那些永远记不住的单词｜Onomatopoeia 拟声词 （Special Feature 番外1）

今天更新一篇《那些永远记不住的单词》特稿一篇，来自我的美国朋友Ben Lamorte，他在知道我的这个写作计划后，深感兴趣。于是我邀请他客串一天，从不同角度为我们选词作文，不知道为什么，他选择了这个奇怪的单词：

Onomatopoeia:  拟声

英  [,ɒnə(ʊ)mætə'piːə]   美  [,ɑnə,mætə'piə]

我把他的全文翻译给大家：

Definition: The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g., cuckoo, sizzle ).   通过声音来拟写一个单词的过程，例如cuckoo, sizzle。

Ben Notes:

This word is introduced to native English speakers that are at “good schools” in middle school, sometimes high school. In the 1970s, American kids watched Batman that featured “fight scenes” where Batman would punch or kick his foe. However, just when contact was about to be made, the word “Pow” or “Bam” would appear right over the area where the punch or kick was going to land. In fact, the two fighters often didn’t even come close to connecting. The words “Bam” and “Pow” are classic examples of onomatopoeia. The sounds of a coin falling might referred to as a “clink” – the doorbell goes “ding-dong”…

Though it is not used in business often, it’s used by writers frequently.

A classic ad in America was for Alka seltzer jingle/song:

“Plop, plop fizz fizz, Oh what a relief it is!”

这个单词引入英语，是通过那些“上等高中”的学生。1970年代，美国孩子喜欢看蝙蝠侠，在那些打斗镜头中，蝙蝠侠会对敌人拳打脚踢。在击打的一瞬间，Pow或者Bam这样的单词会出现在身体接触点的旁边，实际上，有时候两位打斗者可能根本还没有近身呢。单词Bam和Pow是典型的onomatopoeia。硬币落地的声音被描写为clink，门铃响则是ding-dong。

尽管在商务英语中很少见，但是拟声词对作家是很常用的。

一则经典的美国广告，Alka苏打水，歌是这么唱的：

“Plop, plop fizz fizz, 嗷嗷，真是太爽了!”

这里有很多拟声词的例子：

http://examples.yourdictionary.com/5-examples-of-onomatopoeia.html