The first word I decided to look at was アルバイト. To an American, it makes no sense that the word for "part-time job" would be アルバイト. Similar to words like ピエロ(clown) and ホッチキス(stapler), アルバト's origins seems mysterious. In actuality, アルバイト derives from the German word for "to work," arbeit. The word アルバイトis used frequently in Japan and reflects Germany's strong influence on the country during World War II. Several German words are now used in the Japanese language. ヒュッテ(mountain hut) comes from the German world Hutte. A more striking example is the word rommel. The word means victory/success in Japan and is based off newsreels reflecting the victories of German General Erwin Rommel during World War II.
The second word is バイキング which you would assume means "viking," but it really means "all-you-can-eat." The word is used commonly to reference Japanese buffets. It originates from "Imperial Viking," the name of the first buffet restaurant in Japan. It also plays on the stereotype that Vikings were extremely heavy eaters.
Sources:
http://www.tofugu.com/2009/06/25/strange-katakana-words/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loanword
http://www.japanese123.com/arubaito.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanism_(linguistics)#Japanese
All of the examples you list of katakana usage are loan words from foreign languages that have taken on other meanings in Japanese. アルバイト for example does mean work and come from the German noun for "work," Arbeit. However, in Japanese, アルバイト refers to part-time jobs, whereas the German is generally used for employment mostly of a full-time nature. It also reflects the trend you seem to have recognized with foreign words being re-interpreted into a more Japanese context. Of course, the usage of katakana also extends past these kinds of imported words.
ReplyDeleteThe word バイキングis an interesting word to analyze. It has a completely different meaning than the meaning itself when used in Japan. Do you know when this started and which place? Do you think it was a good naming and was it successful for the restaurant to use the word バイキング to refer to all - you-can- eat restaurant?
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