onomatopoeia The use of words that sound like the noise they name or that are spelled the way they sound.
Examples: Bam Bang Beep Boing Boom Burp Boosh Clap Crackle Ding-dong Hiccup Ka-boom Ping pong Plop Poof Thud Tick-tock Squish Swoosh Zap
Machine sounds Aside from the above, machines are usually described with: Automobile- "honk" for the horn, "vroom" for the engine, and "screech" for the tires Train - "clickety-clack" crossing a junction and "choo-choo" for the whistle. Cash register – “cha-ching”
Animal sounds For animal sounds, these onomatopoeia are typically used in English: Bird - "chirp", "tweet" Chicken - "cluck" Crow - "caw" Dove - "coo" Duck - "quack" Owl - "hoo" or "hoot" Rooster - "cock-a-doodle-doo" Turkey - "gobble" Insects - "buzz"
Animal sounds continued… Mammals Cat - "meow" and "purr" Cow - "moo" Dog - "woof", "ruff" Donkey - "hee-haw" Frog - "ribbit", "croak” (amphibian) Mouse/Rat - "squeak" Pig - "oink", "wee-wee-wee" Sheep - "baa" Reptiles Snake - "hiss", "sss"
More Onomatopoeias… ba-boom bang bam bark bawl beep belch bing blab blare bling blurt boing bong bonk boom bow-wow bump burble burp buzz ca-ching cheep (parot) chop clang clank clap clatter click cock-a-doodle-doo crack crackle crash crash-boom (lightning strike) cuckoo ding
Even More Onomatopoeias… ding-dong dong drip fwat gasp goosh grumble grunt gurgle hee-haw (donkey) hiccup hiss honk huff hum hurl ka-blam ka-boom klap (Spanish for gunshot) meow moo murmur oink ping-pong plop poof pop, popped, popping puff quack rat-tat-tat-tat (beginning of machine gun fire) ring roar roared rustle scratch
And Still More Onomatopoeias… screech sigh sizzle sniff spit splash splat splut squawk squeak squeal squelch squish swoosh tat-tat-tat-tat thump thwap tick tick-tock ting tink tock tweet tweet vroom wham woosh yip yip (dog screaming) zang zap zip zoom zzzzz
Assignment Write a fable containing at least 15 onomatopoeias. Please make your onomatopoeias stand out from the rest of your writing. For example: The fox howled at the moon. 1 point for each onomatopoeia and 5 points for writing quality (20 points total) The draft of this assignment is due on Wednesday, March 25th
What is a fable? A story that features animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are personified and that have a moral lesson (a "moral"), which may at the end be expressed in a maxim. Maxim examples: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. A friend in need is a friend indeed. A rolling stone gathers no moss. You can't tell a book by its cover. Birds of a feather flock together.