3 Myths Non-Japanese Speakers Still Believe about Katakana Words
Misconceptions about katakana words come from a place of misguided linguistic purism
When fellow Japonica editor Yuko Tamura shared her article “Why This Cultural Appropriation Debate Needs a Closer Look,” I was not expecting people on social media to post negative comments about katakana words.
Comments ranged from “katakana words are just mispronounced English words” to “katakana is irrelevant.” These refer to foreign words adopted into Japanese, and written in katakana — one of the scripts of the Japanese language.
I had believed that our readers were more enlightened than the average person, yet the comments underscored just how much misunderstanding non-Japanese speakers have about katakana words.
It’s time to address them once and for all.
Myth #1. Katakana words are just mispronounced English words.
“Why do Japanese speakers pronounce credit card as kurejitto kādo, or table as teiburu? Don’t they know that English speakers don’t know what they are talking about? They are just dismembering the English language!”
