Dear Warren:
I am sure that there are numerous examples; here just a few that have
not been mentioned yet:
Uhu (Bubo bubo) is an example that has not been mentioned yet (I think)....
I am sure that there are numerous examples:
Common Swift (Apus apus): In East Switzerland is called "Spyr"
Rails Corncrake (Crex crex: In Northern Germany is called "Schnarre"
Dog (Canis lupus f. familiaris) = Wow-Wow
Pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) : the sound is "pipi"
Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis) (in German = Baumpieper) : the sound is "pipi"
South american raptures:
"chiuwango"; the sound is "chiuwango" ??
Phalcoboenus sp. ("caracara"): the sound is "caracara"
Pycnonotus jocosus (Bylbyl ; or bulbul): the sound is "bylbyl"
"Chuchupe" (Lachesis mutus) (Ketchua; Locals say that this is the
sound of the snake - Mythos)
Hoopoe (Upupa epops) (Wiedehopf=German): the sound is "upupa"
Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) (Kiebitz = German): the sound is "kiebitz"
Cheers, Werner
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Is anyone aware of a comprehensive study or report on the onomatopoeia of
animal names?
Of course their are obvious examples such as chickadee, crow, kookaburra,
katydid, cuckoo. And it seems there may be other less obvious examples in
English and other languages, e.g., duck, cow (Latin bos, German kuh),
titmouse (Scandinavian titt), pig (Latin sui), owl (Latin ulula).
I also remember running across a speculation that human language may have
first evolved as a means of communicating the presence of animals (imagine a
proto-hominid running back to his clan calling out "Woo-woo" = wolf = vulpe
= lobo).
And can you come up with other possible examples?
Warren W. Aney
Senior Wildlife Ecologist
Tigard, Oregon
--
Dr. Werner Haberl
Former Chair, Insectivore Specialist Group, IUCN
Hamburgerstrasse 11/17
A-1050 Vienna, Austria
Phone & Fax: (+431) 941 13 13
E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The Shrew Shrine: <http://members.vienna.at/shrew>
or new: http://members.chello.at/natura
The Dormouse Hollow: http://www.glirarium.org/dormouse
