Psychology in Writing: Adding Sound Effects to Your Writing

Article by Vasilios Moudilos

There exists, unique to each language, a class of words that have developed from the mimicking of sounds in our environment. A common example is the English word tick tock in reference to a mechanical clock. The usage of these words is known as onomatopoeia.

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, onomatopoeia is defined as "the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it (as buzz, hiss)." Onomatopoeia is further described as a rhetorical device: a linguistic strategy that creates an effect for the reader.

Onomatopoeia is classified as being derived from three broad sources:

1. Animal noises: the barking of a dog, the braying of a donkey or the hissing of a snake. An example would be "The Sergeant barked out new orders to the assembled platoon."

Purr is one example of onomatopoeia; the pleasing sound made by a cat. Using purr in a sentence evokes the imagery of a cat. So, in using this one word, both a sound effect and associated imagery are attributed to the character you attach this term to.

Take for example the following sentence: She turned towards him and said, “I think I'm falling in love with you.” Now let’s add more atmospheric depth by using the word purr: She turned towards him and purred, "I think I'm falling in love with you." Adding purr gives the dialogue greater depth in the acoustic quality of the word and in introducing feline characteristics to the character. As with the cat, we think of qualities such as softness, femininity, cuddliness, and seductiveness.

2. Body functions: examples include the sounds of sneezing: achoo or the sound of one's heart: lub, dub. Consider the following example: "Ignoring the eating utensils, he grabbed his food from the plate and in a single gulp it was gone."

3. Physical reaction onomatopoeia: those words taken from the external world, from the bang of a gun to the whish of the wind. This category is a dynamic ongoing list fueled by individual writers inventing new onomatopoetic words to add unique effects to descriptive scenes. From the new worlds of science fiction to the imaginary kingdoms of childhood tales, these new words are introduced into the English language.

Within this category of physical reaction onomatopoeia, we can further subdivide these into the following categories:

- Mechanical onomatopoeia describing the sounds that machinery make. Words such as buzz or beep.

- Fast motion onomatopoeia describing movement as with whoosh or zoom.

- Musical onomatopoeia based on instrumental sounds as in the twang of a guitar or the blaring of wind instruments.

- Cooking or eating onomatopoeia includes words such as splatter or nibble. As an example, "The bacon sizzled in the pan, splattering oil on his suit."

- Finally, the fighting onomatopoeia, which thrives in the comic book industry and includes words such as pow, whamand bam.

With onomatopoeia we also allow ourselves an alternative to the overused he said-she said format. Instead of purring consider the word cooing relating to a dove's call giving the sentence a more amorous sound: She cooed into his ear, "I think I'm falling in love with you." Onomatopoeia allows you to create a distinctive texture relevant to the emotional reaction you wish to evoke from the reader.

Some onomatopoetic words have become common or overused as with the pitter patter of tiny feet, but can still inspire a creative variation as in the following: The clickety-clack of well rehearsed bureaucracy was set into calculated motion. This adds a mechanical quality in how bureaucrats function. We've taken clichéd onomatopoeia and changed its structure to describe a setting with richer depth.

New onomatopoetic words are common in the marketing world with the creation of slogans as with the snap, crackle and pop of Rice Krispies or the Mmm Mmm Good associated with the Campbell's Soup Company. Writers can incorporate these marketing slogans in their writing. An example would be: She carried herself so well that he could only gaze in wonderment, thinking Mmm Mmm Good.

You can browse a list of onomatopoeia here and here.

Although often employed in poetry and in the genres of science fiction and children's books, onomatopoeia has a place for writers in other genres. Whether to enrich dialogue, develop a more distinctive character sketch, or add deeper texture to a setting, onomatopoeia provides additional assets for the writer — that of creating special effects on the written page.