Editing Katakana (section)

==Writing system==

=== Overview ===
{| align=right border="0" cellpadding="0" style="width: 14em; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom:1em"
|-
|
{| class="wikitable" 
|+ Gojūon – Katakana characters with a nucleus
!
! ''a'' !! ''i'' !! ''u'' !! ''e'' !! ''o''
|- align=center
!title="no onset"|{{color|gray|∅}}
|<big>[[A (kana)|ア]]</big>||<big>[[I (kana)|イ]]</big>||<big>[[U (kana)|ウ]]</big>||<big>[[E (kana)|エ]]</big>||<big>[[O (kana)|オ]]</big>
|- align=center
!''k''
|<big>[[Ka (kana)|カ]]</big>||<big>[[Ki (kana)|キ]]</big>||<big>[[Ku (kana)|ク]]</big>||<big>[[Ke (kana)|ケ]]</big>||<big>[[Ko (kana)|コ]]</big>
|- align=center
!''s''
|<big>[[Sa (kana)|サ]]</big>||<big>[[Shi (kana)|シ]]</big>||<big>[[Su (kana)|ス]]</big>||<big>[[Se (kana)|セ]]</big>||<big>[[So (kana)|ソ]]</big>
|- align=center
!''t''
|<big>[[Ta (kana)|タ]]</big>||<big>[[Chi (kana)|チ]]</big>||<big>[[Tsu (kana)|ツ]]</big>||<big>[[Te (kana)|テ]]</big>||<big>[[To (kana)|ト]]</big>
|- align=center
!''n''
|<big>[[Na (kana)|ナ]]</big>||<big>[[Ni (kana)|ニ]]</big>||<big>[[Nu (kana)|ヌ]]</big>||<big>[[Ne (kana)|ネ]]</big>||<big>[[No (kana)|ノ]]</big>
|- align=center
!''h''
|<big>[[Ha (kana)|ハ]]</big>||<big>[[Hi (kana)|ヒ]]</big>||<big>[[Fu (kana)|フ]]</big>||<big>[[He (kana)|ヘ]]</big>||<big>[[Ho (kana)|ホ]]</big>
|- align=center
!''m''
|<big>[[Ma (kana)|マ]]</big>||<big>[[Mi (kana)|ミ]]</big>||<big>[[Mu (kana)|ム]]</big>||<big>[[Me (kana)|メ]]</big>||<big>[[Mo (kana)|モ]]</big>
|- align=center
!''y''
|<big>[[Ya (kana)|ヤ]]</big>|| <ref name=":0">See [[#Obsolete kana|obsolete kana]]</ref> ||<big>[[Yu (kana)|ユ]]</big>|| <ref name=":0"/> ||<big>[[Yo (kana)|ヨ]]</big>
|- align=center
!''r''
|<big>[[Ra (kana)|ラ]]</big>|||<big>[[Ri (kana)|リ]]</big>||<big>[[Ru (kana)|ル]]</big>||<big>[[Re (kana)|レ]]</big>||<big>[[Ro (kana)|ロ]]</big>
|- align=center
!''w''
|<big>[[Wa (kana)|ワ]]</big>||<big>[[Wi (kana)|ヰ]]</big>|| <ref name=":0"/> ||<big>[[We (kana)|ヱ]]</big>||<big>[[Wo (kana)|ヲ]]</big>
|- align=center
| colspan="6" | <big>[[ン]]</big> '''(''n'')'''
|}
|}
The complete katakana script consists of 48 characters, not counting functional and diacritic marks:
* 5 ''[[syllable nucleus|nucleus]]'' vowels 
* 42 [[syllable core|''core'' or ''body'']] ([[syllable onset|onset]]-nucleus) syllabograms, consisting of nine consonants in combination with each of the five vowels, of which three possible combinations (''yi'', ''ye'', ''wu'') are not canonical
* 1 ''[[syllable coda|coda]]'' consonant

These are conceived as a 5×10 grid ({{Lang|ja-latn|gojūon}}, 五十音, literally "fifty sounds"), as shown in the adjacent table, read {{nowrap|ア (''a'')}}, {{nowrap|イ (''i'')}}, {{nowrap|ウ (''u'')}}, {{nowrap|エ (''e'')}}, {{nowrap|オ (''o'')}}, {{nowrap|カ (''ka'')}}, {{nowrap|キ (''ki'')}}, {{nowrap|ク (''ku'')}}, {{nowrap|ケ (''ke'')}}, {{nowrap|コ (''ko'')}} and so on. The {{Lang|ja-latn|gojūon}} inherits its vowel and consonant order from [[Sanskrit]] practice. In [[Horizontal and vertical writing in East Asian scripts|vertical text]] contexts, which used to be the default case, the grid is usually presented as 10 columns by 5 rows, with vowels on the right hand side and ア (''a'') on top. Katakana [[glyph]]s in the same row or column do not share common graphic characteristics. Three of the [[syllabogram]]s to be expected, ''yi'', ''ye'' and ''wu'', may have been used idiosyncratically with varying [[glyph]]s, but never became conventional in any language and are not present at all in modern Japanese.

The 50-sound table is often amended with an extra character, the nasal ン (''n''). This can appear in several positions, most often next to the ''N'' signs or, because it developed from one of many ''mu'' [[hentaigana]], below the ''u'' column. It may also be appended to the vowel row or the ''a'' column. Here, it is shown in a table of its own.

The script includes two diacritic marks placed at the upper right of the base character that change the initial sound of a syllabogram. A double dot, called ''[[dakuten]]'', indicates a primary alteration; most often it voices the consonant: ''k''→''g'', ''s''→''z'', ''t''→''d'' and ''h''→''b''; for example, {{nowrap|カ (''ka'')}} becomes {{nowrap|ガ (''ga'')}}. Secondary alteration, where possible, is shown by a circular ''[[handakuten]]'': ''h''→''p''; For example; {{nowrap|ハ (''ha'')}} becomes {{nowrap|パ (''pa'')}}. Diacritics, though used for over a thousand years, only became mandatory in the Japanese writing system in the second half of the 20th century. Their application is strictly limited in proper writing systems,{{clarify|reason = 'Strictly limited' in what sense? 'Proper' in what sense? |date=September 2016}} but may be more extensive in academic transcriptions.

Furthermore, some characters may have special semantics when used in smaller sizes after a normal one (see below), but this does not make the script truly [[Bicameral script|bicameral]].

The layout of the {{Lang|ja-latn|gojūon}} table promotes a systematic view of kana syllabograms as being always pronounced with the same single consonant followed by a vowel, but this is not exactly the case (and never has been). Existing schemes for the [[romanization of Japanese]] either are based on the systematic nature of the script, e.g. [[nihon-shiki]] チ ''ti'', or they apply some Western [[graphotactics]], usually the English one, to the common Japanese pronunciation of the kana signs, e.g. [[Hepburn-shiki]] チ ''chi''. Both approaches conceal the fact, though, that many consonant-based katakana signs, especially those canonically ending in ''u'', can be used in coda position, too, where the vowel is [[unvoiced]] and therefore barely perceptible.

=== Japanese ===

==== Syllabary and orthography ====
{| align=right style="margin-left:1em;"
|-
|
{| class="wikitable" style="vertical-align:top; padding:2px; text-align:center;"
|+ Katakana used in Japanese orthography
|-
!
! ''a'' !! ''i'' !! ''u'' !! ''e'' !! ''o''
|-
! title="No onset" | ∅
| <big>[[ア]]</big> || <big>[[イ]]</big> ||<big>[[ウ]]</big>||<big>[[エ]]</big>||<big>[[オ]]</big>
|-
! ''k''
|<big>[[カ]]</big>||<big>[[キ]]</big>||<big>[[ク]]</big>||<big>[[ケ]]</big>||<big>[[コ]]</big>
|-
! ''g''
|<big>ガ</big>||<big>ギ</big>||<big>グ</big>||<big>ゲ</big>||<big>ゴ</big>
|-
! ''s''
|<big>[[サ]]</big>||<big>[[シ]]</big>||<big>[[ス]]</big>||<big>[[セ]]</big>||<big>[[ソ]]</big>
|-
! ''z''
|<big>ザ</big>||<big>ジ</big>||<big>ズ</big>||<big>ゼ</big>||<big>ゾ</big>
|-
! ''t''
|<big>[[タ]]</big>||<big>[[チ]]</big>||<big>[[ツ]]</big>||<big>[[テ]]</big>||<big>[[ト]]</big>
|-
! ''d''
|<big>ダ</big>||<big>ヂ</big>||<big>ヅ</big>||<big>デ</big>||<big>ド</big>
|-
! ''n''
|<big>[[ナ]]</big>||<big>[[ニ]]</big>||<big>[[ヌ]]</big>||<big>[[ネ]]</big>||<big>[[ノ]]</big>
|-
! ''h''
|<big>[[ハ]]</big>||<big>[[ヒ]]</big>||<big>[[フ]]</big>||<big>[[ヘ]]</big>||<big>[[ホ]]</big>
|-
! ''b''
|<big>バ</big>||<big>ビ</big>||<big>ブ</big>||<big>ベ</big>||<big>ボ</big>
|-
! ''p''
|<big>パ</big>||<big>ピ</big>||<big>プ</big>||<big>ペ</big>||<big>ポ</big>
|-
! ''m''
|<big>[[マ]]</big>||<big>[[ミ]]</big>||<big>[[ム]]</big>||<big>[[メ]]</big>||<big>[[モ]]</big>
|-
! ''y''
|<big>[[ヤ]]</big>||{{N/A|<ref name=":0"/>}}||<big>[[ユ]]</big>||{{N/A|<ref name=":0"/>}}||<big>[[ヨ]]</big>
|-
! ''r''
|<big>[[ラ]]</big>||<big>[[リ]]</big>||<big>[[ル]]</big>||<big>[[レ]]</big>||<big>[[ロ]]</big>
|-
! ''w''
|<big>[[ワ]]</big>||{{N/A|<big>[[ヰ]]</big>}}||{{N/A|<ref name=":0"/>}}||{{N/A|<big>[[ヱ]]</big>}}||<big>[[ヲ]]</big>
|-
| colspan="6" | <big>[[ン]]</big> '''(''n'')'''
|-
! colspan="6" | Functional marks <br>and diacritics
|-
|<big>[[ッ]]</big>||<big>[[ヽ]]</big>|| colspan="2" |<big>[[dakuten|゛]]</big>|| colspan="2" |<big>[[dakuten|゜]]</big>
|}
|-
| {{Color box|#ececec|border=darkgray}} Unused, extinct, or obsolete
|}

Of the 48 katakana syllabograms described above, only 46 are used in modern Japanese, and one of these is preserved for only a single use:
* ''wi'' and ''we'' are pronounced as vowels in modern Japanese and are therefore obsolete, having been supplanted by ''i'' and ''e'', respectively.
* ''wo'' is now used only as a [[Japanese particles|particle]], and is normally pronounced the same as vowel オ ''o''. As a particle, it is usually written in hiragana (を) and the katakana form, ヲ, is almost obsolete.

A small version of the katakana for ''ya'', ''yu'' or ''yo'' (ャ, ュ or ョ, respectively) may be added to katakana ending in ''i''. This changes the ''i'' vowel sound to a glide ([[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalization]]) to ''a'', ''u'' or ''o'', e.g. キャ (''ki + ya'') /kja/. Addition of the small ''y'' kana is called [[yōon]].

A character called a ''[[sokuon]]'', which is visually identical to a small ''tsu'' ッ, indicates that the following consonant is [[gemination|geminated]] (doubled). This is represented in rōmaji by doubling the consonant that follows the ''sokuon''. In Japanese this is an important distinction in pronunciation; for example, compare サカ ''saka'' "hill" with サッカ ''sakka'' "author"<!-- (these examples are for illustration, but in practice, these words would normally be written in kanji)-->. Geminated consonants are common in transliterations of foreign loanwords; for example, English "bed" is represented as ベッド (''beddo''). The sokuon also sometimes appears at the end of utterances, where it denotes a [[glottal stop]]. However, it cannot be used to double the ''na'', ''ni'', ''nu'', ''ne'', ''no'' syllables' consonants; to double these, the singular ''n'' (ン) is added in front of the syllable. The ''sokuon'' may also be used to approximate a non-native sound: Bach is written {{nihongo2|バッハ}} (''Bahha''); Mach as {{nihongo2|マッハ}} (''Mahha'').

Both katakana and hiragana usually spell native [[long vowel]]s with the addition of a second vowel kana. However, in foreign loanwords, katakana instead uses a vowel extender mark, called a ''[[chōonpu]]'' ("long vowel mark"). This is a short line (ー) following the direction of the text, horizontal for [[Yokogaki and tategaki|''yokogaki'']] (horizontal text), and vertical for [[Yokogaki and tategaki|''tategaki'']] (vertical text). For example, メール ''mēru'' is the ''gairaigo'' for e-mail taken from the English word "mail"; the ー lengthens the ''e''. There are some exceptions, such as {{nihongo2|ローソク}} ({{nihongo3|"candle"|蝋燭|rōsoku}}) or {{nihongo2|ケータイ}}({{nihongo3|"mobile phone"|携帯|kētai}}), where Japanese words written in katakana use the [[Chōonpu|elongation mark]], too.

Standard and voiced [[Iteration mark#Japanese|iteration marks]] are written in katakana as ヽ and ヾ, respectively.

===== Extensions =====
Small versions of the five vowel kana are sometimes used to represent trailing off sounds (ハァ ''haa'', ネェ ''nee''). More often, they are used in katakana as [[Yōon]]-like extended digraphs, for [[Transcription_into_Japanese#Extended_katakana|transcribing into Japanese]] a syllable (or mora) that cannot be written with standard katakana. This is especially common for transcribing [[loanword|loanwords]] such as チェ (''che'') in チェンジ ''chenji'' ("change"), ファ (''fa'') in ファミリー ''famirī'' ("family") and ウィ (''wi'') and ディ (''di'') in ウィキペディア ''Wikipedia''; [[#Extended katakana|see below]] for the full list.

====Usage====
{{main|Japanese writing system}}
[[File:Myoe_Shonin_Kashu.jpg|thumb|Collection of poems by priest [[Myōe]], 1248]]

In modern Japanese, katakana is most often used for transcription of words from foreign languages or loanwords (other than words historically imported from Chinese), called ''gairaigo''.<ref name="Contemporary Japanese' 1993, page 29">"The Japanese Writing System (2) Katakana", p. 29 in ''Yookoso! An Invitation to Contemporary Japanese''. McGraw-Hill, 1993, {{ISBN|0070722935}}</ref> For example, "ice cream" is written {{Nihongo krt||アイスクリーム|aisukurīmu}}. Similarly, katakana is usually used for country names, foreign places, and foreign personal names. For example, the United States is usually referred to as {{Nihongo krt||アメリカ|Amerika}}, rather than in its [[ateji]] kanji spelling of {{Nihongo krt||亜米利加|Amerika}}.

Katakana are also used for onomatopoeia,<ref name="Contemporary Japanese' 1993, page 29"/> words used to represent sounds – for example, {{Nihongo krt||ピンポン|pinpon}}, the "ding-dong" sound of a doorbell.

Technical and scientific terms, such as the names of animal and plant species and minerals, are also commonly written in katakana.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.japanesewordswriting.com/|title=Hiragana, Katakana & Kanji|date=8 September 2010|publisher=Japanese Word Characters|access-date=15 October 2011}}</ref> ''Homo sapiens'', as a species, is written {{Nihongo krt||ヒト|hito}}, rather than its kanji {{nihongo2|人}}.

Katakana are often (but not always) used for transcription of Japanese company names. For example, [[Suzuki]] is written {{lang|ja|スズキ}}, and [[Toyota]] is written {{lang|ja|トヨタ}}. As these are common family names, Suzuki being the second most common in Japan,<ref name="japan2">{{cite press release
 | title = 明治安田生命 全国同姓調査 [''Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company – National same family name investigation'']
 | publisher = [[Meiji Yasuda Life|Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company]]
 | date = 2008-09-24
 | url = http://www.meijiyasuda.co.jp/profile/release/2008/pdf/20080924.pdf
 | access-date = 2018-05-24
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120117124916/http://www.meijiyasuda.co.jp/profile/release/2008/pdf/20080924.pdf
 | archive-date = 17 January 2012
 | url-status = dead
 }}</ref> using katakana helps distinguish company names from surnames in writing. Katakana are commonly used on signs, advertisements, and hoardings (i.e., [[billboard (advertising)|billboards]]), for example, {{nihongo krt|"here"|ココ|koko}}, {{nihongo krt|"trash"|ゴミ|gomi}}, or {{nihongo krt|"glasses"|メガネ|megane}}. Words the writer wishes to emphasize in a sentence are also sometimes written in katakana, mirroring the usage of [[italics]] in European languages.<ref name="Contemporary Japanese' 1993, page 29"/>

Pre–World War II official documents mix katakana and kanji in the same way that hiragana and kanji are mixed in modern Japanese texts, that is, katakana were used for ''[[okurigana]]'' and particles such as ''wa'' or ''o''.

Katakana was also used for [[Wabun code|telegrams in Japan]] before 1988, and for computer systems – before the introduction of multibyte characters – in the 1980s. Most computers of that era [[JIS X 0201|used katakana]] instead of kanji or hiragana for output.

Although words borrowed from ancient [[Chinese language|Chinese]] are usually written in kanji, loanwords from modern Chinese varieties that are borrowed directly use katakana instead.

{|class="wikitable"
|+ Examples of modern Chinese loanwords in Japanese
! Japanese !!title="Hepburn romanization of Japanese kana"| [[Hepburn romanisation|Hepburn]] !! Meaning !! Chinese !!title="modern Hànyǔ Pīnyīn romanization of Chinese Hanzi"| [[Pinyin]]/[[Yale romanisation of Cantonese|Yale]] !! Source language
|-
|{{Lang|ja|マージャン}}||''mājan''||[[mahjong]]||{{Lang|zh-hant|麻將}}||''májiàng''||rowspan=3|[[Standard Chinese|Mandarin]]
|-
|{{Lang|ja|ウーロン茶}}||''ūroncha''||[[Oolong]] tea||{{Lang|zh-hant|烏龍茶}}||''wūlóngchá''
|-
|{{Lang|ja|チャーハン}}||''chāhan''||[[fried rice]]||{{Lang|zh-hant|炒飯}}||''chǎofàn''
|-
|{{Lang|ja|チャーシュー}}||''chāshū''||barbecued pork||{{Lang|zh-hant|叉燒}}||''[[Char siu|chā sīu]]''||rowspan=2|[[Cantonese]]
|-
|{{Lang|ja|シューマイ}}||''shūmai''||[[shumai]]||{{Lang|zh-hant|燒賣}}||''sīu máai''
|}

The very common Chinese loanword ''[[ramen|rāmen]]'', written in katakana as {{lang|ja|ラーメン}}, is rarely written with its kanji ({{lang|ja|拉麺}}).

There are rare instances where the opposite has occurred, with kanji forms created from words originally written in katakana. An example of this is {{lang|ja|コーヒー}} ''kōhī'', ("[[coffee]]"), which can alternatively be written as {{lang|ja|珈琲}}. This kanji usage is occasionally employed by coffee manufacturers or coffee shops for novelty.

Katakana is used to indicate the ''on'yomi'' (Chinese-derived readings) of a kanji in a [[kanji dictionary]]. For instance, the kanji 人 has a Japanese pronunciation, written in hiragana as {{lang|ja|ひと}} ''hito'' (person), as well as a Chinese derived pronunciation, written in katakana as {{lang|ja|ジン}} ''jin'' (used to denote groups of people). Katakana is sometimes used instead of hiragana as [[furigana]] to give the pronunciation of a word written in Roman characters, or for a foreign word, which is written as kanji for the meaning, but intended to be pronounced as the original.

[[File:キリ走行注意 (19822048951).jpg|thumb|In this travel warning, the kanji for "fog" ({{lang|ja|霧}}) has been written in katakana ({{lang|ja|キリ}}) to make it more immediately readable.]]

Katakana are also sometimes used to indicate words being spoken in a foreign or otherwise unusual accent. For example, in a [[manga]], the speech of a foreign character or a robot may be represented by {{lang|ja|コンニチワ}} ''konnichiwa'' ("hello") instead of the more typical hiragana {{lang|ja|こんにちは}}. Some [[Japanese names|Japanese personal names]] are written in katakana. This was more common in the past, hence elderly women often have katakana names. This was particularly common among women in the [[Meiji Restoration|Meiji]] and [[Taishō period|Taishō]] periods, when many poor, illiterate parents were unwilling to pay a scholar to give their daughters names in kanji.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Tackett|first1=Rachel|title=Why old Japanese women have names in katakana|url=http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/09/19/why-old-japanese-women-have-names-in-katakana/|website=RocketNews24|access-date=19 September 2015|archive-date=10 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910082557/http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/09/19/why-old-japanese-women-have-names-in-katakana/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Katakana is also used to denote the fact that a character is speaking a foreign language, and what is displayed in katakana is only the Japanese "translation" of their words.

Some frequently used words may also be written in katakana in dialogs to convey an informal, conversational tone. Some examples include {{lang|ja|マンガ}} ("manga"), {{lang|ja|アイツ}} ''aitsu'' ("that guy or girl; he/him; she/her"), {{lang|ja|バカ}} ''baka'' ("fool"), etc.

Words with difficult-to-read kanji are sometimes written in katakana (hiragana is also used for this purpose). This phenomenon is often seen with [[medical terminology]]. For example, in the word {{lang|ja|皮膚科}} ''hifuka'' ("[[dermatology]]"), the second kanji, {{lang|ja|膚}}, is considered difficult to read, and thus the word ''hifuka'' is commonly written {{lang|ja|皮フ科}} or {{lang|ja|ヒフ科}}, mixing kanji and katakana. Similarly, difficult-to-read kanji such as {{lang|ja|癌}} ''gan'' ("[[cancer]]") are often written in katakana or hiragana.

Katakana is also used for traditional musical notations, as in the ''Tozan-[[ryu (school)|ryū]]'' of ''[[shakuhachi]]'', and in ''[[sankyoku]]'' ensembles with ''[[koto (musical instrument)|koto]]'', ''[[shamisen]]'' and ''shakuhachi''.

Some instructors teaching Japanese as a foreign language "introduce ''katakana'' after the students have learned to read and write sentences in ''hiragana'' without difficulty and know the rules."<ref>Mutsuko Endo Simon (1984) Section 3.3 "Katakana", p. 36 in  ''A Practical Guide for Teachers of Elementary Japanese'', Center for Japanese Studies, the [[University of Michigan]]. {{ISBN|0939512165}}</ref> Most students who have learned hiragana "do not have great difficulty in memorizing" katakana as well.<ref>Simon, p. 36</ref> Other instructors introduce katakana first, because these are used with loanwords. This gives students a chance to practice reading and writing kana with meaningful words. This was the approach taken by the influential American linguistics scholar [[Eleanor Harz Jorden]] in ''[[Japanese: The Written Language]]'' (parallel to ''[[Japanese: The Spoken Language]]'').<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070318020645/http://www.joyo96.org/96K/Lesson_1.html Reading Japanese, Lesson 1]. joyo96.org</ref>[[File:Meiji_Kenpo01.jpg|thumb|300px|left|A page of the [[Meiji Constitution]] written exclusively with [[kyūjitai]] and katakana]]

=== Ainu ===
{{Main|Ainu language#Writing}}

Katakana is commonly used by Japanese linguists to write the [[Ainu language]]. In Ainu katakana usage, the consonant that comes at the end of a syllable is represented by a small version of a katakana that corresponds to that final consonant followed by a vowel (for details of which vowel, please see the table at [[Ainu language#Special_katakana_for_the_Ainu_language|Ainu language § Special katakana for the Ainu language]]). For instance, the Ainu word {{translit|ain|up}} is represented by {{lang|ain|ウㇷ゚}} ({{lang|ain|ウ<small>プ</small>}} [''u'' followed by small ''pu'']). Ainu also uses three handakuten modified katakana: {{lang|ain|セ゚}} ({{IPA|[tse]}}) and either {{lang|ain|ツ゚}} or {{lang|ain|ト゚}} ({{IPA|[tu̜]}}). In Unicode, the Katakana Phonetic Extensions block ([https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U31F0.pdf U+31F0–U+31FF]) exists for Ainu language support. These characters are used for the Ainu language only.

=== Taiwanese ===
{{Main|Taiwanese kana}}

'''Taiwanese kana''' (タイ[[File:U+1AFF3.svg|15px]] ヲァヌ[[File:U+1AFF3.svg|15px]] ギイ[[File:Taiwanese kana normal tone 2.png|15px]] カア[[File:Taiwanese kana normal tone 2.png|15px]] ビェン[[File:U+1AFF3.svg|15px]]) is a katakana-based writing system once used to write [[Taiwanese Hokkien|Holo Taiwanese]], when [[Taiwan]] was [[Taiwan under Japanese rule|under Japanese rule]]. It functioned as a phonetic guide for [[Chinese characters]], much like furigana in Japanese or Zhùyīn fúhào in Chinese. There were similar systems for other languages in Taiwan as well, including [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]] and [[Formosan languages]].

Unlike Japanese or Ainu, Taiwanese kana are used similarly to the [[zhùyīn fúhào]] characters, with kana serving as initials, vowel medials and consonant finals, marked with tonal marks. A dot below the initial kana represents aspirated consonants, and チ, ツ, サ, セ, ソ, ウ and オ with a superpositional bar represent sounds found only in Taiwanese.

=== Okinawan ===
{{Main|Okinawan scripts}}

Katakana is used as a phonetic guide for the [[Okinawan language]], unlike the various other systems to represent Okinawan, which use hiragana with extensions. The system was devised by the Okinawa Center of Language Study of the [[University of the Ryukyus]]. It uses many extensions and yōon to show the many non-Japanese sounds of Okinawan.
<!-- Removed link: [http://ryukyu-lang.lib.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/srnh/sign.html Okinawa Center of Language Study] -->