Do you know what an Onomatopoeia is?
Aug 20th, 2007 by Julia
Onomatopoeia is a word(s) that imitate the sound of an item it is describing. This word is of the Greek origin ”onoma” (name) and “poio” (to create) which means “name creation”.
Onomatopoeia covers a wide range of sounds, the sounds made by animals, devices, musical instruments and so on. It’s important to be aware that in different parts of the world, the words used for the sounds are quite different
Animal Onomatopoeia - the sounds that animals make.
Here are some common English renderings:
cat - mew/meow
cow - moo/low
horse - neigh/whinny
dog - bark/woof/bow-wow/ ruff ruff
pig - oink
lion - roar
bird - tweet
hen - cluck
chick - peep
rooster - cock-a-doodle-doo
crow - kaak
duck - quack quack
Mechanical Onomatopoeia - machine noises. Examples include: buzz, beep, whirr, click, clack, clunk, clatter, clink.
Fast Motion Onomatopoeia - words that convey the sound of speed seem often to begin with the letter s or z. Boing, varoom/vroom, whoosh, swish, swoosh, zap, zing, zip, and zoom are examples.
Musical Onomatopoeia - some musical onomatopoeia is associated with specific music instruments — the twang of a banjo or guitar, oompah for a tuba, or plunk for a keyboard. Others imitate a metallic sound, and these often end in ng: ting, ding, ring, ping, clang, bong, brrrring, jingle, and jangle. Then there are some that clearly evoke wind instruments, like blare, honk, and toot; and another group that seem percussive, like rap, tap, boom, rattle, and plunk. A person making music without an instrument might hum or clap or snap.
Food Preparation and Eating Onomatopoeia. In cooking, food may crackle or sizzle and oil may splatter. When we pour something to drink, it may go splash, kerplunk, or gush. When it’s time to eat, we’re likely to nibble, munch, gobble, and crunch.
Fighting Onomatopoeia - words that show up in comic books during fighting scenes: pow, bif, bam, whomp, thump, smash, zowie, bang, and wham.