What is Katakana
• Katakana is the phonetic written Japanese language (there are a total three written Japanese languages.)
• Katakana is simpler than the Chinese based characters, but other than that, why have a third language?
Reasons for existing
• Katakana is necessary because there are some words that cannot be translated, such as names.
• Other words that cannot be translated are made up words (ie: flubber,) and words that have just been invented (ie: recent scientific discoveries.)
Think of an already translated word, or an untranslatable word
Does the first syllable start with…
Pronunciation Key
• The three particles of Japanese speech are:– Ga, or wa
– Ni
– O, or wo
• The particles denote the part of speech:– Wa goes between the
subject and the direct object
– Ni goes between the direct object, and the indirect object
– O goes between the indirect object and the verb
Pronunciation key
• All of the consonants are pronounced normally.
• A is pronounced ah
• E is pronounced ay
• I is pronounced ee
• O is pronounced oh
• U is pronounced oo
Where I got the pictures
• I got the pictures from: – The Katakana Writing Tour at
http://members.aol.com/writejapan/katakana/writutor.htm
– Babel fish at http://babelfish.altavista.com/