Example 1: オレ
Context: This example comes from a manga called HunterXHunter. In this particular scene, the main character Gon is apologizing for something he sees as his fault, and he refers to himself as ore. From what I understand, this pronoun is a little bit rough and generally masculine, so it is does not surprise me that the he uses it. But it is a native Japanese word and can be written with kanji or hiragana, so why is it in katakana?
Analysis: I originally thought it might be because of the scene in the manga, in which Gon has just overcome several tragedies and is apologizing because he feels responsible for them. If Gon is angry with himself and overcome with emotion, I thought that the katakana ore might convey this better than hiragana or kanji would. It also occurred to me that the katakana script might be considered a better way of writing words like ore that are associated with masculinity.
A comment on the above: I did some investigating, and it seems that pronouns like boku and ore are often written in katakana in, for example, advertisements. I think that I will look up examples of this and try to get a feel for the use of katakana for pronouns in general.
Example 2: トラノコ
Context: This example is the title of a song by Motohiro Hata. Toranoko literally means tiger cub, though I think it can also mean treasure.
Analysis: Unfortunately, I cannot understand much of the song, so I’m not sure what it is about. So, if there is a reason for using katakana that is related to the meaning of the song, I don’t know it right now. I am curious, though, about the use of katakana for contemporary music. Using katakana in this song’s title seems to imply to me that the song is more modern (maybe in style, in subject matter, or in some other way). I think katakana is also visually simpler than hiragana and kanji in that it has more straight lines and sharp angles, and maybe this matches the simple style of the song’s music video (below). I want to look at more music and see if any patterns emerge with katakana use.
Textbook:
As for why textbooks choose to include or exclude some functions of katakana in their explanations of Japanese writing, I think that it may be a matter of priorities. With the prevalence of loan words in vocabulary sets and the limited vocabulary and grammar in any beginning course in Japanese, it would probably be difficult to provide a good explanation (along with examples) of uses of katakana outside of writing loan words and onomatopoeia. I wonder whether more advance textbooks address katakana use more thoroughly?
Sources:
Example 1 source: HunterXHunter manga
Example 2 source: トラノコ song
Edit: すみません、the old video link doesn't work anymore.
Here is a shorter version of トラノコ：
Nice examples, one from the manga Hunter x Hunter, and the other from the title of a song. The usage of "ore" is certainly something that is often used as katakana in Japanese media, as I feel the same way: the katakana presents itself as a foreign entity and thus represents a stronger emotion than either alternative. However, as for the title of the song, I am going to guess that it is just for dramatic effect as well, as I cannot really understand what it is trying to say as well
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ReplyDelete初めまして。日本語五年生のフーです。よろしくお願いします。
ReplyDeleteIt is really interesting that your brought up the point of the use of katakana in pronouns. Indeed I see boku and ore written in katakana more often than watashi so it does seem to suggest some degree of association between katakana and masculinity. I think it might also be due to the fact katakana often brings out an emphasizing effect and male speakers, often perceived as more self-centered, tend to make more frequent use of katakana. As for the song トラノコ, I went through the lyrics and nowhere in the content in the lyrics seem to suggest any foreignness so I guess it's written in katakana also for the emphasizing effect.
Hmm, the pronoun aspect of katakana is interesting. Japanese doesn't seem to use pronouns as often as English, so maybe it's for an emphasizing effect. Also, Alex's idea that katakana words are more masculine is interesting because hiragana were originally used only by women, so maybe that heritage is still around a bit.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you might be on the right track with the katakana's appearance in the music video. I don't think that とらのこ would look very good in those funny tiger letters, too many hooks and curves. However, I feel like the artist probably wouldn't change the spelling of the title just to match the video if using katakana didn't in some way make sense for a title.
おもしろいね。。
ReplyDeleteI had never thought that katakana could be used to convey masculinity, but the idea hardly seems far-fetched. I'd like to see more examples of ore (and better yet, boku) being used with katakana so the varied contexts would be clearer.
So now I wonder, would a woman who's aiming at creating a feminine tone for herself then actively avoid katakana usage in her writing? Something to think about!
Without having read other sections of this manga (at least not in Japanese) I can't be certain, but ore may be used here to represent onomatopoeia. I know this sounds weird, and perhaps is just wrong, but the usage in this excerpt sounds like a sort of primal bellow, one that might sound to observers as an animal noise rather than a child's. Food for thought.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I want to praise your clear formatting and presentation of artifacts. Very professional.
みなさんのコメントをありがとうございました！
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