![]() ![]() Onomatopoeia can differ across cultures and languages, even when referring to the same sound.Īdvertising, branding, and slogans often use onomatopoeia: “Snap, crackle, pop.”.Onomatopoeia can use real words, made-up words, or just letters used to represent raw sounds (as “Zzzzzz” represents someone sleeping or snoring).Some additional key details about onomatopoeia: The “boom” of a firework exploding, the “tick tock” of a clock, and the “ding dong” of a doorbell are all examples of onomatopoeia.Onomatopoeia has a few distinct variants: Here's how to pronounce onomatopoeia: on-uh-mat-uh- pee-uh The Four Types of Onomatopoeia A dog’s “woof” in English is a dog’s “bau” in Italian ( how to say woof in 16 languages).Real words made to evoke the sound of real things.Made-up words that sound like real things.A series of letters that mimic a “raw” sound.This type of onomatopoeia, which we’ll call conventional onomatopoeia, uses words whose own sound evokes the sound of real things. The word “meow,” which sounds just like the sound a cat makes when it actually meows, is a classic example of conventional onomatopoeia. Real Words Made to Evoke the Sound of Real Things This is by far the most common type of onomatopoeia. In this rarer type of onomatopoeia, a word or series of words is used to imitate a real-world sound, even though the words used don’t mimic that sound themselves. Made-up Words that Sound Like Real Things Perhaps the most famous example of this type of onomatopoeia is Edgar Allen Poe’s poem “The Bells,” in which Poe repeats the word “bell” 62 times to evoke the sound of a bell ringing and tolling, even though the word “bell” itself does not itself sound like a bell ringing. ![]() Made-up words can fill the void when no word exists to sufficiently capture the nuances of a real-world sound. A Series of Letters that Mimic a Raw Sound For example, when James Joyce needed a word to convey the sound of someone knocking on a door, he invented “tattarrattat.” Today, almost a hundred years after he coined it in writing his novel Ulysses, “tattarrattat” has become a legit word (it’s in the Oxford English Dictionary). How Can You Tell if a Word Qualifies as Onomatopoeia? Sometimes onomatopoeia involves no words at all, as in examples like “Zzzzzz” to represent the sound of sleeping or snoring, “hachoo” for a sneezing sound, or “tsk-tsk” or “tut-tut” to convey the scolding sound we make to express disapproval. ![]() There is no definitive test for whether a word qualifies as onomatopoeia. Some words, like “meow” and “buzz,” are clear examples of onomatopoeia because they’re like transcriptions of sound spelled out in letters. But other onomatopoeic words are subtler, such as the words “throbbing” and “moaning,”which appear in the Edgar Allen Poe poem “The Bells.” Does the word “moan” sound like someone moaning? Does “throb” sound like a heart beating? Kind of, but not obviously so. The Onomatopoeia List website has collected hundreds of examples of onomatopoeic words and lets users vote on their relative onomatopoeia-ness. It can be helpful to consult their list to get a sense of whether a specific word qualifies as onomatopoeia. But you can also just make the judgment call for yourself. Onomatopoeia Examplesīecause onomatopoeia can make language so expressive, impactful, and memorable, it’s used almost everywhere you look, from literature to comics to advertising and more. ![]()
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