Truth is, I never even liked cats. They’re slick and independent, which I do admire, but that doesn’t always favor humans, if you ask me. I mean, isn’t a pet supposed to be there for you, join you, defend you, cheer you up and give you all the unconditional love? Isn’t a pet supposed to just welcome you when you get home with a whole joy fest in your honor? Cats don’t give a damn and if you make them angry they jump and scratch you too.

Yeah, well, not hard to guess: I’m definitely a dog person. And my dog is the best in the whole world, and I swear that’s the truth and nothing but the truth. He drools a lot, I know, but what a continuous love gift he is! It’s all about me, if you ask him. He gives me attention, affection and safety in exchange for food, short walks and some petting. He asks for so little and gives so much! Yup, no secret at all: dogs rule and cats… meow.

Speaking of which, there’s only a slight catch to it. Apparently, cats speak more of an international dialect, since they “meow” in English, they “miau” in Spanish, they “miao” in Italian and they pretty much do the same in many different languages. As for dogs, let’s face it: they “woof” in English, they “guau” in Spanish, and they “ouaf” in French! Who understands them?

The other day I translated this very short story that involved a dog and a little boy and while doing so, I didn’t realize that “woof” was not OK when passing from English to Spanish. My coworker, native Spanish speaker and with practically zero knowledge of English, read it and asked me what that word that repeated itself was. He couldn’t stop laughing when I naturally said it meant “guau” and I thought that was obvious.

So, whenever y’all try to translate an onomatopoeia, such as the sound of an animal, a baby, a door or a shot… make sure you get the right word in the target language. There are no obvious sounds.

In the meantime, no worries: you don’t need an interpreter to communicate with your dog. They understand us, no matter in what language we talk to them. Cats… I’m not so sure!

An onomatopoeia (according to Webster’s definition) is “the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it.” These are used linguistically to describe sounds (boom, bang, click) and can even serve to express a thing or idea visually instead of aurally, like “zig-zag” or a “tick.”

Onomatopoeias are often used to describe the sounds animals make. And every language has its own way to express these sounds. Some are very similar in English and Spanish, like the sound a duck makes: “cuac” (Spanish) and “quack” (English), and the sound a cat makes: “miau” (Spanish), “meow” (English). Others however, are quite different. Spanish-speaking dogs say “guau,” while English-speaking canines say “woof.” A rooster in Ecuador crows “kikiriki” and birds sing “pi-pi” or “pío-pío,” but an Australian rooster says “cock-a-doodle-doo” and birds say “tweet.”

Other sounds expressed through an onomatopoeia also vary, such as the “beep” or “pip” of an answering machine and the “toc-toc” or “knock-knock” at the door. An interesting aspect of this (and something quite complicated when translating from English into Spanish) is that a lot of onomatopoeic words in English are used not just to represent a sound, but are verbs express the production of that sound and/or noun. In Spanish for example, one would say “cerró la puerta de un portazo/ dio un portazo,” but it’s English translation is simply “slam the door (shut),”using “slam,” an onomatopoeia for “portazo” as a verb. Another example can be seen when someone is at the door. English uses the verb “knock,” while a verb form of “toc toc” doesn’t exist in Spanish. In English, a clock “ticks,” while in Spanish one would say that the clock “hace tic tac o marca el paso del tiempo). Some examples of these onomatopoeia verbs are: “clink,” “swish,” “swoosh,” “splash,” “pop,” “honk,” “roar,” “yawn,” etc.

This Wikipedia page has a list of useful onomatopoeic sounds for animals, along with the Spanish verb to describe them (a sheep “bala,” coyotes “aúllan,” etc.

Onomatopoeias are also often seen in comic books, especially these verb forms, splashed across the screen in the famous fight screens of the sixties.