Wednesday, September 26, 2012

カタカナプロジェクト examples



1: Onomatopoeia

にこにこ is onomatopoeic phrase for smile.



Similar onomatopoeic for laugh or smile in Katakana:

http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa090900.htm

kusu kusu くすくす to giggle
gera gera げらげら to laugh loudly, to guffaw
niko niko にこにこ to smile
niya niya にやにや to grin
nita nita にたにた to smirk
ahaha, hahaha あはは、ははは the sound of loud laughter




2. Loanword

イベント simply means "event" in English. Although there are many Kanji equivalent for this word, such as 行事, 事件, yet it seems that イベント is the most popular.

http://www.mitsuwa.com/event/index.php


3. Emphasis

イケメン means "good-looking man" in Japanese. Although the word is of Japanese origin, it is usually written in Katakana because it is sort of a slang and being emphasized in the context.





4. Unknown Reason

オノ・ヨーコ(小野 洋子) is a famous avant-garde artist, who is also know as author, filmmaker, peace activist, musician, and of course John Lennon's Wife. The name is surely a Japanese name, but usually it is either written in Katakana or Kanji. The reason for this might because of Ono's prominent influence in America and the Western society.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoko_Ono
 

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