Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Katakana English

Ok, I think you all know what Katakana English is. It's Japanese words that are written using katakana to show they were borrowed from another language, usually
English.

Be careful~! Not all words in katakana come from English so if you use them when speaking English people will NOT understand you!! Or words might have changed so much we don't know what you are talking about. For example:

ピエロ ---> from the French pierrot ----> in English we say clown



パン ---> from the Portuguese pao or Spanish pan ---->in English we say bread


コンセント ---> from concentric outlet ----> in English we say outlet or plug



Many times it is just the pronunciation which changes and so makes it hard for native speakers to understand or sounds a bit strange.



チョコレート---> chocoreto, the O at the end is odd ---> chocolate ----> pronounced choc-lit

サラダ ---> the extra A at the end is odd ---> salad ----> pronounced sa-lid

Sometimes, katakana words have different meanings from their English origins:





So you can see that the English and Japanese words have SWITCHED MEANINGS! If you go to Canada and want to buy Japanese リンス you have to ask for conditioner, if you want コンディショナー you have to ask for rinse! Conditioner you use almost everyday and rinse is maybe once a week. If you use rinse everyday your hair will become VERY oily!

Ok, that's all for now, if you have any questions or requests just ask.

Phil


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