Katakana is a Japanese syllabary alongside hiragana and kanji which developed from Buddhist monks who simplified the more complex Chinese characters associated with ancient texts. Most textbooks seem to agree that katakana can be utilized to describe foreign words (or loanwords), onomatopoeia, and can be used to bestow emphasis on a word or phrase. Take, for example, the word Alaska which, in katakana, would be written as アラスカ. Obviously the katakana usage in this example correlates to the foreign word application of the syllabary but what is the purpose of this usage? Why not hiragana? One must remember that katakana was distilled over time from the original Chinese characters. These characters were also, prior to the appearance of katakana, used to express words or expressions that were alien. Once katakana developed due to the shorthand of the monks it would follow that foreign words be described by the use of this syllabary as its predecessor, kanji, once was. Another example is the onomatopoeia application of katakana. A sound such as pa-tang (rough representation of a hammer striking metal) would be written as パターン. Why not use the hiragana version of the word: ぱたーん? There is a certain employment of katakana similar to the use of italics in English. The katakana version of this onomatopoeia has a particular quality or aesthetic depiction which enhances the meaning and is able to express the sound in a more distinct fashion analogous to italics. Compare bang to bang. The italicized sound diction emphasizes the word in such a way as to make one prudent in choosing to write it in italics if one wishes garner the attention upon that word rather than its un-italicized counterpart. Many Japanese textbooks also illuminate katakana and its use. Japanese textbooks seem to all agree that katakana is used for western loanwords, onomatopoeic words and also for those words which emphasis is placed upon. I would venture to say that these textbooks explain katakana's usage in such a way (as in a brief general overview of what they are used for and not how they came into use for these things) due to the fact that the actual usage of this syllabary is natural to Japanese native speakers and writers. It is similar in the sense of English speakers and writers were the nuances of the language are known intuitively and sometimes when asked to explain the workings of the language many just say "That is how it is and I do not know why." which is usually the case that I find myself in.
Works Cited:
Masayoshi, K. Learning Katakana. Yoshida Institute of Japanese Language. 2003-2010.http://www.yosida.com/en/katakana.html
