Do dogs say "guau" in English?
A funny question that I have sometimes heard from the youngest students is “Do dogs say ‘Guau’ in English?”, or “How do dogs bark in English?”. It may sound naive or childish but it is not so stupid to make that question as most people think. And of course the answer is NO, dogs don't say "guau" in English
To begin with let me show you this illustration that provides the onomatopoeia used in many languages of the sound dogs make. This will show you that we are dealing with a cultural aspect radically different from one language to another.
It is funny to notice the amount of onomatopoeias that there are in English. There are lots of words that imitate sounds and whose meanings are related to the sounds they evoke. Crash, crack, splash, zip, twank, boo, flip, knock, hiss, jingle, twinkle, boom, … and many more, are good examples
When it comes to animal sounds, and in spite of a few similarities, it is funny to notice how different animals sound in English, that is, how different the word used to reproduce the sound of an animal in English is from the one used in Spanish. This is a very interesting cultural aspect.
If a cow says “moo” in English, what does she say in Spanish? Mu, of course. But when we’re talking about sounds that animals make, it isn’t always that simple.
That shouldn’t be surprising — after all, in English words such as “bark,” “bow-wow,” “ruff-ruff” and “arf” are used to imitate the sound of a dog.
The following list shows the sounds made by various “Spanish-speaking” animals and the equivalent word or sound used by the “English-speaking” animals.
abeja(bee):bzzz (zumbar)— buzz
búho(owl):uu uu (ulular)— who, hoo, hoot
burro(donkey):iii-aah (rebuznar)— heehaw
caballo(horse):jiiiiiii, iiiiou (relinchar)— neigh, n-a-a-a-y
cabra(goat):bee bee (balar)—baa, b-a-a-a-a
cerdo(pig):oink-oink, oinc-oinc (gruñir)— oink
gallina(hen):coc co co coc (cacarear), kara-kara-kara-kara— cluck
gallo(rooster):kikirikí, ki-kiri-ki (cantar)— cock-a-doodle-doo
gato(cat):miau (maullar)— meow
león(lion):grrrr, grgrgr (rugir)— roar, growl
oveja(sheep):bee, mee (balar)— baa, b-a-a-a-h
paloma(dove):cu-curru-cu-cú (arrullar))— coo
pato(duck):cuac cuac— quack
pavo(turkey):gluglú— gobble
perro(dog):guau guau, guau (ladrar)— bark, bow-wow, arf, ruff
pollito(chick):pío pío— chirp, tweet (That’s why Tweety is Piolín in Spanish)
rana(frog):cruá cruá, berp, croac (croar)— ribbit, croak
vaca(cow):mu, muuu (mugir)— moo
