Monday, July 27

Onomatopoeia: Ghosts

On my Postcrossing account, I'm asking everyone a question: how do ghosts sound in your country? I'll tally the answers here and update this post as events warrant.
  1. America: "Boo!" or "whoo-oo-oo-oo..."
  2. Belarus: "Uuuu... Pshshsh..."
  3. Brazil: "Buh..." or "Buuu!"
  4. Estonia: "Tot-tot-tot-tot-tot...", "MEIE MEES", or "MÖÄHÖHÄOOO"
  5. Finland: "Böö!", "Pööö!", "buhuu..." or "HUHUU"
  6. Germany: "Huuu-huuuu!", "Buh!" or "Buh-huh!"
  7. Hungary: "Bú!" or "Hú!"
  8. Japan: "Hyu-dorodoro."
  9. Lithuania: "Būūū!"
  10. The Netherlands: "Boe!" or "WHOEHAHAHA"
  11. Portugal: "Uhhhh. Uhhhh..." or "Buuuu!"
  12. Russia: "Бууу-у-у!" or "Byaa!"
  13. Spain: "Buuuuuu!"
  14. Switzerland: "Boohoo" or "Woohoo."
  15. Taiwan: "woo-woo."
  16. Ukraine: "Booo..." or "uuuh..." or "qoooouuu..."
Interesting Asides
  • Estonia: "Like a fog horn or when Estonian band does sound check."
  • Finland: "Softly, like the wind."
  • France: "Same as American ghosts."
  • Great Britain: "UK ghosts are completely silent. More scary that way."
  • The Netherlands: "Bij ons maakt een geest geen geluid of anders BOE!"
  • Russia: "I think it's more about tone of voice than the exact words."
  • Switzerland: "It depends on the area, I think."
  • Thailand: "Thai people believe that dog can see ghost. So when you hear its howling at night, it means that a ghost is near you."
  • US, Florida: "All the ghosts are at the Haunted Mansion in Disney."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great article!