katakana analysis

キウイグミ -- Kiwi Gummy (candy): (2 parts) Kiwis originated in SE Asia, near the Yangtze Valley. After being popularized in the West, they were reintroduced to other parts of Asia, in this case, Japan. For food items that do not originate in Japan, it is likely that the Japanese use Katakana to spell the loan word. Had Kiwis originated in Japan, it is likely they would be called something else, and in that case be spelled in Hiragana. Gummies, made from gelatin, likely originated in the West as well. In this case, it is also like that the Japanese use Katakana to spell the word in order to maintain its status as a non-native Japanese item. It is likely that katakana is used for loan words like "kiwi" and "gummy" as opposed to hiragana or kanji because of its appearance. Katakana has a block like appearance that almost resembles some English letters. Perhaps the Japanese, in attempting to distinguish words as non-native but still implementing some ownership over the usage of loanwords, decided to use katakana because of its resemblance to English letters. While this would specify a word as a "loan-word," it is still written in a Japanese alphabet and this way, the Japanese can dictate its usage.

ハンコック -- Hankock (movie poster): Hancock is spelled with Katakana, most likely due to the fact that it is an American movie, with an English named main character. In order to preserve respect to the American origin, it is likely that the Japanese use Katakana to 1) pay respect to the movie's origin and 2) to show that the movie is not originally Japanese. Perhaps it is easiest way to pay tribute to the American origin--by providing an alphabet that resembles the English language. Therefore, for the same reasons listed above--mainly that Katakana resembles the English alphabet and still manages to maintain Japanese ruling over the usage of the word within its language,--the Japanese chose to use Katakana for loanwords.


The exact reasons behind spelling certain words in Katakana is largely an arbitrary issue. Because of this, it is difficult to determine exactly why the author, creator, etc chose to write the word(s) in Katakana. This is also why many books vary on explaining any definitive consensus regarding the "rules" of using Katakana.


Other loan words spelled in Katakana found for this project include:
エブリバーガーEvery burger (candy)
ジュエリーJewelry (nippon vogue)
ミルクコーヒーmilk coffee (drink)
スズキsuzuki (car ad)
トヨタtoyata (car ad)