tonguethesaurii



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Volkskrant  11-04-2012)                                                                                                                        

: Dawn, six policemen and a 'boom', as they call their
 battering-ram.                                                            

A nice example of the genesis of an onomatopeiac noun.

 

( as there are many in all languages, to name some :

english :jingle light ringing tune >advertisementtune, dripolator kind of coffeepercola-

ter, and the beautiful  Houyhnhnm,coined by Jonathan Swift, gentle 

horse-people .  

german : kladderadatsch sound of a noisy fall>title of a satiric magazine,Berlin,19th

century,

kiengiric/sumerian : balang.>kind of snare-instrument

zulu : ivum >car

 

 

Ofcause this kind of noun is wellknown from children's language : " Look at that oink-oink grinning at the moo-moo!"