Test your Russian

Here's one for you linguists.

There's a fun (and impossible to spell) aspect of language called "onomatopoeia." This exists in the English language as well as Russian. In fact, I think there are more examples in Russian. Either that, or I've just forgotten English. (I do have bouts of amnesia when we are discussing a Russian word and the professor asks me for the English translation).

With this latest topic we were learning something which I later found out translated to "interjection." We have plenty of them in English: Oh, Ooooh, Ahhh, Shhhh, Ahem, Uh-huh, Nuh-uh, Psst, Whew, etc. The Russian equivalent often sounds more guttural. read more/-

The examples below were listed in the textbook as interjections, but I prefer the term onomatopoeia. I think of them as the sounds of comic strips. When we were asked to recall the equivalent in our own language, I realized that in English we often just use the verb.

Read the Russian sound effects (transliterated) below and see if you can match up the noises (underneath) with the action they are describing.

1) prig-skok!
2) gahf-gahf
3) tuk-tuk
4) tyuk-tyuk
5) tyu-tyu
6) khlop!
7) djin!
8) fyoot
9) bul-bul

What it describes:

a) A doorbell ringing.
b) Something sinking.
c) Knocking on a door.
d) A balloon popping (pop!).
e) A jumping noise.
f) Something quickly passing by (woosh!).
g) A dog barking (woof!).
h) Tapping on glass.
i) Something disappearing (poof!).