Onomatopoeia as a Carrier of Meaning The Impact of Sound Symbolism on the Use of Language.

The main objective for this thesis is to analyse and discuss the phenomenon of onomatopoeia in languages. In the first part, it will present the theory behind the use of sound in communication by attempting to give a valid definition, as well as a description of the different types and respective characteristics. Following a theoretical overview, this thesis will explore two areas where onomatopoeia is abundantly used: animal sounds and child language acquisition. Specific examples will be brought into consideration to demonstrate how such domains can boost the process of language learning. Furthermore, these examples will be used to create a comparison among several languages, in order to delineate the differences in the use of onomatopoeia and how they impact communication. In the second part, the focus is on examining the translating process of sound symbolism in the genres of comics and manga. The text will consider a series of issues that might occur when facing onomatopoeia in translation, either from English into Italian or from Japanese into English. It will also attempt to analyse some translational approaches, methods and techniques that have been employed in the past, to provide some valid solutions to effectively face such issues when dealing with onomatopoeia in written translation.