Please, don’t take away the method of converse that we (husband, friends, and I) use! If you met us, you’d probably learn to interpret what we meant easily, we use tone of voice and expression. It’s a subtler form of communication, that takes sharper ears, and better listening skills to learn. We’ve “translated” until new friends got the hang of it before.
Sometimes there just aren’t words intially, but tone of voice, expression, and sounds used convey worlds of meaning. We’ve conveyed almost an entire conversation with a few sounds. Sometimes we use this method to convey information we don’t want everyone to hear, but not usually.
It’s a type of conversational “spice” or “garnish”. It’s possible to have a meaningful conversation without onomatopoeia, but IMO it would be boring to completely leave it out of all converse. No, I don’t use it when in a formal conversation. However, it can be used in a formal setting to let your spouse know not to tell something private quickly, efficiently, and with grace.
If onomatopoeia is not a way you choose to express youself that’s fine. However, many people do choose to use it to some degree. To each their own. Here’s a glimpse at how we use it.
My husband, our friends, and I use Gra, Grar, Bah, Buh, Ack, Ick, Argh, Eh, Neh, Eehhhhh, Nngnawng-gnawng, Gnawng, and Wha to name a few.
Ish is our friend’s invention.
Gra=slightly frustrated exclamation to do with unexpected/uncontrollable circumstances
Grar=Really peeved at unexeptected very annoying circumstances
Bah=annoyed disagreement, “You’re full of shit”, disgruntlement, hopeless frustration, disappointment, peevishness, exasperation
Buh= I don’t really know or care
Ack=This sucks, alarmed sympathy, alarmed frustration, can be a milder form of Bah
Ick=This sucks, I sympathize
Argh=frustration, annoyed resignation
Eh=Not really, an expression of nuetraltity, I really don’t care enough to say one way or the other, sometimes leaning slightly towards the positive side, (As in do you want to go eat at McDonald’s?")
Neh(More my phrase than his, revenge is sweet)=Not really, an expression of nuetrality, I really don’t care enough to say one way or the other, leaning towards the negative side (As in “Do you want to go see friends?”)
Eehhhhh(said in a suprised upscaling tone)=disbelief, Is this really true?, I’m taken aback
Nngnawng-gnawng (it sounds something like gnaw with an ng sound added at the end, say an “n” sound first)= mock severity, mock ferocity, playful threat to nibble (show your feline fangs as you say it)
Gnawng(click your fangs to end this phrase)=Ok, I’m done playing, and am getting slightly annoyed now, a mock severe way of saying I really mean it, don’t argue with this one. (Both of these are my phrases, I’m a little thing, and he’s this tall, long, slender creature who likes to say things like “You poor little thing!” while reaching down to pat me on the head. I often reply with a “Gnawng” or a “Nnawng-gnawng” to show I’m just as fearsome as he is. I use these exclusively with my husband.)
Wha=freaked out way of asking “Who, what, when, where, why, and how?”
Ish=a playful way of reiterating what you just said, sometimes a way of arguing/scolding/trying to get your way: “Is not!” “Ish” “Is not!!” “Ish,ish,ish,ish,ish!” (Usually finger shaking goes along with this.) Sometimes this is used as a “hush” too.