Katakana and Hiragana

[Fedgrub]

I was just thinking, I know that katakana is used to write words that are borrowed from an English language, however what would someone think if you wrote it in hiragana? Would they scoff, would they not be able to understand and be looking for a different meaning?

Just curious that if you can write the same sounds in both writing styles, what would happen if you didn't?

[jemstone]

i think maybe if you didn't write it in katakana, they might try to find out what the meaning of the word is but i think there are some exceptions to that. exceptions in the sense that they understand what you're writing, but it's still wrong in the language...

for example, if you write you're hungry, you could write はらえた or you could write グーグー like おなかが　グーグー　です

but if you happen to write おなかが　ぐーぐー　です i think they would understand it as well, but might point out that "guu guu" has to be written in katakana.

but if you wanna write "car" and instead of カル you write かる, that's gonna throw some confusion. カル will probably make them think which english word sounds like this. かる instead will have multiple meanings and probably very few (if any at all) will fit in the context of your sentence for "car".

that's my two cents worth.

[Fedgrub]

Thanks for that.

So if you wanted to write "car", would you have to write it in katakana, or if you write it how it is said in 'Japanese' could you write it in hiragana? Or would that leave you back at the same spot.

I know that question may be confusing. Maybe a better way to ask it is, do you only write it in katakana when you are borrowing a word from the English language, or do you use it for any word that the Japanese language does not have an equivilent for?

Sorry, I don't know the best way to word that sentence.

[jemstone]

oh yea... there are instances where you use katakana for non-japanese words. i say non-japanese words because pretty much for all other words that aren't japanese, the locals use katakana. like dolce & gabbana.

instances where katakana are used for japanese words are er... i forgot what those words are called. there are words like グーグー, or ペコペコ for hungry, ワクワク for excited or exciting, or ペラペラ for er.. i think for talkative or something.

strictly speaking, i don't think these words are japanese as they reflect the "sound" of the meaning. thus it's written in katakana. but i think it's so widely used and accepted that you can treat them as native japanese language. it's even taught in classes i think.

[Shaydwyrm]

There are at least a couple of other instances where katakana is used for Japanese words. Many animal and plant names whose kanji have been retired are frequently written in katakana, like ワニ or アリ. Katakana is also frequently used for emphasis - you'll see this in manga and advertisements, among other things.

Also, katakana-written loan words are not limited to English by any means. アルバイト is from German, and マント is from French, to name just a couple.

Furthermore, you will occasionally see foreign loan words that have been assimilated into the language so thoroughly that they are normally written in hiragana. たばこ and ばけつ are a couple that I have seen. This doesn't seem as consistent though, as I see them in katakana as well.

As for your question about converting katakana loan words into hiragana, I think you would probably get your message across, but it would probably be confusing and difficult to read.

[Ulver_684]

I was just thinking, I know that katakana is used to write words that are borrowed from an English language, however what would someone think if you wrote it in hiragana? Would they scoff, would they not be able to understand and be looking for a different meaning?

Just curious that if you can write the same sounds in both writing styles, what would happen if you didn't?

Fedgrub-san!

This is a gold mine topic, thank you mina-san for all this info!

[sphere]

trying to add on to what Shaydwyrm mentioned concerning katakana used for japanese words. Usually, these are words with difficult kanji that are sort of being "obseleted" from common use (but are still retained in formal stuff and names and such). However, it is from my own observation that it seems that it is alright to use katakana in place of some stuff traditionally written in (difficult) kanji in many casual use.

a few common examples I've seen (some from manga, others from textbooks)
common pronouns like ボク(僕, me(male/casual)), テマエ(手前,you(casual)),
animal/plant names (as mentioned by Shaydwyrm) : カモメ(鴎,seagull)
difficult kanji (or not so commonly used words) : レンガ(煉瓦,brick)
localized/slanged pronunciation of certain japanese words commonly seen in dialogues (if the original kanji is written, it wouldn't be pronounced the same)

Although it seems alright (from my own observation. not conclusive) to use hiragana for the above cases (since not technically "borrowed" words?), the choice of katakana over hiragana might be to hint at the 'replacement for convenience" usage. in any cases, it clearly marks out the nouns (usually) and imo, makes the whole sentence easier to read. But it's only my own guess.