This word comes from the Japanese adaptation of the Chinese word for "pulled noodles" = 拉面 =
"la1 mian4"
I think that the purpose of writing "Ramen" in Katakana is because the Japanese would like to identify that it is a foreign food. Indicating that it was initially from China.
It is essentially, a "loan word", that can be found widely used in Japan. Not only can this word be found on packaging but also on lanterns outside of Ramen shops.
According to this website:
Ramen became popular in the early 1900s, and was originally called "chuka-soba" but later on, during the 1950s, it was popularized once again, this time, becoming more wide spread.
According this this website:
"Ramen" was probably translated from "la mian" in Chinese. People believed that Chinese settlers in Japan influenced their food culture and therefore, allowed "ramen" noodles to evolve.
Ramen is a direct adaptation of a Chinese style dish; thus, to recognize and appreciate the word, it is written in katakana.
2) ブラシ (Brush)
Even though Japan already has a word for "brush" which is くし or 櫛, which means "comb," "brush" in Katakana can serve as other forms of "brushes" such as paintbrush, calligraphy brush, make up brush, etc.
Even though Japan already has a word for "brush" which is くし or 櫛, which means "comb," "brush" in Katakana can serve as other forms of "brushes" such as paintbrush, calligraphy brush, make up brush, etc.
A calligraphy brush in Japanese is called: ふで。
Therefore, as there are many different types of brushes, the general term "brush" can be used to group them under an umbrella category. In that case, it can be a relatively novel term that was borrowed as a "loan word".
はじめまして。わたしは Jing Zhang です。コロンビアだいがくのにほんごのがくせいです。
ReplyDeleteyour post of katakana helps me recognize two new words,haha! ありがとう ございます！
I think it's really interesting that some words borrowed from Chinese (esp. ancient Chinese) use Kanji, but others (esp. from modern Chinese) use katakana. Did you know there is a kanji for Ramen? 拉麺. That's different from the Chinese you used above, right? I wonder why. (source: http://www.sljfaq.org/afaq/katakana-uses.html)
ReplyDeleteI have always wondered why ラーメン was spelled using Katakana and not hiragana! I never made the connection that it must come from the word 拉面！
ReplyDeleteThe brush thing seems a little arbitrary (but then so do a lot of katakana expressions), i guess having the loanword gives them a wider range of possible uses and shades of meaning for different kinds of brushes?
Oh and Matt-san, I think I know why the kanji and the Chinese are different for ラーメン。The traditional Chinese characters for ramen are 拉麵, which is pretty complicated. The Japanese and Chinese both simplified many characters, but in different ways. So in modern simplified Chinese the characters have been simplified to 拉面，whereas the Japanese simplified it less, down to 拉麺. Thus leaving us with three different way of expressing the idea for ramen with Chinese characers alone, let alone hiragana and katakana!
Nice! Mai san! I like calligraphy! When you say "brush" is used in paintbrush, etc. Does it mean the "paint" is also spelled in katakana? Or does it spelled hiragana for the first portion, but brush in katakana? Do you observe such kind of mixed spelling? I observe that "chopsticks" are being spelled in katakana or in hiragana on chopstick packages. Do you observe that "paintbrush" or other words are being spelled differently some times? Thank you for your post!!
ReplyDeleteGreat analysis! I think the arrow of influence from china japan, japan-china is a complicated and interesting historical question as it applies to the 20th century.
ReplyDeleteMm, now that you mention it, biru also refers to tall buildings ~_~; Yes, I can see how katakana allows a flexibility in denoting different connotations. Information is good for the heart, saengkyuu.
ReplyDeleteIt's very interesting explanation of the word Ramen. It's true that it borrowed from China and it possibly uses the katakana to indicate that historical fact. But on the one hand, it sometimes also is written in hiragara or kanji. On the other hand, even though Ramen is a loan word from China, it now becomes very "Japanese" because Ramen in Japan and China are now very different, I think. That also interestingly reveals that to what extent the loan word and the culture represented by this loan word is domesticated in Japan.
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