Katakana Analysis Draft

Textbook Analysis:
All 4 textbooks have adequate descriptions of katakana- most focus more mainly on the origins of hiragana, which is fine, since I feel like, until we learn alot more Kanji, most of what we'll be reading will be in hiragana.
The most frequent difference between hiragana and katakana is the fact that hiragana strokes are more smooth than katakana.

Between the 4 textbooks, we know that Katakana is used for onomatopoeia, loan words, foreign names, and words the author wants to stress, though the last on the list was only listed in one textbook.

One thing that the textbooks have (possibly, so hard to tell w/o a good definition for emphasis) left out is the fact that Companies, even those of Japanese origin, often use Katakana for their names
Ex: Nintendo -> ニンテンド、　　Mazda ->　マツダ、　etc...

Most of the textbooks gave incomplete lists of Katakana usage: I'm not sure if this was due to age or intention. Either way, this ends up being the the benefit of a new Japanese student. When a Japanese word is written in Katakana, it stands out even more, because it's unexpected. Which is good, because Katakana is often used in order for the particular word to stand out.


Word usage Analysis:

Special Case (song lyrics): Below is a video along with lyrics to a song from one of my favorite anime, Yu Yu Hakusho. I provide the original Japanese, the direct translation, and the "English version" of the sound (which I didn't know was different at all until I researched it for this project lol). After watching the opening, you should definitely check out the whole series at Hidden Anime. The song title is Hohoemi no Bakudan (A Smile that is a Bomb).

The important words (those written in katakana) are those written in all CAPS in the romanji version. The song is about a young adult (maybe a child, could be...) that's alone and scared in a new town. People begin to secretly help out, so the singer gains the courage to grow up and not cry in the new city. The singer then passes on this secret help to another lonely newcomer.

The first word I'll bring up is オタナ, which means adult. This word may be of importance to the singer, since the song is about growing up.
マル　is another katakana word: it means circle- though it doesn't stand out much in its own particular stanza, the word "circle" itself is important to the song (I believe), since this process of helping out lonely strangers in town is circular (others helped the singer, the singer will help others).
Lastly, the last sentence of every musical phrase (ア・リ・ガ・トー・ゴ・ザ・イ・ます！　ホ・ホ・エ・ミ・ノ・バ・ク・ダン！)　is written in katakana. This could be simply emphasis on how thankful the speaker is, but I think it also has to do with its musical importance- each syllable gets a count or so to itself, and is also where all the climaxes of the song occur.

Anyway, see/read for yourself, and let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Kanji:
微笑みの爆弾

都会の人ごみ　肩がぶつかって　ひとりぼっち
果てない草原　風がビュビュンと　ひとりぼっち
どっちだろう　泣きたくなる場所は
２つマルをつけて　ちょっぴりオトナさ

メチャメチャ苦しい壁だって　ふいに　なぜか
ぶち壊す　勇気とPOWER　湧いてくるのは
メチャメチャきびしい人達が　ふいに　見せた
やさしさの　せいだったり　するんだろうね

ア・リ・ガ・ト・ウ・ゴ・ザ・イ・ます！

今まで何回　ヨロシクと元気に　叫んだだろう
今まで何回　サヨナラと泣いて　別れただろう
どっちだろう　比べて多い数は
イコール書いて　ちょっぴりオトナさ

メチャメチャ悲しいときだって　ふいに　なぜか
乗り越える　勇気とPOWER　湧いてくるのは
メチャメチャやさしい人達が　ふいに　見せた
きびしさの　せいだったり　するんだろうね

ア・リ・ガ・ト・ウ・ゴ・ザ・イ・ます！

メチャメチャ苦しい壁だって　ふいに　なぜか
ぶち壊す　勇気とPOWER　湧いてくるのは
メチャメチャきびしい人達が　ふいに　見せた
やさしさの　せいだったり　するんだろうね

ア・リ・ガ・ト・ウ・ゴ・ザ・イ・ます！

メチャメチャ楽しいときだって　忘れないよ
いつまでも　勇気とPOWER　なくさないよ
メチャメチャひとりぼっちの人に　あげる
唇の　裏側に　隠してある

ホ・ホ・エ・ミ・ノ・バ・ク・ダン！

romanji: Hohoemi no Bakudan                                      English Translation: A Smile That's a Bomb

machi no hitogomi kata ga butsukatte hitoribocchi hatenai sougen kaze ga BYUNBYUN to hitoribocchi docchi darou?   nakitakunaru basho wa futatsu MARU wo   tsukete   choppiri OTONA sa [1]	In a crowd on a city street, shoulders bumping, I'm alone In an endless prairie, wind blowing hard, I'm alone I wonder which is the place I'd want to cry? Drawing two circles, I feel just a little grown-up. [1]
MECHAMECHA kurushii kabe datte fui ni   naze ka buchikowasu   yuuki to power   waite kuru no wa MECHAMECHA kibishii hito-tachi ga fui ni   miseta yasashisa no   sei dattari   suru n darou ne A -RI - GA -TO - U - GO - ZA - I - masu!	Why does the gushing forth of courage and power unexpectedly smash the extremely tortuous wall? Perhaps it's because of the kindness extremely stern people had unexpectedly shown. T - h - a - n - k - Y - o - u!
[Instrumental]	[Instrumental]
imamade nankai yoroshiku to genki ni sakenda darou ima made nankai sayonara to naite wakareta darou docchi darou?   kurabete ooikazu wa naka ni IKO-RU   kaite   choppiri OTONA sa	Wonder how many times we lively yelled "Nice to meet you" Wonder how many times we parted, sobbing "Farewell." Wonder which one is more, if I compare? Writing an equals sign, I feel just a little grown-up.
MECHAMECHA kanashii toki datte fui ni   naze ka norikoeru   yuuki to power   waite-kuru no wa MECHAMECHA yasashii hito-tachi ga fui ni   miseta kibishisa no   sei dattari   suru n darou ne A - RI - GA -TO - U - GO - ZA - I - masu!	Why does the gushing forth of courage and power unexpectedly surpass even extremely sad times? Perhaps it's because of the sternness extremely kind people had unexpectedly shown. T - h - a - n - k - Y - o - u!
[Instrumental]	[Instrumental]
MECHAMECHA kurushii kabe datte fui ni   naze ka buchikowasu    yuuki to power   waite-kuru no wa MECHAMECHA kibishii hito-tachi ga fui ni   miseta yasashisa no   sei dattari   suru n darou ne A - RI - GA -TO - U - GO - ZA - I - masu!	Why does the gushing forth of courage and power unexpectedly break even the extremely tortuous wall? Perhaps it's because of the kindness extremely stern people had unexpectedly shown. T - h - a - n - k - Y - o - u!
MECHAMECHA tanoshii toki datte wasurenai yo itsu made mo   yuuki to power   nakusanai yo MECHAMECHA hitoribocchi no hito ni   ageru kuchibiru no   uragawa ni   kakushite aru HO - HO - E - MI - NO - BA - KU - DAN!	I won't forget the really fun times. I'll never lose this courage and power. I'll give the extremely lonely person something hiding behind my lips: A - Smi - le - That's - A - Bomb!

English Version: Smile Bomb. This is only really here for your own enjoyment: it adds nothing to the discussion of katakana use because the English version is too far removed from the original Japanese.
Running in a crowd
In a faceless town
I need to feel the touch of a friend.
In the countryside
I wander far and wide
The isolation gets me again...

I don't know where to go
When I feel like crying
Oh my!
It's time to open myself
Do something new
I want to stop
and grow up like you a bit

Then suddenly, my power and confidence starts swelling up
Magically erupt
And it's all because of kindness that I feel
From people I don't even know

Then suddenly, my intuition and my wisdom grow
And then I know
But most of all I sense compassion that's real
Thanks to strangers where ever I go...
Thank you for waking me up!

Up till now
How may times I've tried
To tell you, 'please take care of yourself...'
Then with tear-stained eyes, I sadly said goodbye
As I waved and wished you farewell...

Then I think of how
How much longer, I must wait
I look inside myself, and feel something new
I wanna stop, and grow up like you a bit

It's all because, I'm feeling sad
and then I cry; I don't know why...
The courage that I need,
The power to succeed,
Fills me with strength to fly...!

It's all because of when I see my friends
Oh my,
Every time,
They're always behind me
Pushing me on
Lighting the fire in me (fire in me)

Then suddenly, my power and confidence start swelling up,
Magically erupt
and it's all because of kindness that I feel
from people I don't even know.

I won't forget,
The times we shared and the pleasant days
Always
and I'll never lose the strength to succeed
and the courage, to do what I must
Your smile makes my heart explode!