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From Foreign Sound Effects Dictionary

Contents 1 Welcome to the Sound Effect Dictionary (in BETA) 2 To use 2.1 To edit 2.2 To create a page 3 Tips & tricks for better translation 4 Additional resources 5 Slang dictionaries 6 Rhyming dictionaries 7 Directories of webcomics

Welcome to the Sound Effect Dictionary (in BETA)

Believe it or not, sound effects vary from language to language. A cat will "meow" in English, but "miau" in Spanish comics. Sound effects are generally not included in dictionaries, which makes it hard for cartoonists to find the correct equivalent if they're translating their comic to another language. This dictionary is here to fill that need. Originally conceived for English-Spanish translation, it now contains 7 language combinations and will eventually grow to over 100 with enough contributors. Language pairs currently only originate in English, but opposite pairs will be created as these first pages get complete.

You can also use it to look up how a sound effect is spelled in English by searching for the description(ctrl+F or Cmd+F) in one of the more complete dictionaries, like English-Spanish, English-Japanese, or English-Russian. Try all 3, since the pages changed a lot independently after they were created.

To use

You can go to the language listing to choose a language pair. The source language is first, followed by the target language. The pairings are labeled in the language of the source language.

All help is currently in English so everybody gets the same information and there's only one page to keep current. To see this in your own language, use a free online translation service. Choose your language at the top. DON'T EDIT VIA GOOGLE TRANSLATIONS or other translation sites.

To edit

All pages are hopefully organized to be easy to edit. To edit, click "edit" at the top of a page or section. Use the same formatting as what's already there. Replace an entry's question mark with the proper translation. Each entry is on its own line. Each entry begins with a semicolon(;). To start a new paragraph, insert 2 line breaks.

To create a page

Enter the language pair into the search box to the left and click "Go". If the page doesn't exist, you'll be asked if you want to create the page. When you create a page, all of the required sections and entries will be created automatically. Currently, the categories are "animal sounds", "from body/mouth" and "environmental". The default language for a sound effects page is the source language, although notes can be bilingual.

Tips & tricks for better translation

• For grammar-checking, search for your phrase in a search engine, preferably changing the search preferences to search the target language. Search for just a segment rather than the whole sentence unless it's a common sentence. Example: "I'm looking for a" instead of "I'm looking for a glass slipper that will bring me a prince".
• Pop culture(tv, music, cultural references): Search for it on Wikipedia, and view that article(or an article with your desired information) in your target language. Example: Wikipedia article for Mickey Mouse, click "Italiano" in the Languages sidebar, and you now know that Mickey Mouse's name in Italian is "Topolino"! Many possibilities.
• Quotes from tv and movies: Search for the show on Wikipedia and Wikiquote.
• Game names: Once again, Wikipedia.
• Animal name: Also Wikipedia. Multi-language articles are nice.
• Animal sound that's not on here: Go to the Animal Sounds Wikipedia page and select your target language in the side bar. If that doesn't help(it may not always have the actual onomatopoeia), go to the Wikipedia article for that animal, view the article in your target language, and it'll likely be revealed there. After you find the sound, come here and add it to this dictionary!
• Still no idea? Try the WordReference Forums. Get help from real people on that word or phrase you're baffled with. Search first, just in case it's already been asked. Also, answering other people's questions is encouraged.

Additional resources

• Word Reference Forums: Ask about that phrase that's confusing you.
• Wikipedia: Look it up in your language, then view the article in another language. Many possibilities. Also, this site uses the same software.
• Derek Abbott's Animal Sounds page: Animal sounds written in 17 languages. A VERY handy quick-reference. Also has animal commands("fetch!" "hol's!" "cogeb!") and common pet names.
• Wikipedia's Animal Sounds page: As of this writing, there were 12 translations of this list of animal sounds. It might not have the actual onomatopoeia, though.
• Wikipedia's Onomatopoeia page & Wikipedia's Cross-Linguistic Onomatopoeias page: A good starting point for any of these pages. Around 45 languages on the cross-linguistic onomatopoeia page, depending on the word.

Slang dictionaries

MULTI-LANGUAGE

• The Alternative Dictionaries(mostly for vulgarities)

English

• The Urban Dictionary (HUGE dictionary!)
• The Online Slang Dictionary (Has a meter that shows how vulgar a word is, a slang thesaurus and a map showing where the word is used. Check here first.)

Rhyming dictionaries

English

Rhymezone

Español

M&E Diccionario de Rimas

Suggest more on the Discussion Page

Directories of webcomics

Deutsch

Webcomic-Verzeichnis, Zentrales Verzeichnis deutscher Webcomics

English

OnlineComics.net, Comic Rank, Top Web Comics, Belfry Webcomics Index, Family Webcomics, Comic-Nation, Comic Listing, Comixpedia

Español

Webcómics En Español

Français

Fenris

Italiano

Webcomics.info

Suggest more on the Discussion Page