Words That Go "Ping": The Ridiculously Wonderful World of Onomatopoeia

by Barbara Lasserre

"If it goes 'Moo' then every child knows it's a cow. If it goes 'Wham! Bam! Crash!' we're in a fast-paced comic. But what goes 'krknout'? Barbara Lasserre takes us on a playful journey through the delightful world of words that mimic sounds. Normally relegated to children's books, cartoons, and comedians, she shows how these often-ancient words reveal unexpected things about the way we think, speak, and act. A book for anyone who loves playing with words."--Publisher's description.

Genres: Nonfiction, Language

197 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Diz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes a look at onomatopoeia across languages. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of this topic. For example, one chapter looks at animal noises, another discusses the issues of translating onomatopoeia, and another examines the wide variety of onomatopoeia in the Japanese language, which has an unusually large variety of them. Overall, it was an interesting book, but occasionally it falls into listing similar onomatopoeia in different languages. The listing parts are a bit less interesting to read.

[Owen Townend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never mind "Ping", this book made my brain go "Zoom".

I first picked up Words That Go "Ping" because I have a fondness for onomatopoeia and use it as often as seems appropriate in my writing. However Lasserre uses this concept to open up international discussion on sound symbolism.

This book reaffirms some linguistic definitions I've been away from for a while (i.e. fricatives, plosives, high and low vowels, voiced and voiceless consonants) and introduces new ones that thrill me. I came to truly appreciate the importance of reduplication (e.g. booboo) on how we represent sound in word choice, as well as the phonesthemes (e.g. the 'gli' part of glimmer, glisten, glitter etc) that recur in English.

Of course, Lasserre also makes sure other popular languages are well-represented, including French, Italian and Spanish interpretations of sonically unique words like 'hoity-toity'. She bestows a whole chapter on the peculiarities of Japanese and how nuanced their use of onomatopoeia is compared to the rest of the world. Not only this, she demonstrates the difficulty that translators face when finding a linguistically-relevant alternative to single words that carry multiple simultaneous connotations.

I could keep banging on about this fantastic book but instead I'll just wind up with a conclusive 'wow'. I recommend Words That Go "Ping" to other language nerds who obsess over cross-modal associations and bilabial articulation, particularly the ones that are most pleasing to the ear.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

It wouldn't have crossed my mind someone can write an entire book on onomatopeia but here it is. And it is really good! It is written in a witty and entertaining way, without losing the objective out of sight. I learned a lot and was pleasantly surprised that even my native language made the cut and made it to the book, couple of times ;)
Some chapters were more interesting than others, but I think it all depends on personal preferences.
In any case, great read for people who are interested in languages in general and for those who participate in pub quizzes and love to be this person in a conversation who says "did you know..." - you will get a lot of "did you know from this book"

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the bomb! Everything you ever wanted to know (and you know that you were curious) about the wackiness, craziness and descriptiveness that is “onomatopoeia”. Reading it is guaranteed to make your funny bone giggle.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book.

Some of the chapters' endings felt a bit abrupt, but the book as a whole was nicely rounded off.

I will definitely be keeping this around for reference.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 4 out of 5]

491 - 2018