Ride the Storm: Navigating Through Unstable Periods / Katerina Rudko (Belka G...
A to z of sounds made by living beings
1. Nilanjan Saha (Neil) | Nishiganj, Coochbehar | Mob: +91 973 338 1747 | Email: neilnirjane@gmail.com | Blog: nilanjan7.blogspot.com |
Website: http://nilanjansaha.webs.com
A to Z of Sounds Made by Living Beings
The following is a list of the appropriate English words for describing the typical sounds made by various animals,
birds and some insects. Notice that they are all verbs.
Sl. № Creature Sound
001 Alligators hiss, grunt
002 Apes gibber
003 Asses bray
004 Badgers growl
005 Basenji dogs yodel
006 Bats screech
007 Bears growl, grrr
008 Bees hum, buzz, murmur
009 Beetles drone
010 Birds chirrup, chirp, twitter, tweet, sing, whistle
011 Bitterns boom
012 Blackbirds whistle
013 Bulls bellow
014 Calves bleat
015 Camels grunt
016 Cats mew, purr, meow and hiss, yowl, spit. Nyaa, caterwal
017 Cattle moo, low
018 Chaffinches fink
019 Chickens peep, cackle, cluck, chirp
020 Chicks cheep
021 Chinchillas squeak
022 Cicadas sing
023 Cocks crow
Page 1 of 6
5. Nilanjan Saha (Neil) | Nishiganj, Coochbehar | Mob: +91 973 338 1747 | Email: neilnirjane@gmail.com | Blog: nilanjan7.blogspot.com |
Website: http://nilanjansaha.webs.com
110 Seagulls scream
111 Seals bark
112 Sharks hom hom
113 Shearwaters shrill
114 Sheep bleat, baa
115 Snakes hiss
116 Sparrows chirp, twitter
117 Squirrels squeak
118 Stags bellow, call
119 Swallows titter, twitter, squeal
120 Swans cry, crey, hiss, grunt
121 Thrushes whistle, sing
122 Tigers roar, growl
123 Toad Tibbir
124 Tokay Geckos to keh!
125 Tortoises grunt
126 Turkeys gobble
127 Vultures scream
128 Walruses groan
129 Whales sing: Whale song.
130 Wolves howl, cry, yell
131 Wrens warble
132 Zebras neigh, whinny
See how many you know, the rest you will learn. I’m pretty sure the above chart is reminding you of
one of many figures of speech present in English. Yes, I’m talking about ‘onomatopoeia’ or
‘onomatopœia’ (ˌä-nə-ˌmä-tə-ˈpē-ə, -ˌma-) { pronunciation (US)}. An onomatopoeia is a word
that imitates or suggests the source of the sound that it describes. It (as an uncountable noun) refers
to the property of such words. One of the commonest occurrences of onomatopoeias includes animal
noises. Hence, almost all the noise-representations listed above are onomatopoeic (or onomatopoetic).
The noun onomatopoeia is thought to have been first used in around 1577 AD. According to the Oxford
Page 5 of 6
6. Nilanjan Saha (Neil) | Nishiganj, Coochbehar | Mob: +91 973 338 1747 | Email: neilnirjane@gmail.com | Blog: nilanjan7.blogspot.com |
Website: http://nilanjansaha.webs.com
Dictionary, the word onomatopoeia originates from the Greek word ὀνοματοποιία (onomatopoiia)
meaning 'word-making'. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary reports the onomatopoiia is derived from the
Greek ὄνομα (onoma) for 'name' and ποιέω (poiein) for 'to make'.
Page 6 of 6