Katakana Culture—Introduction

[a] (Kata)kana   RF

 So let's begin with the problem that most readers might have with this series of posts.

They're in Japanese.

Well, yes, that is true, and it is a bigger issue (and, at the same time, a smaller one) than you might think. To begin, I teach Chinese and Japanese history and culture, and I believe very strongly that language is absolutely integral to all study of those...histories and cultures. We'll get back to that core point in a moment. On the other hand, katakana is a perfect entry-point for any foreigner to begin to understand aspects of Japanese culture that would otherwise remain entirely obdurate. Just two hours of work, and you (no matter what your background) can understand issues in Japanese culture (one might almost say "psychology") that would otherwise take years to understand by following a "normal" curriculum. I urge you to do so, and will work with you if you want to try.

Stay with me! You can do this. I have stories in every Japanese History and Culture class that I teach of the one (or three) students who are so scared at the beginning that they want to quit BUT learn the forty-six characters and are better than most students of Japanese when they finish. You can be Devon!  Don't give up.

Please be patient, those of you who have never studied Japanese, while I take a few paragraphs to chastise those students of Japanese language who have never worked particularly hard at katakana. I will return with several posts addressed exclusively to those hardy few of you who are determined to learn the small number of sounds that will change your entire way of thinking about the world. It will be fun, so just hang in there while I set up the broader project here.

***  ***

Now let me address those of you who have been studying Japanese for two years or me. If you cannot rattle off the following phrase without pausing even for a microsecond, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves. Before I give you the phrase, though, let me soften my words slightly: many, many of us must be ashamed of ourselves. Still, read it in one unflinching effort—right now!　　ライト    ナオヲ

                        カギュウケィッテ　バタケシルオポトレー　ゲヂサマギュンゾルン

Well?

O.k., you probably got my point ライトaway. Yes, it is gibberish.

I just hit a bunch of keys. Here's the difference between you (et moi—I am not prideful) and the native speaker/reader of Japanese. The person who grew up reading Japanese is capable of "powering through" the gibberish, and at least pronouncing everything (almost) exactly as the graphs portray. I will admit that I have tried this experiment on several native speakers, and they do get frustrated at just about the ル in the second garble of kana. That is culture, I would argue, and not linguistics. If we want to debate that point, though, it should be in another context, at another time.

Here is the point for this series of katakana posts: your katakana recognition stinks.

If I am speaking to the one person in the class of thirty who studied katakana every night—even though there were no rewards in sight on tests or anywhere in your textbooks—I apologize. If you are that person who became bored with  ボルペン and バイト, then I beg your pardon. You are my hero.

I am talking to the rest of us. We know who we are. We did what our teachers and textbooks told us, and we ignored those little bits of information we occasionally heard that "the katakana will hit you like Atlanta humidity the minute you touch down at Narita Airport; you won't be prepared for it, because it is everywhere."

[b] Marigolds    RF

Well, "they" tried to warn us. All I can say, having studied Japanese (as a non-specialist; I study China for a living) and lived there during several stints totaling a few years:

"They" were right, and we will pay the price in misery when we move to Japan.

So, what to do?

How about getting really good at katakana? That's what this series of posts is about. When I teach Japanese History and Culture, I stress katakana, because it is an excellent way of observing how words and foreign concepts "translate" into Japanese language and life. There is superb material here for cultural analysis, and it will be the foundation for a series of posts rich in imagery and practicalities.

I will take a two-tiered approach. On the one hand, I will try to address the beginner. It is possible to learn katakana without studying the rest of the language. Most people give up (or go on to study the language as a whole), but it is possible.  I would like to make it even more possible. Those of you studying Japanese, please don't disdain this "beginning" side of things in these posts. For 天's sake, can't you see that I (and others) have been doing this for years, and we are not tired of learning ways of explaining it to others? Instead of thinking "I know that" (a sign of scholarly shallowness, if I may be so bold) instead say "how would I convey this to another?" It will change your life; trust me. The sure sign of having no ideas left is the statement "I already know that."

Click/buzz.   Game over.

For those of you just starting out, look for the "beginner" posts. For those of you who are perfecting your skills, there will be plenty of material for you here at all levels.

Remember the lesson of the Zen archer (look them up—there are hundreds). In every case, it is all about preparation, focus, and resilience. Arrogance (how many of you really ought to be arrogant about your katakana ability?) has nothing to do with it. And brush your teeth, while you're at it (in any language).

[c] Language...culture?   RF

Katakana—Let's begin!