When "Tokyo Three Hawks Motor Club" is credited in this movie, their name is written in katakana (except "Tokyo" of course). I think there are non-loan words in Japanese for everything in the name of the organization, so it must be a deliberate choice to use katakana/loan words and have a "western-sounding" name. Since it's a motorsports club, it may be modeling itself after American motorcycle organizations and trying to call that connection to mind with its name.
I looked it up online and I think this club was still around in 2006 at least, even though the movie came out a long time ago. Here is their website, which says the club was founded in 1957. Here's what they say in their explanation of the team name:
Tokyo Three Hawks－英語だと、まぁなんとなくなチーム名ですが、日本語に訳してみてください。地名です。(爆)
Example 2: Personal Choice
The name of the singer is written in katakana in the title of this album. As in the example we discussed in class, it's likely that this is just designed to make her name stand out or look interesting. She is related to another singer who writes her name in the same way, カルメン・マキ, via a connection to notable avant-garde figure Shuji Terayama. I think it's just a coincidence though, not that he was exclusively seeking to promote singers who spelled their name マキ.
I asked some Japanese people online about why a musician might choose to write their name in katakana. But nobody really agreed. Somebody's response:
Katakana names look catchy and not stiff.This would fit with some of the textbook explanations of katakana, and would explain why singers sometimes choose to write their names in katakana to seem hip or distinguish themselves from the norm. But other people got mad at the guy who said that and called him an idiot, so I don't know if he's right or not. Someonse else said "I think Kana name gives foreign atmosphere," which the textbooks we read also agree with. There wasn't really a single conclusion that people came to. It does seem like there's at least some sense of katakana being used as a personal choice to seem interesting, at least.
>Is there some sort of image that's cultivated by writing your name in katakana?
I think you would be right. Katakana names look cool for the young.
Maikeru-san,
ReplyDeleteIt is great to know the opinions from Japanese people. I think you are right that there is no conclusion about the katakana issues. It is more likely that everyone has his or her own point of view when writing or analyzing them.
Peng
Sample1はとてもおもしろいですね。 Some people name their company in katakana the same way as this example. ブリヂストン(Bridgestone) is a good example. The CEO's name is Ishibashi, which is stone and bridge in English. It is like a pun. :)
ReplyDeleteAs for the second one, you might want to know that カルメン・マキ is half American and Japanese, and that may be the reason they decided to write her name in katakana. Also the other singer 浅川マキused to sing in American military bases before she became a professional singer. That could be the reason too.
おもしろいanalysesです。
がんばってください。
TA:あおき