tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post894447416020155157..comments2024-03-16T00:21:43.240+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: some onomatopoeialynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-53210749610927686672023-07-13T04:17:25.796+01:002023-07-13T04:17:25.796+01:00I hear "hoot hoot," and I think about a ...I hear "hoot hoot," and I think about a bunch of guys in a car, um... lustfully "complimenting" a lady walking down the side of the road... Kind of like catcalling but not... (Wish this wasn't where my brain goes, but here you go.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-90627689066974103312021-11-21T17:22:46.626+00:002021-11-21T17:22:46.626+00:00Hmm, that seems a bit Indoeuro-centric to me - I&#...Hmm, that seems a bit Indoeuro-centric to me - I'm not proficient in any non-Indoeuropean languages, but according to google translate there's no m in "mother" in Finnish, Japanese, Turkish or Yoruba, just for a few examples.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-49317787021388257222019-04-26T18:46:58.506+01:002019-04-26T18:46:58.506+01:00BrE. Some family examples of onomatopoeia.
ATM/ca...BrE. Some family examples of onomatopoeia.<br /><br />ATM/cash machine = biddly-bonk<br />Any music where the beat overwhelms melody and lyrics = doof doof music.<br />The latter also refers to the closing credits of the Br soap opera Eastenders: any end-of-episode cliffhanger is a “doof doof moment”.Shy-replyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01891566073375322808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-47487145661872301892018-05-15T20:48:44.829+01:002018-05-15T20:48:44.829+01:00Hens like Bart but don't like art.
"Art ...Hens like Bart but don't like art.<br /><br />"Art but but art.<br />But art but but but butart. <br />Bar butart but but but butart"! <br /><br />Their syntax is not entirely unlike a quagmire but their claim has been repeated thrice so it must be true.Larry Anttilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02865762634013142530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-50509756227331468082018-05-15T20:09:43.362+01:002018-05-15T20:09:43.362+01:00The classic use of toot for a train noise:
I’d ra...The classic use of <i>toot</i> for a train noise:<br /><br />I’d rather drive an engine than <br />Be a little gentleman <br />I'd rather go shunting and hooting <br />Than hunting and shooting David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04868191560554400497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-61642674344230192942018-05-15T19:36:45.846+01:002018-05-15T19:36:45.846+01:00Mrs. Redsquish, do your boots say squish when you ...Mrs. Redsquish, do your boots say squish when you walk in mud? <br /><br />I live in Sweden where "namnam" suggests something tasty or sweets (lollies/candy) and it is pronounced as "numb numb". I feel it should be written as "nam nam" to more accurately represent the sound, but hey, it is not my language. <br /><br />Swedish and partially English are derived from Old Norse. Also "nom nom" and "nam nam" seem similar, so the origin may be Norse. That does not disprove or rule out a Caribbean origin. Larry Anttilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02865762634013142530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-40442626552166675392017-07-29T03:41:17.427+01:002017-07-29T03:41:17.427+01:00Many people know the cumulative song Old MacDonald...Many people know the cumulative song <i>Old MacDonald Had A Farm</i> — usually performed with imitation noises rather then onomatopoeic word. I prefer a song which — to the best of my recollection — builds up to<br /><br />Once I had an old horse<br />My old horse didn't very well please me<br />So every time i rode my horse<br />I rode him around the trees, tree<br /><br />Horsie went neigh-neigh<br />Cowie went moo-moo<br />Sheepie went baa--baa<br />Piggie went grunny-grun<br />Goosie went gobby-gob<br />Duckie went quack-quack<br />Hennie went chicky-chack<br />Cockie went cock-a-doodle-doo<br />Here's luck to all my cocks and hens <br />And my cock-a-doodle dooDavid Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-36614674445406330462017-07-29T03:23:28.666+01:002017-07-29T03:23:28.666+01:00In my speech — and I think in British English gene...In my speech — and I think in British English generally — <br /><br />• <i>Cackle</i> is more likely to be used of a hen that has just laid an egg.<br /><br />• <i>Cluck</i> is more likely for a hen at other times.<br /><br />They are different sounds.<br /><br />An American Blues of the 1930s had the lines<br /><br /><i>What you want with a rooster : he won't crow 'fore day<br />What you want with a woman : won't do nothing she say<br />What you want with a hen : won't cackle when she lay<br />What you want with a man : won't do nothing he say</i><br /><br />From the White folk tradition there's a song performed to a banjo: <i>Cluck Old Hen</i>. One version includes:<br /><br /><i>Cluck old hen cluck and sing<br /> You ain’t laid an egg since late last spring<br /> Cluck old hen cluck and squall<br /> Ain’t laid an egg since late last fall<br /><br />Cluck old hen cluck when I tell you<br />Cluck old hen or I’m gonna sell you<br />Last time she cackled cackled in the lot<br />Next time she cackles cackle in the pot</i>David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-60291514541441993222017-07-29T02:57:33.479+01:002017-07-29T02:57:33.479+01:00What sound does the rain make in England? Is it th...<i>What sound does the rain make in England? Is it the same sound as the bare feet of children on the floor? </i><br /><br />A very English song written in 1924 but best known as sung by Flanagan and Allen after 1939, <i>The Umbrella Man</i> goes<br /><br />Pitter, patter, patter,<br />Pitter, patter patter,<br />Here comes the rain.<br />Let it pitter, patter,<br />Let it pitter, patter,<br />Don't mind the rain.<br /><br />A standard cliché in Britain (I can't speak for America) to indicate that somebody is expecting a baby is:<br /><br />You're going to hear the patter of tiny feet.<br /><br />I see Trinovant39 thinks that <i>pitter</i> can also go with feet. This doesn't sound right to me.<br /><br /><i>What sound does a cash-register make?</i><br /><br />Ker-ching.David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-62225174936671495652017-07-29T00:08:27.432+01:002017-07-29T00:08:27.432+01:00Very interesting read...
I'm looking for writ...Very interesting read...<br /><br />I'm looking for written sound for hen and noted the terms "cluck" and "cackle" are used. Wondering if there is any difference between AmE and BrE?Lung Yanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11615673244983224168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-50056479851111587212017-02-23T10:45:43.197+00:002017-02-23T10:45:43.197+00:00Puffing Billies! From the name of one of the very...Puffing Billies! From the name of one of the very earliest. The popular tourist train in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne is known as Puffing BillyAnthea Flemingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-30474713521015591722011-11-02T14:39:20.991+00:002011-11-02T14:39:20.991+00:00@AMG:
But still. It sounds too similar to be a co...@AMG:<br /><br /><i>But still. It sounds too similar to be a coincidence.</i><br /><br />Use Occam's Razor! To any speaker of nonrhotic British English, "Eeyore" is obviously simple onomatopoeia. There's no reason to bring in the Talmud, Nostradamus or the Da Vinci code...vphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16647609487352038948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-18002272856511361142011-11-02T08:18:22.856+00:002011-11-02T08:18:22.856+00:00Since it's onomatopoetic, there is plenty of r...Since it's onomatopoetic, there is plenty of room for coincidence. Since mules make the same noises across the world, when people from diferentf language groups make imitative name for them, they will sound similar. If you want to find support for your theory, you'll need to determine whether AA Milne knew biblical languages.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-63993370432175412522011-11-02T02:13:10.187+00:002011-11-02T02:13:10.187+00:00I actually have another theory regarding the etymo...I actually have another theory regarding the etymology of Eeyore. In the Talmud, tractate Rosh Hashana (page 3a), the biblical king Sichon (mentioned in the Book of Numbers chapter 21) is related to the word Siye'ach. Rashi (the famous talmudic commentator) explains that siyeach means eey-yair ben soos in Aramaic. Ben soos in Hebrew means son of a horse, whereas Eey-yeir means a donkey. I guess if it is the son of a horse, then it must be a mule. But still. It sounds too similar to be a coincidence. (I found this blog after I did a google search to determine the etymology of Eeyore, since I thought I had found it after seeing that Rashi said this.)Adam Goldberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16381597267003497426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-84965188945141497142011-01-14T12:57:06.466+00:002011-01-14T12:57:06.466+00:00I've never seen 'pad pad pad' as a rea...I've never seen 'pad pad pad' as a really conventionali{z/s}ed bit of onomatopoeia, so I haven't got much to say about it, but <a href="http://www.zwol.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1431&sid=012151efe28dd7b07192d4ca04e3b2a1>this forum discussion on how to represent walking sounds</A> might be of interest.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-35803048527129581702011-01-14T04:18:37.124+00:002011-01-14T04:18:37.124+00:00I found this article after a Google search when tr...I found this article after a Google search when trying to figure out if there was an AmE equivalent to "pad pad pad." I understand BrE words I see on TV, but this one really makes my brain turn flips as I can't think of an onomatopoeic example for the same sound in AmE. We just say, "I heard footsteps." I wish there were more well-organized information on the subject; I find these nuances very intriguing.jayysennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13217957857866723848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-39475127089858685532010-04-15T00:21:52.912+01:002010-04-15T00:21:52.912+01:00Our UK emergency vehicles have sadly gone the way ...Our UK emergency vehicles have sadly gone the way of the US now. I miss the two tone siren where, at least, you can tell if it is coming towards you or not.Andrewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-70416007772367778252009-12-09T22:12:00.788+00:002009-12-09T22:12:00.788+00:00Since you bring up other languages, in Russian fro...Since you bring up other languages, in Russian frogs say "kva" and ducks "kra". We were very surprised at "ribbit" when we came to the US. To us that doesn't sound like a frog at all.Boris Zakharinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16560756640621720539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-58468573456568176012009-09-11T14:07:26.119+01:002009-09-11T14:07:26.119+01:00Veering away from English again...
I've recen...Veering away from English again...<br /><br />I've recently been told that Japanese has a whole lexicon of "onomatopoieic" words that refer to non-audible events. There's an agreed "sound" of being surprised, for instance, or falling in love.<br /><br />How true is this, and does anyone know some of the words?<br /><br />PS - In Esperanto both frogs and ducks say "kvak".Robbienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-63816846087518591652008-12-15T07:20:00.000+00:002008-12-15T07:20:00.000+00:00Dveej up above, you may be surprised to find out t...Dveej up above, you may be surprised to find out that the worldwide age for weaning - and that's averaging in all the children who are never breastfed as well! - is the age of four. Many cultures breastfeed longer than that even! The World Health Organization, of course, recommends that women nurse for two years, and then for as long as it is mutually desirable. The AAP has a similar recommendation.<BR/><BR/>Breastfeeding, at any age, can hardly be described as disgusting - at least, no more so than it is for any adult, well past the age of weaning, to go and drink the milk from a non-human! (And then to curdle the milk, scoop out the rotten milk solids, and call it cheese. Yummy, but whose bright idea was that???)<BR/><BR/>And of course it can be brought up normally. Why shouldn't it be? People bring up all sorts of actually disgusting information about their kids (if I have to hear about potty training accidents ONE MORE TIME...!), and nobody says boo, so?<BR/><BR/>You might find this page interesting: http://64.233.169.132/search?q=cache:RssGFzVL7E0J:www.kathydettwyler.org/detwean.html+http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detwean.html&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us<BR/><BR/>Anonymous at the end, that reminds me of a phrase used in the crafting community. When you have to undo a bit of work, it's called frogging. Why? Because you "rip it, rip it".<BR/><BR/>Back on the original topic a bit more, all these various "boom" and "bang" noise for guns going off, and yet, whenever I read about somebody reporting on *actual* gunfire they always describe it as a "pop pop pop" noise.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-11723001421497503382008-12-01T19:43:00.000+00:002008-12-01T19:43:00.000+00:00Where I grew up in the UK (South Wales) Frogs did ...Where I grew up in the UK (South Wales) Frogs did indeed "croak", but only in as much as a donkey "brays". The onomatopoeic equivalent of "Ee-Aw" for Frogs was "Reddit".<BR/><BR/>Hence the joke about the Frog in the library; They got a new book every week but he'd already read it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-77396868123527734902008-11-25T06:48:00.000+00:002008-11-25T06:48:00.000+00:00U.S. here, but for cat onomatopoeia, I tend to use...U.S. here, but for cat onomatopoeia, I tend to use "mraow" and "miao" more often than "meow"...<BR/><BR/>Though, I did once have a cat that sounded like a Wookiee -- we started calling him "the Urt" because he said "urt" and "nyurt".<BR/><BR/>We also had a siamese cat that said "prung'niao" and "praow".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-16028897720763443522008-11-20T11:59:00.000+00:002008-11-20T11:59:00.000+00:00In Japanese, a frog says けろけろ (kero-kero), a cat s...In Japanese, a frog says けろけろ (kero-kero), a cat says にゃにゃ (nyaa-nyaa) and a cow goes もうもう (moh-moh).Belindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05644865101407447694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-24247242731452646392008-11-15T07:45:00.000+00:002008-11-15T07:45:00.000+00:00Oh, whoops, didn't see Lynne's post. (I've been d...Oh, whoops, didn't see Lynne's post. (I've been drinking, it's my birthday.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-7392424987788748732008-11-15T07:43:00.000+00:002008-11-15T07:43:00.000+00:00In American we say Ashes Ashes, we all fall down. ...In American we say Ashes Ashes, we all fall down. Not achoo or atissue. My mother sneezes akachingie akachingie akachingie (usually in threes) but that is neither here nor there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com