I think ランナー is a foreign word because the concept of a runner is fairly Western. There is a verb for "to run" in Japanese composed of Hiragana and Kanji which is 実行して. However, a run as a noun is ラン which is written in Katakana Japanese. Since a runner is a person that engages in a run, then a runner must be called a ランナー for that reason.
ポイ捨て: to carelessly toss away (esp. cigarettes)
ポイ捨て is a combination of a Japanese word and a katakana word. The Japanese part of ポイ捨てis 捨てwhich is written as すて in hiragana。The ポイ part of ポイ捨てis actually a phrase for the juggling. In Japan, ポイis a somewhat popular activity. In ポイ, participants are usually tossing their objects in a manner that is seems very careless and uninhibited. In that respect, ポイof ポイ捨て might connotate the state of being careless and uninhibited.
Hi Angela,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the fun read! I always find these anti-smoking signs pretty hilarious too. Do you think they accomplish what they hope to? For the first ad, I think you are on the right track (no pun intended) about running as a sport being an originally imported concept. But more specifically, the rationale for the use of katakana might be the international nature of the event itself (the Olympics) in which the runner is taking part. In baseball, a base runner is also often called a ランナー, while a marathon runner is often referred to as a 走者(runner) or 選手(participant/player). In other words, it's not just the international nature of running, but the international nature of the event itself that marks the use of katakana.
As for the second ad, you definitely have an interesting idea about connecting the katakana to popular activities. You might also want to think about katakana as marking an onomatopoeia, in this case for the sound of either flicking the cigarette butt or the cigarette butt hitting the floor. More generally, ポン can be used an an onomatopoeia for lightly tapping or hitting a surface (think about the "pong" in ping-pong).
I think you did a great job, and I look forward to seeing how it turns out!
Thanks for the great project, and good luck!
Hi Angela! I really enjoyed reading your analysis and I think you chose a very interesting topic! The word ポイ is usually refered to the act and the sound of throwing empty cans and bottles, cigarettes, and chewing gum randomly on the streets. This act has become a serious issue in Japan, and tabacco companies and beverage comapanies are investing money to create ads about stopping ポイ捨て. The word itself has been there since the 1900's but the word brought attention when Chiyoda ward in Tokyo used the word in their local govenment regulation in 2002.
ReplyDeleteFor your anaysis, it might be interesting to think about the reasons this word is used for an ad.