カタカナ
The concept of Katakana as a sort of variable alphabet is very interesting, since we
certainly don't have anything really comparative in any Germanic or Latin based languages. Here's some examples of phrases I found:
ピエロ:
This word means clown, but is a clear example of how Katakana is used for all foreign words, not just English. "Piero" has its origins in French, and is the inspiration for this word.
ケロケロ:
Here is an example of not so much a word as a sound effect. It is the sound frog's make, basically the Japanese version of "ribbit". This is super interesting to me, as this displays how the limits of a language's sounds lead to creative ways to express a sound that is the same universally for all listeners.
ギター:
Foreign instruments get the Katakana treatment as well. I think we, as English speakers (among other languages) can understand this by comparing how with certain foreign instruments we still refer to them in their native language.
These are just some of the interesting examples to be found. Katakana is definitely useful!
マクミランさん、Good point about ケロケロ! There are actually so many onomatopoeias in Japanese compared to English, or most languages really. (Maybe you know this but,) You'll be surprised that there are 'sounds' that express silence as well.
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