Women’s Discussion Group

“Words That Go Ping”, is the title of a book by applied linguist Barbara Lasserre. Over her years studying and teaching the dynamics of language, Barbara has come to realise that onomatopoeia has long been considered a peripheral phenomenon of ‘serious’ language study – but at the same time is dearly and universally loved by speakers of just about every language around the globe.  From Batman to Pokemon to classical poetry and animal sounds (moo), onomatopoeia appears in storytelling the world over because it helps add immediacy and vibrancy.