Saturday Mix – Sound Bite, 23 November 2019

Welcome to the Saturday Mix – Sound Bite, 23 November 2019!

This week we are hearing things, as we explore the use of ONOMATOPOEIA. You will need to use the THREE onomatopoeic words in your response – which can be poetry or prose.

Our three words, using onomatopoeia are:

• ring
• clip-clop
• hiccup 

You may be asking yourself, How can I use onomatopoeia in my writing?

Luckily, Your Dictionary has some examples for you.

The word onomatopoeia comes from the combination of two Greek words, onoma meaning “name” and poiein meaning “to make,” so onomatopoeia literally means “to make a name (or sound).” That is to say that the word means nothing more than the sound it makes. The word “boing,” for example, is simply a sound effect, but one that is very useful in making writing or storytelling more expressive and vivid.

Many onomatopoeic words can be verbs as well as nouns. “Slap” for instance, is not only the sound that is made by skin hitting skin, but also the action of hitting someone (usually on the face) with an open hand. “Rustle” is the sound of something dry, like paper, brushing together, but it can also indicate the action of someone moving papers around and causing them to brush together, thus making this noise.

Common Examples of Onomatopoeia

The concept of onomatopoeia words can be difficult to understand without examples. Examples give you the chance to see and sound out actual words. Below are five categories of onomatopoeic words with several examples of each.

1. Water sounds – splash, splosh, plip,  plop, drip, drop
2. Vocal sounds – giggle, growl, grunt, gurgle, mumble, murmur
3. Collision sounds – bam, bang, clang, clank, clap, clatter, click, screech, slap, thud, thump
4. Air sounds -flutter, fisst, swish, swoosh, whoosh, whizz
5. Animal sounds – baa, woof, neigh, buzz, cheep, cock-a-doodle-doo, meow

Example of Onomatopoeia in Literature
Onomatopoeia is a fun, linguistic tool used in literature, songs and advertisements. Now consider the following example of onomatopoeia words in use:

“Chug, chug, chug. Puff, puff, puff. Ding-dong, ding-dong. The little train rumbled over the tracks.”

– “The Little Engine That Could”, Watty Piper

Source: YourDictionary Editors. “Onomatopoeia” yourdictionary.com, http://examples.yourdictionary.com/5-examples-of-onomatopoeia.html (accessed November 23, 2019).

 Good luck with your ‘Sound Bite’ task – I can’t wait to see what you come up with! Don’t forget to tag ‘Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie’, ‘Saturday Mix’, and hashtag #SoundBite.

As always, make sure you link your fabulous creation to the helpful Mister Linky.

About weejars

I am a teacher with a passion for writing short stories, poems and other scribblings to provide an outlet for my more creative side. Hope you enjoy the ride!

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