Ramen ラーメン。
わたしはにほんラーメンがどてもすきです。I have always been wondering why we use katakana for Ramen although it is a Japanese だべもの。According to textbook, Katakana is mainly used to write the words borrowed from other languages, onomatopoeia, and words the writer wishes to emphasize. I had a research on the origin of ラーメン and found out that ラーメン was adapted from China. ラーメンis 拉麺 in Chinese meaning 拉(Pulled)-麺(Noodle) and it is pronounced ‘La mian.’ I assume that ‘Ramen’ is Japanese pronunciation of the word, 拉麺. Ramen has become a popular/traditional dish in Japan and known as a Japanese food. However, because of its Chinese origin Ramen is written in katakana. Also, in my personal view, using katakana for Ramen is more effective in attracting people. I guess back in those days when the Ramen was first introduced in Japan, it was sold only in Restaurants. In order to attract more customers, people adapted it into katakana because ラーメン is easier to recognize and more fashionable than in hiragana,ら-めん or in kanji. :)
The second example of using katakana is the phrase ココウレシイポイント!. It literally means here, happy point! I went to Sanrio store in Time Sq and bought a cute Hello Kitty wallet. The phrase was found in a small card inside of the wallet. In this context, katakana is used to emphasize the words. It could have written in hiragana of course but to appeal and attract the customer more it is adapted into katakana. For me at least, it really worked. I feel like I am earning ‘happy points’ as I use this wallet. -Not actual points of course but maybe.. happy thoughts?