Onomatopoeia across Languages
Onomatopoeia is a word, or group of words, that imitates the sound it is describing. We can recognize these in English – the car horn “honks”, the gun goes “bang”, and the mouse “squeaks”. However, in British English a car “hoots” and in French a gun goes “pan”. People are often surprised when they realize that these are somewhat arbitrary interpretations of the sounds we hear, and they differ among languages and cultures. Simply consider the fact that there are many sounds for a dog’s “bark” in English, including “bark”, “woof”, “ruff”, “bow wow”, and “arf!” In English, we use these pronunciations simply because we’ve learned them from other English speakers.
The Japanese language uses onomatopoeia perhaps more than any other language. Japanese contains hundreds of onomatopoeic words, usually coming in the form of a two-syllable word said twice, such as “gorogoro” (cat purring). Words that imitate sounds are called Giongo. There are also many words, called Gitaigo, that describe various emotional and psychological states. They are often attached to the verb suru (to do) to become verbs, for example, “wakuwaku suru” (to be excited) and “iraira suru” (to be irritated or impatient). Other words become adverbs, such as “geragera warau” (to laugh loudly) and “perapera hanasu” (to speak fluently/quickly).
Here is a quick chart of some noises and their interpretations in different languages.
|
Sound |
English US/UK |
French |
Spanish |
German |
Japanese |
| Cat meowing |
meow/mew |
miaou |
miau |
miau |
nya |
| Frog croaking |
ribbit/croak |
croac croac |
croac croac |
quak quak |
kerokero |
| Kissing |
smooch or mwah |
mouah |
mua |
schmatz |
chuu |
| Sneezing |
achoo! |
atchoum |
¡Achu! or ¡Achís! |
hatschi! |
hakuson! |
| Water dripping |
drip drop |
plic plic/ploc |
ploc ploc; pluip |
plitsch platsch |
pota pota |
| Bee buzzing |
buzz or bzz |
bzzz |
bzzz/zum |
summ summ |
boon boon |
| Knocking |
knock knock |
toc toc |
toc toc |
klopf klopf |
kotsu kotsu |
English US = United States, UK = United Kingdom
|
Sound |
Italian |
Chinese C/M |
Korean |
Russian |
Bengali |
| Cat meowing |
miao |
mēu / miāo |
yaong |
myau |
miu miu |
| Frog croaking |
cra cra |
/guā |
gaegool |
qvah qvah |
môk môk |
| Kissing |
smack |
/boh |
zzohk |
chmok |
chuma (noun) |
| Sneezing |
etciuu |
hāt-chī /ah-qiu! |
etchi |
aptschee! |
hachi (noun) |
| Water dripping |
plin plin |
dihk dihk /di da |
tok tok/ddook |
kap kap |
ṭup ṭup |
| Bee buzzing |
zzzz |
/weng weng |
|
zh-zh-zh |
|
| Knocking |
toc toc |
/dang dang |
ddok ddok |
tuc tuc |
|
Chinese C = Cantonese, M = Mandarin
McDougal Littell’s 
BBC has recently come out with brand-new language resource websites for children ages 4-11. These interactive websites are offered in Spanish, French, and Mandarin Chinese so far. Each website features sounds, numbers, vocabulary, games, videos, and photos to help children start learning a language at an early age. 
Iphone and Ipod apps are a good way to practice a language on the go. There are many options out there, some free and some not.
Fasten Seatbelts 2 is a campaign to expose people to the cultural customs of other countries. They have dozens of short, entertaining videos that provide ways to avoid mistakes or misunderstandings abroad. You can also get these in the form of Iphone apps. 
Don’t Gross out the World is a fun, quick multiple choice quiz on dining customs in other countries. 
Upohar is a catering service that offers authentic ethnic cuisines prepared by native cooks. These cooks are resettled refugees from various countries who now live in Lancaster city. You can try their dishes as part of a small dinner at home or in a catering event for up to 50 people. For more information or to audition them, go to 