So, as most people know, katakana is used in Japan for loan words and
onomatopoeia (sounds that animals make or other sound effects, such as ニャ). The two
examples I found of this not being the case, and which are slightly less
known, are for the names of Japanese companies and for those words that emphasize words of Japanese origin.
トヨタ、for example, is the name of the
Japanese car company that makes cars. Although it is a Japanese company,
it's name is written in katakana. I believe this is so in order to
distinguish the company from the name of a person, who might use the kanji for of "豊田 (toyota)". The same works for
the company スズキ, where a person or family name might be 鈴木 (suzuki).
The other example of katakana words are those that emphasize words. There are a lot of places where this occurs, but the majority of these emphasis words are found in advertisements for pretty much anything. As my sensei explained to me and my class, companys like to have Japanese words written out in katakana so that they sound "cool." めがね is a good example, as it is often written as メガネ on signs and billboards, according to wikipedia (Katakana Usage Wiki).
So, in conclusion, katakana has many uses in Japan. It is used not only for loan words and onomatopeoia, but also to write out company names and emphasize Japanese words.
ミゲル
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