Friday, September 6, 2013

Katakana Samples





これわわたしの洗顔クレンザー。私はこのクレンザーで二年生から始まった。それは豊かな泡、そして余分な味を持っているので。

In the heading, the "ハダラボ"is the interpretation of the name of the company/brand (Hadarabo). A possible explanation of the company/brand choosing Katakana is that it is emphasized, as well as more fashion. As a cosmetic brand, appearing to be fashion is crucial. 

The Blue Katakana characters "ヒアルコン” before “洗顏” means Hyaluron enzyme, which is a cementing and protective substance. The Katakana here is a loanword. 

Among the green characters on the right side, the "スーパー” is a loanword of "super"; and the "ヒアルコン酸" is Hyaluronic acid. It is also a loanword. My interpretation is that as scientific name, the Hayaluronic acid written in Katakana is more credible and convincing. While the "super" in Katakana may be an emphasis to draw consumers' attention.

(See the link of this product: http://www.adambeauty.com/showitem.php?itemtype=detail&itemid=4987241121571&brandid=75&language=&agentid=7&productid=&brandSubid=&groupid=1&catid=75)




As shown in the picture above, this candy is called "Ramune flavor gummy candy". The Katakana is a short form of the English name. It picks and combines the two words "Ramune" and "Gummy",  and make it ラムネグミ, which appears to be fashion and easier for consumers to remember, and stand out from other products on the shelf. In a word, the Katakana as loanword applied here generates the "emphasis" effect. 



This is a white kastela roll as shown in the picture above. Both "ホワイト” and ”カステロール” are loanwords. As known to all, there is the Japanese word for "white" - しろい. Then why a loan word is chosen instead of the Japanese word? This product pack especially emphasizes on the "white" feature, which may be for "emphasis" effect. Also, a Katakana word looks more fashion, and fits the feature of this type of food as a foreign snack.


2 comments:

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  2. I dont know the truth, but then I guess that kastela is also from other country, and its not a japanese food, so thats why they feel like using loanwords instead of japanese word. and it looks delicious!;]

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