Phonetikana: For the Lazy Typography Snob in All of Us

10. Nov, 2009 Comments

phonetikana1

Johnson Banks recently put up a post about “phonetikana” which has to either be the most genius discovery of all time, or the laziest. Either way, there’s no denying that it’s beautiful, regardless, but you know me, I hate romaji with a passion (and you should too).

Here’s the concept behind phonetikana: 1. Katakana is irritating to learn / you don’t have the time to learn it / you’re lazy. 2. Katakana often spells out words that English speakers can kind-of-sort-of understand. 3. If you add the English phonetic pronunciation to the katakana, you’ll be able to read it and possibly decipher it. 4. Integrate it into the actual katakana to get that “aww, that’s boootiful effect.”

Let’s put it more simply (and visually). Here’s how you’d write “Uniqlo” in Japanese (Uniqlo is a big ol’ Japanese clothes company).

uniqlo1

Now, let’s phonetikana it!

uniqlo2

Now you can read it phonetically! Yoo-Nee-Koo-Roh. Doesn’t get you perfect pronunciation, but close enough for someone who doesn’t really want to learn Japanese in the first place.

moobaa

What does a Cow say? Good job!

topbanana

Who’s the top Banana here? Profess your Top-banana-ness in the comments below!

There are a ton more examples over on Johnson Bank’s post about phonetikana. If you haven’t gotten all the Top Bananas you can handle, be sure to go take a look. It’s pretty fascinating. I’ve always been into typography, but am totally incapable of making anything look nice (Anyone want to teach me about typography on eduFire? I’ll pay you).

Please start a flame war in the comments arguing about who’s the top banana, please, please, please. Use logic to prove your perspectives.

Related posts:

  1. Hiragana Chart, Katakana Chart, Ready For Download
  2. Strange Katakana Words

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  • I hate romaji too (like you, "with passion") but these "phonetikanas" do look kinda nice, and even though I think there are better ways to describe Japanese sounds this could be useful in Japanese course - perhaps only for those who are already familiar with the appearance of most katakana though.

    By the way, does anybody think the katakana プ (pu) looks like a poo... in any way? No? Well, it could've been a fun to remember it early on. xD
  • I am the Top Banana.

    Logic = I ate a banana this morning and it wasn't even ripe yet, therefor, I am Top Banana.
  • Jonny
    Matsuo Basho is top banana
    Logic: based on my experience there is most likely one or more statues commemorating a haiku he wrote about bananas
  • mountaincritter
    Yeah, well, I ate a banana about two hours ago (srsly) and it was *perfect*, so I'm Top Banana.
  • JeanOurexplorerTourGuide
    Interesting. But feel it an extra effort. May be easy to get in. But if people can't understand you clearly, still have to learn the basic Japanese.
  • Mashimaro
    Hmm,I hate romaji as well.This is a stupid idea,kana is easy to learn!
    I'm the top banana!
  • Taiga
    mm noo...hiragana is easier,,,or maybe I got my brain to the limit with hiragana so I cant stick katakana inside TT
  • Mashimaro
    That's true hiragana is easier,but katakana took me about a month,and I wasn't studying it that often during that month lol.Knowing hiragana made it easier though,cause I learned katakana by using hiragana as a reference.
  • burden_ataraxia
    I don't know. I can read katakana just fine, but when I saw this, all I saw was the romaji. I didn't really pay so much attention to the actual katakana, and that really bothered me. I felt like a total cheater and that the time I spent learning to read katakana went to waste.
  • Adam
    ditto, though I have to admit, katakana is really a waste of time. It only comes in handy when you are reading menus at Mcdonalds.
  • kanmuri
    I hate romaji. Romaji dictionary should be abolished.
    Saying you have "no time" to learn katakana is like saying you won't learn half the letters in the roman alphabet because you can't be bothered. The phonetikana are cute, but as a learning tool, they suck. You end up only looking at the alphabet part.
  • krusha
    "1. Katakana is irritating to learn / you don’t have the time to learn it / you’re lazy."
    If any of these are true, one should give up on learning Japanese and save themselves years of turmoil.

    These are mildly interesting from a design aesthetic, but it's ridiculous to try and shoehorn them into a way of studying Japanese.

    And cows say モー not ムー.
  • Will
    I tried to duplicate Koichi's feat, but when I went to take a bite out of the premature banana, it simply ripened in my hand. I suppose that make me top banana.
  • oh shnap!
  • Keta
    Obviously I am the top banana because I learned katakana before I learned hiragana and I found it easier without this phonetikana business, although it is a pretty nifty font.

    @krusha: Also , ムー is closer in pronunciation to the English "moo" than モー, which would rhyme with "toe". Can't go by romanization spellings. On the other hand, cows do not eat bananas, so, they are ineligible to be top bananas. Which is why I am top banana, because I am not a cow.
  • krusha
    No, I mean in Japanese cows say モー not ムー. And sheep say メー not バー.
  • topbananaz
    APPELZ ARE BLEU THEREFORE I ARE TOP BANANAZ.
  • Keta
    Meaning you're not a top banana, as appelz aren't bleu there. :<

    Too bad, so sad.
  • Rochella
    lol they are in japan!
  • I'm still waiting for someone to call someone else's mom a top banana...
  • I think it's a great thing (no I"m not lazy, I don't find it irritating to learn and well I don't have much time but I can make time ;) ).
    I am a very visual learner so when I looked at these things, I think it will be easier for me to connect the meaning of the katakana with the sign.
  • juliaher
    It bothers me that these say "soo" and "hee" instead of "suu" and "hii", etc.

    probably because that means it's made for students of japanese whose first language is english and I am not one of those which renders the whole thing pretty useless to me.

    but I can read katakana just fine so i guess i shouldn't be complaining.

    also, next commenter's mom is a top banana
  • Moracnoy
    Who, me?
  • Koichi's mom is a top banana! Ooohhhh burn!
    =P
  • zizero
    This is a chicanery!
    ***kidding***
  • Brian
    Kind of late to post a comment on here but the movie Helvetica (http://www.helveticafilm.com/) is a good documentary about typography. I think its about $3 USD to rent it on iTunes if you are interested.
  • dvorask
    I hate romaji too.... if someone writes something to me in romaji I completely ignore it.
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