# Onomatopoeia in other languages **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 15, 2006, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onomatopoeia-in-other-languages/380558 "2006-11-15T18:14:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onomatopoeia-in-other-languages/380558/21 "2006-11-16T20:14:23Z")
I’ve also noticed that baby talk for Mother and Father seems to be the fairly similar across languages. Ma-ma, Da-da, etc. I guess that’s the first sounds babies can make and it’s been translated into familiar terms for the parental units? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onomatopoeia-in-other-languages/380558/22 "2006-11-16T20:44:15Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] I’ve also noticed that baby talk for Mother and Father seems to be the fairly similar across languages. Ma-ma, Da-da, etc. I guess that’s the first sounds babies can make and it’s been translated into familiar terms for the parental units? [/QUOTE] In Colleen McCullough’s [url=]_Masters of Rome_\* novels, in ancient Rome the affectionate term for one’s father was _tata._ Don’t know whether that’s documented\*\*, but it sounds very plausible. - Ooh! The Wiki article says McCullough, who stated clearly at the end of _The October Horse_ that that was the last one, period, has agreed to write one more, about Antony and Cleopatra! 🙂 \*\*Most of the stuff in those novels **is** very well-researched; apparently McCullough has developed a reputation as a comprehensive expert on Roman history, to the point where academics in the field consult with her. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onomatopoeia-in-other-languages/380558/23 "2006-11-16T20:47:12Z")
I have read the _Masters of Rome_ series several times. They are excellent, and I’m so glad she’s doing _Antony and Cleopatra_. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onomatopoeia-in-other-languages/380558/24 "2006-11-16T22:04:32Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] I’ve also noticed that baby talk for Mother and Father seems to be the fairly similar across languages. Ma-ma, Da-da, etc. I guess that’s the first sounds babies can make and it’s been translated into familiar terms for the parental units? [/QUOTE] I suspect that that gets to the whole concept between etymological origins - how today’s languages evolved from common roots. I believe there is a theory also that there is an _Ur_-language - something inherent in us - that manifests in different ways in today’s languages. Off topic but interesting… ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onomatopoeia-in-other-languages/380558/25 "2006-11-16T22:18:17Z")
[QUOTE=BayleDomon] \ The example that’s always stuck with me, when I first read about Japanese onomatopoeia, was ‘burun burun’ – the sound of breasts being released. 😃 [/QUOTE] I asked my wife, who collects manga and is something of a Japanophile (is that a word?) about it. She says it translates to “boing, boing.” ---
**Author:** ![Plastic\_Soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@Plastic\_Soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plastic_Soul)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onomatopoeia-in-other-languages/380558/26 "2006-11-17T02:05:47Z")
In Tagalog: Dogs go “Aw! Aw!” Roosters cry “Tiktilaok!” Goats go “Meee!” (e in bed) Drumming noise is “baradag” Guitar strumming is “trung - trung - trung” (sounds like rung) Cars go “broom - broom!” Slamming doors go “bla-dag!” Bells go “kleng-kleng!” ---
**Author:** ![SkiDemon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@SkiDemon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkiDemon)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onomatopoeia-in-other-languages/380558/27 "2006-11-17T08:07:26Z")
I know ONE language that couldn’t possibly have ANY onmatopoetia… ASL…(and other Signed languages) ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onomatopoeia-in-other-languages/380558/28 "2006-11-17T09:06:55Z")
[QUOTE=tschild] In German: cattle go _Muh_ roosters go _Kikeriki_ frogs and ducks both go _Quak_ dogs go _Wau_ or _Wuff_ donkeys go _I-A_ sparrows go _Tschilp_ Also _quietschen_ (to squeak), _Knall_ (a bang), _wiehern_ (to whinny), _knacken_ (to crack) etc. - it seems certain words tend to be onomatopetic across many languages. [/QUOTE] I was teaching ESL in Germany and trying to get my German students to pronounce the word “rural” (no easy feat for native German speakers). One of my students tried several times to pronounce “rural” and said, “It sounds like what my dog says when I accidentally step on its paw.” ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onomatopoeia-in-other-languages/380558/29 "2006-11-17T12:24:04Z")
[QUOTE=SkiDemon] I know ONE language that couldn’t possibly have ANY onmatopoetia… ASL…(and other Signed languages) [/QUOTE] Perhaps, but if you extend the concept to the Signs being visually like the action being peformed. For example, say a butterfly being signed with the hands linked at the thumbs and flapping like the wings of the critter. (I don’t recall the actual sign for butterfly but this is just a description of how the concept could be extended.) ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onomatopoeia-in-other-languages/380558/30 "2006-11-17T15:49:19Z")
In Latin America, a bus is a _guagua_, in imitation of a bus horn. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onomatopoeia-in-other-languages/380558/31 "2006-11-17T17:43:28Z")
[QUOTE=furryman] Not just onomatopeia but a pun too. In anime sometimes when somebody does something stupid a crow appears and screams “Baka!” (Stupid) [/QUOTE] _Baka_ can also mean “crazy” or “dumb.” Not sure how that’s either an onomatopoeia or a pun, though. On the other hand, Japanese has a _lot_ of genuine onomatopoeias. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/onomatopoeia-in-other-languages/380558.md?page=1)