British and American culture. By using カタカナ, アキュビューオアシス indicates raw feelings that connect Japanese culture to its western counterpart.

ユニクロ is the name of a Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer. The original name of ユニクロ is Unique Clothing Warehouse. I found that by abbreviating their names and using カタカナ instead of the roman alphabet, the name fits better with their logo, which seems to emphasize on their boxiness. I believe that the company simplified their name from Unique Clothing Warehouse to ユニクロ because the simplicity makes it easier to create a logo that people can remember because of its uniqueness. By using カタカナ, which is simpler and more box-like than ひらがな, カタカナ makes the logo more aesthetically pleasing to look at. If ひらがな was used instead, it would be more bubbly and round, which would not look as nice as it does withカタカナ. The カタカナ version of the name seems to lend itself to katakana. The logo reminds us that it is a Japanese company even if ユニクロ does not sound very Japanese. カタカナ makes ユニクロ more modern and more stylized. I believe that the boxy design is fundamental to ユニクロ's brand. ユニクロ creates the connection between its visual aspect and its belief – trying to sell casual, simple, modern yet unique clothing – through the clean lines of カタカナ.

The アロエ beverage product above is written in カタカナ instead of ひらがな. カタカナis used here as a loanword because the word aloe does not exist in the Japanese language and that Aloe is a plant. By using カタカナ instead of ひらがな, emphasis is placed on the composition and nature of the product – the concept that the drink consists mainly of the plantアロエ. This will make it stand out more in terms of packaging and flavoring among similar drinks that might have more normal flavors such as peach, strawberry, green tea, etc. The strange but uniqueness of アロエ may not be seem as foreign but it definitely helps to make it more appealing to the viewers.

Overall, the Japanese written systems consists of カタカナ, ひらがな, and 漢字. By using a different writing system than the norm, the purpose and/or intention of the user is revealed. Thus, it is wise to consider for what reason is and for message the words need to convey to viewers in order to determine which writing system should be used.

Sources
http://forum.anipike.com/archive/index.php/t-1115.html
http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Katakana
dspace.library.uvic.ca:8080/bitstream/1828/189/1/PhD%20dissertation.pdf
Mamiko (TA), Tammy, Kate (四年生のケイト), ケリー, ジューリ　アシトントン, aelith
A Japanese friend who is a native speaker and has been studying Japanese for more than 7 years
Image Credit
Acuvue Oaysis
Uniqlo
Aloe (credit. Elaine Truong)

ことしのサンクスギビング

わたしは　ヴィヴィさんに　ペンステーションで　あいました。
いしょうに　アシュリーのうちへ　いきました。
ペンステーションから　ローレルトンまで　ロングアイランドレールロード(LIRR)で　いきました。さんじゅうぷんぐらいかかりました。
アシュリーのうちが　クイーンズに　あります。
サンクスギビングデーナーは　とてもおいしかったです！
わたしは　トルコや　ハムなどを　たべました。
アップルサイダーとプンチュ 　のみました。
デーナーは　とてもたのしかったです！
わたしは　とても　おなかが　いっぱかったです！

あめ (Katakana Project)

あめがふって　ザー　ザー
あめがふって　ザー　ザー
おとのことおんなのこは
がっこうから　うちまで
いっしょに　いきます。
すいてきが　ピチャ　ピチャ
くつガ　ピシャ　ピシャ
かぜガ　サー　サー
おとのことおんなのこは
木のしたにいます
すいてきが　ピチャ　ピチャ
ハートビートが　ドキドキ　
ハートビートが　ドクンドクン
キスをします
あめがふって　サー　サー
あめがふって　サー　サー
おとのことおんなのこは
かえいますかえいますまどのそとに
あめがふって　バ　バ
あめがふって　バ　バ

Composition 2

はいけいたなかさん、

こんにちは！わたしはイレーンです。ちゅうごくじんです。じゅうはっさいです。たんじょうびはじゅうにがつようかです。にほんりょりがすきです。すしとおこのみやきがとてもすきです。カリフォニヤのオアカラドからきました。

いまわたしはニューヨークがいます。コロンビアだいがくのいちねんせいです。にほごのがくせいもいちねんせいです。だいがくのせいかつはとてもおもしろいですが、むずかしいです。

ろくがつじゅうににちににほへいきます。ナリタくうこうへひこうきでいきます。

どうぞよろしくおねがいします。


１１月９日　イレーン

Katakana Analysis Draft

In most textbooks, カタカナ is said to be used for loanwords, emphasis, onomatopoeia, and furigana.

 

1. Acuvue Oasysis is written in カタカナ on the lower left corner as アキュビューオアシス.  カタカナ is used here as a loanword since Acuvue Oasys is a foreign company. By using カタカナ, the foreign-ness of the company is emphasized and gives the consumers a different, more distinctive view on the product.

2. ユニクロ is the name of a Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer. I believe that they used カタカナ instead of ひらがな for the name of the company is to put emphasis on the name and to make stand out among other similar type of companies. By using カタカナ, the name is the company is highly emphasized and gives the shopper a sense of foreign-ness and unique feel to the store.

3. The アロエ beverage product above is written in カタカナ instead of ひらがな. カタカナis used here as a loanword because the word Aloe does not exist in the Japanese language. By using カタカナ instead of ひらがな, emphasis is placed on the foreign-ness of the product which will make it stand out more in terms of packaging among similar drinks.

Overall, the Japanese written systems consists of カタカナ, ひらがな, and 漢字. By using a different writing system than the norm, the purpose and intentions is revealed. Thus, it is wise to consider what the reason is and what you want to convey to others to determine what you should use.

Japanese Food! にほんのりょうり

にちようびにカリナちゃんとたくみくんとにほんのレストランでしょくもつをたべました。わたしはやきそば とおこのみやきをたべました。おいしいです。

Combo A: やきそばとおこのみやきです。

カリナちゃんとたくみくんです。

メニューです。

JAPANESE MUSIC! にほんごのおんがく

みんあさん、こんいちわ。
きょうはあめのひです。I like (to play in 0:]) the rain a lot so I don't like to use an umbrella (かさ) but I think I will have to use one soon... I forgot to close the windows today, so I ended up getting water in my room :/ 
Class was canceled today because Nazikian-Sensei (なじきあんせんせい) is sick :[ I hope she gets better soon, so we can learn more Japanese!
Remember on げつようび when I said that my favorite day of week was かようび and everyone was confused? It's because I only have one one class on Tuesday and that's Japanese! :D (and yes, I did not have any classes today! XP)

Here are some of my favorite Japanese songs~~ :]

Big Bang - Tell Me Goodbye


Big Bang - Let Me Hear Your Voice


Although it's in Japanese, Big Bang is actually a Korean boy group...
Big Bang はかわいいですね〜〜 :3

ヒルクライム -  春夏秋冬
I think this is the first non-anime Japanese song that I've listened to.
I really like this song. Hope you like it too~~ :D


Please let me know what you think of the songs! :] (and which one you like the most, if any)
Thank you for listening! ありがとうございます！
じゃまたあした！


P.S. is anyone ready for the exam on Monday? I'm starting to relearn/memorize hiragana again!

Why Japanese?

Hi! My name is Elaine and I am a student at Barnard College of Columbia University. I am currently taking a First-Year Japanese course here. Since I was little, I loved Japanese culture. I grew up watching Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z with my siblings. I enjoyed spending hours reading manga. Lately,  I started listening to Japanese music. I always wanted to learn Japanese so that I can experience the culture firsthand. I want to be able to read Japanese manga, to watch anime without subtitles and to understand lyrics to Japanese songs. I am planning on studying abroad in Japan during Spring semester of my junior year. I am excited to learn more vocabulary and to be able to converse in Japanese with other people. I hope that my year abroad will be full of adventure and excitement~! :] I can't wait to visit~~

During the first two weeks of class, I found memorizing and writing Hiragana to be the most difficult task. I think that my Japanese writing is heavily influenced by the Chinese background. I hope that throughout the semester, I can improve the handwriting and be somewhat fluent in Japanese.

自己紹介

はじめまして。
わたしはイレーンとです。Barnardだいがくのいちねんのがくせいです。ちゅうごくじんです。カリフォリニア(California)のオアカランド (Oakland)からきました。
よろしくおねがいします。