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The word onomatop\u00e9e<\/b> (onomatopoeia) has been floating around the Internet as of late and I thought it would be fun to devote a post to French onomatopoeias vs. their English counterparts.<\/p>\n
What is an onomatopoeia<\/i>? An onomatopoeia is a word meant to mimic a certain sound made by un humain<\/b> (a human), un animal <\/b>(an animal) or un objet<\/b> (an object). The spelling of an onomatopoeia should sound as close as possible to the actual sound it is trying to imitate.<\/p>\n
The word itself comes from two Ancient Greek words: onoma<\/i> meaning name<\/i>, and poieo<\/i> meaning to produce<\/i>.<\/p>\n
So let\u2019s run through a few onomatopoeias in both French and English to give us an idea of how people hear things differently. You\u2019ll find a number of these in both French and English bandes dessin\u00e9es<\/b> (comic books), dessins anim\u00e9s<\/b> (cartoons) and livres pour enfants<\/b> (children\u2019s books). Keep in mind that there can be several onomatopoeias for the same sound but these are just some of the more popular ones.<\/p>\n
The first onomatopoeia will be in French and the second in English.<\/p>\n
Human Sounds<\/b>:<\/p>\n
1. Sleep<\/b>: ron-ron<\/i> vs. zzzzzzz<\/i><\/p>\n
2. Sneeze<\/b>: atchoum<\/i> vs. achoo<\/i><\/p>\n
3. Expression of pain<\/b>: a\u00efe!<\/i> vs. ouch!<\/i><\/p>\n
4. Crying baby<\/b>: ouin-ouin<\/i> vs. wah-wah<\/i><\/p>\n
5. Drinking<\/b>: glou-glou<\/i> vs. slurp\/glug<\/i><\/p>\n
6. Beating heart<\/b>: poum-poum<\/i> vs. thump-thump<\/i><\/p>\n
7. Hushing<\/b>: chut<\/i> vs. shh<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Animal Sounds<\/b>:<\/p>\n
1. Rooster<\/b>: cocorico<\/i> vs. cock-a-doodle-doo<\/i><\/p>\n
2. Pig<\/b>: groin-groin<\/i> vs. oink-oink<\/i><\/p>\n
3. Bird<\/b>: cui-cui<\/i> vs. tweet-tweet<\/i><\/p>\n
4. Duck<\/b>: coin-coin<\/i> vs. quack-quack<\/i><\/p>\n
5. Frog<\/b>: croac-croac<\/i> vs. ribit\/croak<\/i><\/p>\n
6. Snake<\/b>: siff<\/i> vs. hiss\/sss<\/i><\/p>\n
7. Owl<\/b>: ouh-ouh<\/i> vs. hoo-hoo<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sounds made by objects<\/b>:<\/p>\n
1. Clock<\/b>: tic-tac<\/i> vs. tick-tock<\/i><\/p>\n
2. Ambulance siren<\/b>: pin-pon<\/i> vs. wee-woo<\/i><\/p>\n
3. Gun firing<\/b>: pan-pan!<\/i> vs. bang-bang!<\/i><\/p>\n
4. Car door slamming<\/b>: vlan!<\/i> vs. wham!<\/i><\/p>\n
5. Water dripping<\/b>: plic-plic<\/i> vs. drip-drip<\/i><\/p>\n
6. Doorbell ringing<\/b>: dingue-dongue<\/i> vs. ding-dong<\/i><\/p>\n
7. Telephone ringing<\/b>: dring-dring<\/i> vs. ring-ring<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The word onomatop\u00e9e (onomatopoeia) has been floating around the Internet as of late and I thought it would be fun to devote a post to French onomatopoeias vs. their English counterparts. What is an onomatopoeia? An onomatopoeia is a word meant to mimic a certain sound made by un humain (a human), un animal (an…<\/p>\n