Words for noises and sounds

On thursday i attended an art exhibition on the theme of silence. First off was a speaker who rattled on about the differences between sound and silence. Most of the time he seemed to be stating the obvious. Somehow i started thinking about words we use to describe sounds and, since i was bored, i started scribbling some of them down. Here they are:

bang___________estallido
bark___________ladrido
beep___________sonido electrónico
bellow_________bramido
bleat__________balido
bleep__________pitido
boom___________retumbo
bump___________ruido sordo
buzz___________zumbido
cackle_________cacareo
chatter________cotorreo
chime__________repique
chink__________tintineo
chirp__________pío
chirrup________pío
chortle________carcajada reprimida
clamour________clamor
clang__________estruendo metálico sonoro
clank__________estruendo metálico sordo
clap___________aplauso
clapping_______aplausos
click__________chasquido
clucking_______cacareo quedo
cooing_________arrullo
crack__________crujido
crackle________chisporroteo
crash__________choque
creak__________rechinamiento
crunch_________crujido
cry____________grito
crowing________cacareo de gallo
drone__________zumbido
drumming_______tamborileo
echo___________eco
explosion______explosión, estallido
gnashing_______rechinamiento de dientes
grinding_______rechinamiento
guffaw_________carcajada
gurgle_________gorgoteo
hoo-ha_________estrépito
hoot___________bocinazo
howl___________ululato
hum____________tarareo
jingling_______cascabeleo
knock__________golpe
laugh__________risa
lowing_________mugido
mew____________maullido
moo____________mugido
mumble_________murmullo
murmur_________murmullo
noise__________ruido
patter_________golpeteo
peal___________sonido musical como de campanas
peep___________pío
pip____________pitido
ping___________sonido metálico
plonk__________golpe seco
plop___________plaf
puff___________soplido
rasp___________chirrido
racket_________estrépito
rattle_________cascabeleo
raucousness____estridencia
reverberation__reverberación
ring___________timbrazo
ringing________reverberación
rip____________rasguido
roar___________rugido
rumble_________retumbo
rumour_________rumor
rustle_________frufrú
scraping_______rasguido
scream_________grito
screech________chillido
shriek_________grito agudo
snap___________chasquido
snicker________risilla
snigger________risilla
snivel_________lloriqueo
snore__________ronquido
sound__________sonido
speech_________habla
splash_________chapoteo
splutter_______chisporroteo
squawk_________graznido
squeak_________rechinamiento
squeal_________chillido
stridency______estridencia
swish__________frufrú
thunder________trueno
ticktock_______tictac
tinkling_______cascabeleo
trill__________trino
twang__________tañido
twitter________pío
wail___________vagido
warble_________gorjeo
weeping________llanto
whack__________golpe fuerte
whine__________gemido
whinny_________relincho
whirr__________runrún
whisper________susurro
whistle________silbido
whoop__________alarido
whoosh_________susurro
yell___________grito

English seems to be more varied than spanish... At any rate, words that describe sounds tend to be, in general, much shorter and more onomatopoeic in english than in spanish, and so the sounds they define seem to be much more precise and easier to recall (although maybe it is my command of spanish that is sinking).

Onomatopoeic words are everywhere in english. When you say "brush", you can hear its stiff bristles rasping against the thick hairs of a tangled mat of wool. When you say "clump", the four consonants plonking around that lonely "u" mirror the compactness of the clump itself, forming, coming together. And who can't hear the hooting in "owl"?

Of course, many spanish words also have clear onomatopoeic origins, but they have moved farther away from the original sound they describe. You can hear the "cry" in "grito", for instance, but that "to" at the end has been added by the necessities of gender and conjugation, so pervasive in romance languages. Still, when i say "rueda" (wheel), i fancy i can hear the rumble of heavy wooden carts rolling on uneven ground.

Anyway, what is the meaning of thinking about this? What can be its utility?

The Platypus

I read somewhere that the platypus knows its world through its bill. Because it spends most of its time in dark, murky waters, its eyes are not much use to it; to compensante, bioelectricity courses through the platypus' bill and creates an electromagnetic field. In that way, if anything comes within the range of the field, the animal senses the corresponding alteration in the field lines, and "sees".

What does the platypus perceive? Can it know colour and texture? Possibly not, and yet they seem so obvious to us... Perhaps there are other qualities to reality that we ourselves are not aware of because of our sensory apparatus. Maybe the platypus knows some of them... Or it may also be that neither platypi nor people sense anything that is real, and our senses only give us approximations of reality, enough to allow us to function in it.

I suppose the platypus does not feel the lack. Its senses have evolved to fit its needs, and the same applies to us. But what happens when needs change, or when we are (dumb? smart? cozy?) enough to ponder all this?

Octavia Butler dead

I've just found out that one of my favourite writers died on February 24th. It is a big shock. Of course, i didn't know the woman, only her writing and a little about her biography, yet it's disturbing to read she's dead... Mostly because i won't be able to read any new books from her, perhaps? Expecting them was great company, after all.

Nemi

I understood a norwegian cartoon today. Yay! (The fact that i see this as a feat is no reflection on norwegian humour, but on my still shitty command of norwegian.) The cartoon basically goes like this:

Nemi is at a bar and the guy next to her yells at someone outside of the frame:

#@%&#@ homo! God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Arne!

Nemi punches him in the face, leaves, and mutters:

God must be gay, too. Otherwise, he would not have made so many assholes!

Har har har!