Ever since I was a kid, I always took some feedback when I decided to chew my popsicle rather than suck and lick one into a sticky, soupy mess. Call me impatient, but I always thought it tasted better when I bit right in. So when I was introduced to the Japanese popsicle that had to be to be chewed to be appreciated, I couldn't have been happier. The soda flavored popsicle called Gari-Gari Kun, is named for the onomatopoeic crunch that you hear and feel in you jaw when chewed. This had been my introduction to the world of Japanese onomatopoeia, most interesting was how different "gari-gari" was from English versions of similar sound. As far as chewing sounds are English has: crunch, chomp, munch, gnaw; not many more. Additionally, English crunch-type onomatopoeias have other uses and applications. A 'crunch' could come from many things besides chewing, whereas Japanese words are much more unique in a sense. Because of the unique nature of onomatopoeia, the Japanese writing system utilizes the katakana syllabary for their use in printed materials.
I had also come across katakana with the word ザトウクジラ, Humpback Whale, in an Alaska tour book for Japanese. But why had this katakana word (Zato Uku-jira) been used instead of a Japanese kanji spelling such as 座頭鯨? On the same page, the humpback's brother whale, the Beluga, had been printed in Katakana as well ベルーガ (Berooga). What's important to know about katakana is that it has several uses and an extensive history.
Katakana was developed during Japan's Heian Period (794-1185 AD). In this time, katakana had come into use as an alphabet of phonograms, or sound based characters, based on Japanese Kanji (ideograms based on Chinese) characters. Monks had used the new syllabary as a form of shorthand in the transcribing of sacred texts. Around the same time the hiragana syllabary had been established for noble women to "express Japanese mentality" in diaries and poems (Nakagawa). In addition, some musical scores from this time are also written in katakana (mnsu.edu). Much later, after Japan's Meiji Revolution in 1868, the use of Katakana had been established for functional words and hiragana established as a means to express foreign or "loan" words from the west (Nakagawa).
World War II, marked another cornerstone in establishing modern Japanese wrinting. During the war with Japanese nationalism, many previous loanwords had been given Japanese names. By the war's end, loanwords had returned and it had been ruled that Katakana would be used for them. Today, katakana is used for three reasons: onomatopoeia, loan words, and emphasis words.
Because of its distinct, sweeping strokes and edges, katakana also serves as an emphasis in printed words, much like how Latin based alphabets use italics. An example of a katakana emphasis would be in company names. Despite the fact that most business names derive from the family name such as Toyota, or Asahi it is customary to see the name in katakana versus Kanji. Printed emphasis may be seen in works of art such as poetry or manga, to attach more meaning or emphasis to particular words.
Because of Japan's dynamic history, in particular the 19th and 20th centuries have allowed the opportunity for many changes in the Japanese writing system. It is interesting and a challenge to trace its history. Above all, the written language of Japan is vital to the Japanese culture. Despite its origins from China, Japanese stands alone in its style and grace; unique from any other language.
References:
Anonymous. "Heinan Period (794-1185 AD)." Minnesota State University eMuseum. Web. 30 November 2010.
Nakagawa, Hiroshi. "Web Based Acquisition of Japanese Katakana Variants." Tokyo University: Powerpoint Presentation. 2005. Web. 30 November 2010.
