カタカナAnalysis!

Katakana, which was developed in the 9th century by Japanese students of Buddhism and now an independent Japanese alphabet, bears several implications and usage in itself.

Katakana is expressed differently in various texts, including the transcription of foreign words and creating an exotic and sophisticated effect. Besides describing loan words and names, one of the major usages of Katakana involve emphasizing phrases or words that are deemed important to the author, similar to italics or bold words in English.

Among these several usages of Katakana, I would like to focus on the specific feelings and sensations generated through the use of onomatopoeic Katakana.

In Utada Hikaru's "Automatic," the use of such onomatopoeic Katakana heighten the intense feelings of love in the song. For instance, when the lyric says merely being with you and looking into your eyes, onomatopoeic Katakana comes into play, as it states, "トキドキ止まらない..." meaning -my heart cannot stop from pitter-pattering.- Here, the use ofドキドキ intensifies the extent to which the person feels nervous, yet excited at the same time when being with her lover. In addition, when explaining how she exactly feels when she is in her lover's breast, she describes, "キラキラまぶしくて..." meaning -everything seems to glitter (twinkle-twinkle).- Instead of recounting her wonderful experience otherwise, she describes the situation as キラキラ, illustrating the magical and marvelous sensations when she is together with her love.

As such, these onomatopoeic Katakana not only add meaning and context to the songs, but also heighten the feelings and emotions of the one in love. Without the use of such onomatopoeic Katakana, the phrases would indeed be bland and expressionless. Thus, the onomatopoeic Katakana enriches both the song and the experience of the listeners.
4 comments

katakana literary work

きようはかぜがふく
ソヨソヨ
そのフレイバはあまいです
ドキドキ、わたしのしんぞう
おぼえていますか。そのプレイス
パラダイスいるみたいです
キラキラ、あのほし
ユラユラ、あのなみ
あなたわどこにいますか？
おらのやくそくがわすれましたか
あのにちのキスはわすれないよ
イツモ、イツモ、わすれないよ
イツモ、イツモ、あいしてる

In this poem, I have used Katakana in various ways. First, I described the scene as detailed and vivid as possible, using onomatopoeic katakana such as the sound of the soft wind blowing, ソヨソヨ, the sound of the delicate wave ユラユラ, and more. Also, I have used katakana in context of foreign use, such as フレイバ(flavor),フレイス（place),and キス（kiss), which makes the poem even more sophisticated. In addition, I used katakana to emphasize certain words, such as イツモ、to highlight the mood of the poem in general; in this context, this highlights one's everlasting love towards someone, as she will "always" never forget her love.

Composition #2

まきのさん、はじめまして！わたしわアンジェラです。わたしわことしコロンビアのだいがくからときょまできました。わたしわにほんのせいかつたくさんいそがしですがほんとにおもしろいです！わたしわまいにちしちじにおきます。そしてうちからがっこうまでちかてつでいきます。がっこうににほんごとびじゆつしがならいます。せんせいとともだちわいつもほんとにやさしいですからわたしわよくうれしいです。わたしわえがすきですからさんじにクラスのあとうでともだちとにほんのびじゆつかんへいきます。そして、すてきなレストラーンでおいしいたべものおたべます。それからみせでかわいものおかいます。わたしはともだちといっしょにこうえんでしゃしんおとります。それからうちへかえります。わたしわにほんのせいかつわとてもおもしろいです！まきのさんはこんしゆのとようびにいっしょにレストラーンへいきましょう！じゃ、まった！

カタカナAnalysis Draft!

Among the several uses of Katakana, including the transcription of foreign words and creating an exotic and sophisticated effect as mentioned in the texts, I would like to focus on the specific feelings and sensations generated through the use of onomatopoeic Katakana.
In Utada Hikaru's "Automatic," the use of such onomatopoeic Katakana heighten the intense feelings of love in the song. For instance, when the lyric says merely being with you and looking into your eyes, onomatopoeic Katakana comes into play, as it states, "トキドキ止まらない..." meaning -my heart cannot stop from pitter-pattering.- Here, the use ofドキドキ intensifies the extent to which the person feels nervous, yet excited at the same time when being with her lover. In addition, when explaining how she exactly feels when she is in her lover's breast, she describes, "キラキラまぶしくて..." meaning -everything seems to glitter (twinkle-twinkle).- Instead of recounting her wonderful experience otherwise, she describes the situation as キラキラ, illustrating the magical and marvelous sensations when she is together with her love.
As such, these onomatopoeic Katakana not only add meaning and context to the songs, but also heighten the feelings and emotions of the one in love. Without the use of such onomatopoeic Katakana, the phrases would indeed be bland and expressionless. Thus, the onomatopoeic Katakana enriches both the song and the experience of the listeners.