Katakana Project

(So I noticed after I posted this that I had made a mistake in the final square. I meant to put Hu-re, not fu-re.)

二十ねんごのわたし

はじめまして

わたしはジョシュスミスです。わたしは四十いっさいです。わたしのうちにフロイダのマイアミがあります。てんきはあついですから、マイアミがすきです。わたしはスポツマイアミがすきです。わたしはスポーツのレポーターです。じかんがいませんでしたから、けっこんしません。スポーツがすきです。レポーターです。じかんがいませんでしたから、けっこんしません。スポーツがすきです。フットボールがいちばんすきです。土曜日と日曜日にはたらきます。月曜日の八時にテレビをみます。そろそろ、しつれいします。こうえんへともだちにあいます。さよなら。

いいえいが

私のブログはおもしろくないです。So I thought I should add some stuff to spice it up a bit. 私はえいががすきです。Last post I talked about Oldboy, a manga series that had been made into a movie in Korea. Here is the trailor...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLn1y9v6yno

Katakana Analysis

Of the katakana words I found, I liked オールド・ボーイ (Old Boy) and ドラゴンボール(Dragon Ball) the most. Both are titles of Manga series. I do not read Manga, but I heard about these two series through other types of media. I heard about Dragon Ball from the Anime cartoon series I watched as a child, "Dragon Ball Z." Oldboy I heard about though a movie I watched of the same title. I believe that katakana is used, in addition for foreign words, to make certain words stand out. It seems similar to how when writing in English, sometimes someone writes a word bold or in italics.
All the textbooks seemed to agree on a couple uses, but then had different reasons for katakana use as well. I think the proper use for katakana, besides those agreed on consistently by all the textbooks, is all dependent on the writer. If the writer feels that it is a proper time to write a word in katakana, they throw it in so the word stands out.

Why I Chose Japanese

My decision to study Japanese actually began before I got to Columbia. At my high school, there were only three languages offered. There was a language requirement, just like here at Columbia, and after finishing my freshmen year of Spanish, I realized I had no interest in the language. The other two languages offered were French and Japanese. So I decided to test out Japanese, for I had much more of an interest in Japanese culture than French. After I finished high school, I decided I wanted to continue studying Japanese. Unfortunately, I was unable to get into a Japanese class here at Columbia until the second semester of my sophomore year.

I am excited to develop a level of comfort with Japanese that I can have conversations in the language. Even if the conversations are simple, it still is a great thrill to me to be able to communicate in a language other than English. What I have found difficult thus far in the year is remembering what we covered last semester. I have always had trouble memorizing vocabulary, so I am trying my best to regain the vocabulary I had at the end of the year last year.

Self-Introduction

わたしのなまえはジョシュスミスです。ミシガンのグラヅラピヅスからきました。コロンビヤだいがくのがくせいです。わたしはさんねんせいです。にほんごをべんきょうします。にほんごのクラスはむずかしいですが、おもしろいです。