Tomoko has asked me about onomatopoeia. Her friend told her that English does not have onomatopoeia. English does have onomatopoeia, of course. Here are some common examples that you can hear in everyday-conversation:
ding dong = a doorbell
woof = a dog barking
bang = a gun shot or any sudden loud noise
beep = a car horn or a (high-pitch) digital monotone
glug glug = drinking quickly
splish splash = water being moved around
slurp = a loud sucking noise (drink, noodles etc.)
tick tock = an analogue clock
The list is endless! Interestingly, onomatopoeia varies from language to language which means we hear sounds differently.
Tomoko, please tell your friend!
Please note that many people confuse onomatopoeia with ideophones. I will write about ideophones later.
This sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteIn English,
Dog`s barking is woof;
In Chinese,
It is Wang, Wang..
Any other languages?
I heard it and felt relieved!
ReplyDeleteI tell the thing to a friend at once.
Onomatopoeia is interesting！!