2010 the most popular words among Japanese young generation

ひだり:the most popular words and phrases on net
みぎ: the most popular words and phrases used in cellphone messages by high school girls (some sounds lovely~~)

my first literature try in Japanese

あかい
きいろ
きれいならくようが
グラウンドに
ある

いちまい
にまい
さんまい

アアー
りょくそうもある
あかいときいろのしたに

したで
あおぞらを
みえません
とりを
みえません

まいにち
そこできている
パタパタ
とりが
きますか


グラウンド  ground, loanword from english　
パタパタ      the sound of a thin light object flapping, here I refer it to the flapping sound of the wings when birds fly.

other words:
きいろ　yellow
とり bird
らくよう fallen leaves
りょくそう  green grass
あおぞら  blue sky
みえません  can not see

Sorry for many grammatical mistakes in this so-called poem.

katakana final

I picked the following two katakana from magzine:

• ポーズ                    pose / noun, loanword
• キラキラ　　　　glitter; sparkle; glisten; twinkle/onomatopoeia 

Analysis on the effects and reasons

ポーズ 

This is a loanword from English. There is another Japanese word to express similar meaning: みえ, 構え(かまえ) and etc.(1)  In English-Japanese Dictionary, pose could be translate either way. However, there are some obvious difference among the usage of these words. For example, let us look at  ポーズ and 構え. If we search these two words in google, we could discover they are sometimes used together in case as: 構えのポーズ.(2) The context indicates that 構え might be one kind of ポーズ . According to the dictionary,  ポーズ are more commonly used while 構え specifically refers to poses of some traditional Japanese activities such as in martial arts, 剣道 (kendoo). The wide use of ポーズ  reveals the transformation or westernization of life style Japanese people once experienced. Now,  it has already been well incorporated into their daily lives just as how Hong Kong people use the word "pose".

キラキラ 

 

This word is mimicing the sound of the sparkle to represent a shiny state. From the view of a foreigner, Japanese language seems quite creative to present a visual experience by acoustic symbols. Great effort are required to reach the inner part of Japanese culture, only based on which we can feel the exact connection between them. It is also amazing how Japanese people found the kirakira sound.  But maybe it come from the sound of burning charcoal fire.

Differences in explaining Katakana

I did not find such differences..if there are some, the reason could be different knowledge backgrounds and research approaches of the interpreters. After all, katakana themselves are phenomenon to be analyzed just as what we are doing here.

sources:

1) Japanese- Japanese/Chinese Dictionary, translated from 標準國語辭典，edited by 旺文社, Beijing : Press of Foreign Language Education and Research, 2002.

    online Japanese dictionary:  http://jisho.org/

2) blog and twitters about martial digital-games:

     http://josia.jugem.jp/?eid=420   

     http://twitter.com/n__a__m/statuses/28552145255

てがみ

　やまださんへ、おげんきですか。


　はじめまして。わたしは　ジンジャンです。アメリカのコロンビアだいがくのだいがくいんせいです。らいねんのなつに　にほんへいきます。そこで　にほんごをべんきょうします。にほんごとにほんぶんかがとてもすきです。
　いまわたしは　ニューヨークで　べんきょうします。でも　ちゅうごくじんです。ことしの八月に　アメリカへ　きました。ニューヨークのせいかつは　べんりですが、いそがしいです。わたしは　月曜日から金曜日まで　がっこうへいきます。としょかんで　ほんを　よみます。しゅうまつに　ともだちに　あいます。ときどき　デパートへ　いっしょにいきます。おいしいたべものを　かいます。ニューヨークのあさは　とても　きれいですから、せんしゅう　しゃしんをとりました。にほんのせいかつは　どうですか。いま　もう　さむいですか。
　七月一日に　ひこうきで　にほんへいきます。どうぞ　よろしくおねがいします。

十一月三日　ジンジャン

Katakana Analysis Draft

Two katakana from magzine:

• ポーズ          pose / noun, a loanword from English
• キラキラ　　　　glitter; sparkle; glisten; twinkle/onomatopoeia 

Questions

why there are such effects/purposes.

1)This is clearly a loanword from English. What is interesting here is that: there should be a Japanese word for the meaning of pose or gesture though I do not know what it is. Why would people/this magazine use a loanword instead? At least from the source where I get this word, I see a young woman displaying her stretching Yoga pose.Considering the intended readers of this magazine, I guess the word is adopted by young westernized generation and has already been well incorporated into their daily lives just as how Hong Kong people use the word "pose".

2)To mimic the sound of the sparkle to represent the shiny state. It is amazing how Japanese people found the kirakira sound. But maybe it come from the sound of burning charcoal fire where I have heard similar sounds.

why each textbook is different in explaining katakana, and why the textbooks explained katakana in the manners that they did.   

•  I did not find such differences..if there are some, the reason could be different knowledge backgrounds and research approaches of the interpreters. After all, katakana themselves are phenomenon to be analyzed just as what we are doing here.

がんばて ください！

せんしゅうとこんしゅうは　midterm　です。
しけん　と　paper assignments　が　あります。
みなさんは　まいにち　べんきょうします。とても　いそがしいです。

like どらえもん　at work ～～～～

わたしのしゅうまつ

どようびに　わたしは　ともだちと　デパートへ　いきました。コロンビアだいがくから　century 21まで　ちかてつで　いきました。くつとかばんを　みました。でも　なにも　かいませんでした。それから　わたしたちは　flushingへ　いきました。そこに　ばんごはんを　たべました。ちゅうごくのたべものを　かいました。

このしゃしんは　flushingのしょくどうです。ここで　ともだちと　ばんごはんを　たべました。