--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Rob" <magwich78@...> wrote:
> Aren't onomatopoeic terms normally used to describe previously
> unknown animals (e.g. the whippoorwill)? However, I agree that geese
> make a sort of "gaN-gaN-gaN" sound.
I think not - _owl_, _peewit_ 'lapwing' and _cuckoo_ immediately come
to mind. A little more thought yields the family of 'crow' words,
even if the onomatopeia has vanished in _raven_. On a larger scale, I
don't think the non-avian words _bow-wow_ 'dog' and choo-choo 'steam
enginge/train' (as in the 'Chattanooga choo-choo') are due to
non-familiarity. I think the words for 'owl' and 'cuckoo' have a
general tendency to be onomatopeoic, as birds that are heard rather
than seen.
Richard.