by Kirsten M. Herman

What animal croaks kwak-kwak?  Children in the Netherlands say kwak-kwak to sound like a frog.  Don’t be confused though!  A frog always sounds the same.  The way people copy them is what is different around the world because people speak so many different languages.

Common American Pets

In the United States cats, dogs, and birds make great pets!  Maybe you even have a pet like these in your home.  If so, then your house is full of sounds— meow! woof, woof! and chirp, chirp!  Children who speak Spanish talk to their cats by saying miau!  A dog barks guau, guau!  In the mornings Spanish birds sing outside the windows:  pio, pio!

Common American Farm Animals

Have you visited a farm?  Maybe you’ve heard a rooster crow cock-a-doodle-doo!  You must have been awake early!  Pigs join in with an oink.  Cows moo to each other!  Roosters in Arabic speaking countries wake people up with siyaah.  Khafakhafa means a pig is talking.  Do you know this cow knock-knock joke? 

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Cow-go
Cow-go who?
No, cow go MOO!!

To tell this joke to an Arabic speaker, it would sound like this:

Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Cow-go
Cow-go who?
No, cow go kuvaar!

Wild Animals/Zoo Animals

If you like to go to the zoo, maybe you’ve heard a lion roar.  When elephants trumpet, they say baraag.  Monkeys are fun to watch, especially when they talk to each other: eee-ee-eee!  In Japanese a lion roars with a gaoooo.  Children point to elephants in a Japanese zoo and say paoh-paoh! Japanese people copy monkey sounds with kii-kii.

Flying Animals

What is that flying around?  When we hear caw-caw, we know crows are nearby.  Bees buzzzz around our ears.  When you feed pigeons at the park, you hear coo-coo-coo.  Kids who speak German call kräh- kräh to crows.  In German bees summ-summ.  Germans call guru-guru to attract pigeons to peck at a piece of bread.

People speak 6,912 languages around the world!  Animal sounds change depending on the language spoken.  The next time you talk to someone who speaks another language, have some fun asking that person what sounds animals make.