44429
I am interested in learning why katakana was chosen to represent foreign
words.
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2017-03-14T13:14:06.877
44421
2018-07-03T22:17:16.313
2017-03-14T17:31:41.853
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question
katakana orthography history loanwords
Why are "loanwords" written in katakana?
Because that's the original purpose of katakana. Katakana was invented to
denote the readings of unfamiliar foreign words (although, in those days,
"foreign words" mainly referred to words in Asian languages such as Sanskrit,
Pali, Chinese). On the other hand, hiragana developed as the shorthand for
native Japanese sentences written in Manyo-gana. For details, please read the
following questions:

  * [Why was both katakana and hiragana created?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/4281/5010)
  * [Why are there 3 ways of writing in Japanese?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/3984/5010)

The Japanese writing system underwent multiple major overhauls in the last
1500 years, but one main role of katakana basically remained the same: to
serve as the phonetic alphabet to purely represent the sounds of non-ordinary
words.
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2017-03-14T16:17:59.540
44429
2017-03-14T16:17:59.540
2017-04-13T12:43:44.740
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answer
The Japanese writing system consists of three scripts, _hiragana_ , _katakana_
and _kanji_.

To make a foreign word a loanword, the **first step** is to **choose a
transliteration** which is given in _kana_ (either _hiragana_ or _katakana_ ).

The second step of also assigning it a _kanji_ is not necessary. (And usually
not done anymore; _ateji_ such as 天ぷら, 煙草【たばこ】, etc. are still used, but there
are few newly coined _ateji_ ).

Choosing _katakana_ over _hiragana_ for loanwords (of _foreign_ origin) fits
well with the origin of _katakana_ of being a shorthand for Sanskrit (or Pali)
sounds written with Chinese characters.

One major difference between _katakana_ and _hiragana_ is that there was only
a fairly minimal set of _katakana_. However, there was a large set of cursive
characters with many different forms for the same sound. Of these, a minimal
set was selected and called _hiragana_. Those forms that didn't make it were
called _hentaigana_.

In any case, _katakana_ is now the default script for loanwords (by the
regulatory body 文部科学省 _Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology_ ) and has been probably since the post-WWII writing reform (1946).

However, before said writing reform, there are also publications with the
roles of _katakana_ and _hiragana_ interchanged:

>
> [![にぅとんノ補間公式ガ](https://i.stack.imgur.com/beXUe.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/beXUe.png)  
>  Newton's interpolation formula
>
> Source: 藤原松三朗 「和算史ノ研究」 (東北数学雑誌 Vol. 46, 1940)
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2017-03-14T17:23:13.027
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2017-03-14T17:28:19.897
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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answer
It is said that it was originally meant for foreign words, but some guys tend
to oversimplify the matter for pedagogical purposes. It's not that easy a
question, because the roles of katakana have changed over time. Until some
decades, you would still find katakana instead of hiragana for the
transcription of particles. Even today, it can be used to emphasize native
Japanese words, much like we would use Italics in some Western languages.
Also, for words, whether native or foreign in origin, that bear a scientific
meaning where they could be mistaken for their cultural connotations, such as
names of animal or plant species. Also, for onomatopoeic expressions,
especially if they depict actual sounds instead of emotions.
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2018-07-03T22:17:16.313
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answer