Question

An example of an onomatopoeic word is:

• A. Tree
• B. Buzz
• C. Chair
• D. Dog

Answer 1

Answer:

B. Buzz

• Onomatopoeia refers to words that imitate or resemble the natural sounds they describe.

• These words have a more iconic relationship between their form (signifier) and their meaning (signified).

  For example:

"buzz" imitates the sound of a bee,

"clang" imitates the sound of metal hitting metal.

• Saussure viewed most linguistic signs as arbitrary (the connection between the signifier and the signified is based on social convention), but onomatopoeia seems to challenge this idea because there is a more natural connection between the sound and the object or action it represents.

• However, Saussure still considered onomatopoeic words to be part of the system of signs because even they depend on social agreement to be understood in context.