My example may be hard to visualize because…we have no word for it.
“The ‘tee-hee’ clap”
Hands formed in a steeple position and barely clapped together while the person clapping restrains glee.
It’s an odd gesture meaning, “I’m really happy” or “This is REALLY good”
As in, “Game of Thrones, (clap clap clap) It’s soooo good.”
I would tell you, but I have no word for it.
We have no common yet non-vulgar verb for the act of baby-making.
We have a noun: Coitus. But that’s a noun, not a verb; it’s also very clinical sounding – something scientists would write in their peer-reviewed research reports.
We have a verb: Copulate. But that’s also clinical, also to be used in research reports or possibly at the doctor’s office.
We have a whole slew of crude and/or colloquial verbs, of varying degrees of crudeness.
And we have a variety of multi-word, often euphemistic verb phrases like “making love” or “having sex”.
But where’s a good, inoffensive, non-gutter-jargon but also non-cold-and-scientific one-word verb?
When baby-making/copulation/coitus becomes as casual a topic of dinner-table converstation as what little Johnny did in school today (and I don’t mean what little Johny did to little Sally), then either a casual word for it will develop or (more likely) one of the words you mention will enter casual speech.
There’s no word for excretion nor the room you do it in that isn’t a euphemism or vulgar or scientific.
Verbal root musï- (in my conlang):
musïka to have sex
musïsa the act of having sex
musïwa someone who is having sex
musïthu someone who had sex
musïghu someone who is going to have sex
musïyam I have sex
musïyath thou hast sex
musïya he/she/it has sex, etc.
The same verb does for ‘have sex’, “coitus,” “fuck,” or “make love” alike. The way to say “fuck you” in this language is: musïlučuth, literally ‘mayst thou be fucked’, applying the passive, subjunctive, second-person singular endings.
That caused a misunderstanding for me with a taxi driver once. I really just wanted to know where I could find some good seafood.
There is humming, and there is singing, but I don’t think there’s a word for when you vocalize to a melody but aren’t singing words – you know, “Daaaah, daaaah, dah dah!”
Friends told me that in one African language, there is a noun for the parents of your child’s spouse. I think we need that word in English.
I take it “scat” is not the word?
there is also the word you used in your post: vocalize
I do agree with the need for a word for the relationship to your child’s in-laws, particularly when you share grandchildren.
Inspired by a cute girl from years ago, I use my favorite exclamation, “Eeeeee!”
Eeeeee basically means an event, person, or creature that is too adorable for words.
There’s also a sad version, spelled “…eeeee…” when something sad happens, but still adorable.
Example: Me: “Eeeeeee! How is the Debbie today??”
Debbie: “Sick. Stayed home. Threw up.”
Me: “Oh, …eeeeee… Feel better!”
mate?
reproduce?
Shag.
We don’t have ways of spelling certain common expressions either. We approximate with ‘tsk-tsk’ and ‘uh-oh’, but uh-oh contains at least one glottal stop, and tsk-tsk has a clinking sound. Neither of these have letters in English.
Bang?
Bump?
Knock Socks?
Rock The Trolley?
Tango Sideways?
Think you can say most of those on television.
Except, “scat” is primarily nonsense vocalizations, as in this video (@0:46, 1:23, 2:05, etc. – description lists 'em all.)
Think freckafree’s talking about replacing actual words with nonsense sounds (or something close to it), as in this video.
Now I see, I’ll get right on it.
What about the “tut-tut” sound you make when you suck your tongue off the back of your upper teeth? Do you think “tsk-tsk” was an early try at writing that down? Do we need to steal something like “!” from the aborigines? Inquiring minds want to know. 
Yeah, I meant ‘clicking’ sound. I think it’s definitely one of the African clicks, but I could be wrong.
Did you know it’s possible to be thinking “African, African, African,” and type a-b-o-r-i-g-i-n-e-s? :smack:
Like, for the actual act of having sex with intent to conceive? Copulate will probably work or you to say “John and Sue were copulating again last night”? In that case, the most common term I’ve always heard is ‘trying’.
John and Sue are trying.
We’ve been trying for 11 months.
We tried again last night, hopefully it works!
Not clinical, not vulgar, sort of lets you bypass the imagery of your friends having sex and just talking about the baby making part.
I’m not sure why this bothers you that much. There are plenty of common ideas with a common expression that is two or more words long. “Ice cream” for example.