Onomatopoeia

Hi! I’m Rob…

and I’m Catherine. Hello! Welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary.

Our subject for today is onomatopoeia. That means, words that sound like the thing they mean. And Catherine and I will be trying to demonstrate some of these words today.

Yes, like that sound most people’s phones make when you get a text messages. We call that sound a beep .

Beep!

That’s it Rob, yeah. That’s onomatopoeia: the word sounds like the thing it means. Beep!

Beep beep! Yes, have I got a message? Hold on. Right, OK. There are lots of examples of onomatopoeia in the English language, and we’ll take a look at some of them on today’s show.

So let’s start with a clip of Oliver. And he’s talking about living in the city.

While you listen, try to answer this question: How does Oliver feel about city life?

It’s too noisy for me! All the cars z ooming around and honking their horns, music blaring in shops, machines buzzing and bleeping … even at night, it isn’t quiet, you can still hear the fridge humming , and the rumble of the traffic outside. Then I wish I was far away from the city, sleeping in a tent, with no sound except the rustle of the wind in the trees.

So that’s Oliver. And we asked you how he feels about city life.

And Oliver said it’s too noisy for him.

I know how he feels - London: same. Anyway, here’s another question: what words did Oliver use to talk about the sounds of the city in the daytime? Listen again.

All the cars zooming around and honking their horns, music blaring in shops, machines buzzing and bleeping.

Lots of lovely vocabulary there! Oliver talked about cars zooming around. Zoom, spelt z - o - o - m - is a verb, which means ‘to move very quickly, making a zooming sound’.

Zoom, zoom.

Watch out!

Then he mentioned the cars honking their horns. A honk - spelt h - o - n - k - is a short, loud sound - like a car horn makes. Honk honk!

OK, next, Oliver talked about music blaring . The verb to blare: that’s b - l - a - r - e, means ‘to make a loud, unpleasant sound’ - like music that’s much too loud. Blaring !!!

You got teenage kids Rob?

Not yet, no.

They’ll be blaring their music soon enough. OK, and Oliver also mentioned machines bleeping and buzzing. Now a bleep …

Bleep bleep.

That’s one b - l - double e - p - is a short, high sound, which electronic devices make. Something like this: Bleep, bleep, bleep. That sounds like a heart monitor.

Very good.

And a buzz - that’s b - u - z - z - is a low, continuing sound, like machines and insects make.

Yes. Buzzzzzzzzzzz….

That’s it Rob.

Like that, yes?

Well done. Perfect.

Is there a bee in here? Now, the sounds of the city don’t stop, even at night. Here’s Oliver.

… you can still hear the fridge humming , and the rumble of the traffic outside.

So he can hear the fridge humming . The word hum - h - u - m - describes a low, continuous sound. And a hum [HUMMMMMMMM] is different from a buzz [BUZZZZZZZZ]! Can we listen to your hum and your buzz, Rob?

OK, why not? Here we go. [HUMMM] and [BUZZZ].

Is that your fridge and your bee?

That’s right, yes, in that order.

Oliver also spoke about the rumble of the traffic out in the street. Now, a rumble - r - u - m - b - l - e - is a bit like a buzz , but there’s a difference - a buzz [BUZZZZZZZZZ] continues without changing, but a rumble goes up and down, like the wheels of a truck on rough ground going rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble.

Rumble You carry on rumbling.

OK.

Finally, Oliver spoke about the sound of the wind in the trees. Listen out for the word he used.

Then I wish I was far away from the city, sleeping in a tent, with no sound except the rustle of the wind in the trees.

Rustle describes the sound of the wind, A rustle is a soft, dry, moving sound. It’s spelt r - u - s - t - l - e . And in pronunciation, the t is silent, so it’s rustle . Rustle, rustle, rustle …

Quite a nice sound really.

Thank you.

Yeah.

You’re listening to BBC Learning English.

And our subject today is onomatopoeia - words that sound like the thing they describe. And it’s time for a quiz! Question one. Rob, what sound does a car horn make?

Easy, it’s a honk ! Question two: what sound does a fridge make?

And it’s hum . And the last question: what sound does the wind make in the trees?

The correct answer is rustle . And that’s the end of today’s quiz. Well done to you at home if you got them all right.

And before we go, here’s an idea to help you remember new vocabulary: choose one of your favourite songs in your first language, and write some new words for it, in English.

Yes, and then, practise singing your song! It will help you to remember the new words.

There’s more about this at bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.

Bye!