The onomatopoeia tag has no wiki summary.
25
votes
5answers
14k views
How did the letter Z become to be associated with sleeping/snoring?
In cartoons and comics it's not uncommon to see a series of Zs to indicate that a person is in deep slumber, such as in the following political cartoon.
How and when did the letter Z become to be ...
10
votes
4answers
977 views
What part of speech are non-human “interjections” like “oink” and “bang”?
As a spin-off from this comment:
If a human exclaims something like "ouch!", I believe it's considered an interjection.
But if a pig exclaims "oink!", what is the part of speech?
And if a bell goes ...
8
votes
6answers
2k views
Word for the sound made while vomiting
Which word can I use to describe the sound somebody makes while vomiting? Is burp the right word for it?
12
votes
2answers
349 views
Is corrosion an onomatopoeia?
I mean, obviously "corrosion" isn't actually onomatopoeic, because corrosion doesn't make a sound (or at least not one that humans can hear). Yet it seems to me that the word corrosion sounds like its ...
6
votes
5answers
816 views
To what extent do English words sound like what they describe?
Is it true that the way languages develop causes the tonal qualities of the words to have a tendency to match the nature of the thing the word stands for?
I am not talking just about obviously ...
5
votes
2answers
305 views
Onomatopoeia Across Languages
Every language has its stock of onomatopoeic expressions, but they vary across nationalities and cultures.
For example, the American “bow wow” (a rapper’s name) has its Japanese equivalent in ...
3
votes
4answers
3k views
What is the proper convention for writing onomatopoeia?
Say I'm attempting to write a sound, as in 'poof', 'thud', or 'clank'. What's the correct convention to write something like this?
Is there one, or is it a grey area as long as it's clear to the ...
1
vote
4answers
4k views
Interjection for the sound of a bell
I saw this other question, but it's not quite what I'm asking.
A bell makes a sound. How would you write that sound in English? As an interjection, e.g. "boom!"
I'm sure it varies with the type and ...
1
vote
3answers
614 views
Is “hooray” generally considered to be onomatopoeic?
Is this word onomatopoeic, just an interjection, both, something else?
