It is impossible to imagine learning English without getting to know the names of animals. After getting acquainted with a minimum of vocabulary and the simplest grammatical structures, it is necessary to switch to small texts in which the presence of animals as characters is highly desirable. When we teach animals in English for children, the traditional set includes approximately equal parts of domestic and wild representatives of the fauna. It is better to start memorizing with monosyllabic words, gradually moving on to two-syllable and three-syllable names.
Animal names in English
At the very beginning of training, it is permissible when animals in English are memorized with pronunciation in Russian, that is, with Russian transcription. It is strongly recommended, in parallel with memorizing words, to learn English transcription signs, without knowing which it will be impossible to work with any dictionary.
Domestic animals
Cat - Cat (cat)
Cow - Cow
Dog - Dog
Duck - Duck (duck)
Donkey - Donkey
Goat - Goat
Goose - Goose (goose)
Hamster - Hamster
Chicken - Hen (heng)
Horse - Horse (Hos)
Mouse - Mouse (mouse)
Pig - Pig (pig)
Rabbit - Rabbit
Sheep - Sheep [ʃ I: p]
Going to the section animals in English with translation into Russian, it is very important for the child to explain that the British not only call animals "not our way", but also hear most of the sounds they make, not like we do. For example, an English dog barks "Bow-bow" or "Woof-woof", the chicken coughs "Cluck-cluck", the mouse squeaks "Squeak-squeak" and the sheep bleats "Baa-baa".
It is useful to embed these sounds with sentences like this:
- The pig on the farm goes “oink-oink”.
- The horse on the field goes “neigh-neigh”.
- The cow on the meadow says “moo-moo”.
Children notice that native speakers hear some animals in a very peculiar way, and, for example, the hum of a cow or the meow of a cat, our speech apparatus reproduces in approximately the same way.
It is also useful to compose dialogues with something like this:
- - What does the cat on the roof say?
- It says “miaow”.
Or a little more complicated:
- - Does the duck in the pool say “oink-oink”?
- No, it isn't. The duck says “quack-quack”.
Wild animals
Bear - Bear (bee)
Crocodile - Crocodile (crocodile)
Deer - Deer (die)
Elephant - Elephant
Giraffe - Giraffe
Fox - Fox (fox)
Koala - Koala (kouale)
Leopard - Leopard (laptop)
Monkey - Monkey (monkey)
Ostrich - Ostrich (ostrich) [ɔstritʃ]
Panda - Panda (panda)
Snake - Snake
Turtle - Tortoise (totes)
Keith - Whale
Zebra - Zebra
He, she or it?
When learning the names of wild animals, there is no special need to reproduce sounds, maybe, with the exception of snakes (hiss)... It should be noted that in everyday situations and in real life the pronouns he and she in relation to animals are not used. In most cases, you need to use the pronoun it, which is used when referring to inanimate objects. For example:
This is a crocodile. It is green long and fierce.
In fairy tales and in some stories, animals are personified and "rewarded" with pronouns he or she. Also in English there is one very interesting feature: when you are told about any animal that has a nickname or name (in fairy tales), it is "presented" as follows:
John, the Cat
Gray, the Horse
Martin, the Bear.
Smart as a monkey
Also, as in Russian, animals from the British or Americans are endowed with qualities that are inherent in some people. In some cases, these comparisons coincide with ours, when they say about a person that he has the strength and endurance of a horse. For example:
Dick was strong as a horse and he could easily make fifteen kilometers on foot.
On the other hand, when we teach animals in English for children, they need to be taught that we and native English speakers have differences in mentality, and therefore we perceive many realities of life in different ways. In the field of the animal kingdom, this is especially pronounced in relation to wolves and monkeys. Yes, in some fairy tales we treat the wolf with disdain, but we will never compare a person with a wolf as follows:
"He's stupid like a wolf", and English-speaking people do it: "Brian's as stupid as a wolf".
Even more curious is the attitude of the British towards monkeys. If we say that a person is smart, like a monkey, most likely, he will take it as an insult, and for native speakers this is, well, the highest praise:
"Tracy has finished her school with honors - she's as clever as a monkey".
As a rule, such transfers of the characters of people to animals can be found in fables in literature. The actors there are usually various animals. Reading fables in English is one of the ways to expand your vocabulary, there you will find many names of animals, words describing character and behavior. At the end of each fable, a moral is usually formulated. From these final sentences characterizing different life situations, you can take a lot of useful things to enrich your speech.
On the training site, in addition to short funny stories, interesting stories and fairy tales, English fables are also used to learn English. On our site, a user with any initial level of knowledge will find suitable training material for himself.
» Animal sounds in English
"What does the fox say?" - this is the question asked by the performers of the song “What does the fox say?”, The Norwegian band Ylvis. The song about the sounds that animals make has become a viral hit on the Internet and continues to gain millions of views on Youtube. The video itself is at the bottom of the material.
Let's see what animals say in English. You do not think that they, like their Russian counterparts, will say "wow-wow" or "oink-oink"?
Instead of the wow-wow familiar to our ear, in English, dogs speak woof-woof(sounds like woof-woof). If you understand something about speakers and loudspeakers, then this word may seem familiar to you - from the name of the speakers for very low sounds - subwoofer. Barking like a verb is either woof or bark.
Cat
Meowing of a cat sounds in English almost the same as in Russian, only it is spelled differently - meow-meow... It can also be a verb - to meow. This is not the only sound that cats make - they can also hiss, growl or purr.
Bird
If what the birds say in Russian (tweet) has become the name of a 10-ruble note, then the English analogue ( tweet) gave the name to one of the most popular services on the Internet - twitter (note the special spelling error). The Twitter symbol is a little bird, and the messages are called tweets, i.e. Chirps. And also the tweeter (already without error) is a speaker for reproducing high-pitched sounds.
Frog
There are several thousand species of frogs in the world, and the sound that most of them pronounce is called in English croak(it is he who is close to our qua-a-a). But an interesting story: in the soundtracks of hundreds of Hollywood films, whether they are about the Amazon jungle or the swamps of Southeast Asia, the sound of the croaking of a frog that lives in California was used. The Pacific tree frog, unlike its slimy cousins, instead of "croak" says " ribbit", And now that's exactly what the frogs say in the movies.
Other animals
The cow, like ours, says moo and the duck - quack... The pig, instead of oink-oink, says oink-oink... But the most interesting sounds are made by the rooster - instead of our crow, the English-speaking brother says Cock-a-doodle-doo!
Theme "Animals \ Animals"- one of the first, which is encountered when learning English. Today we will take a look at what pets, wild animals, groups of animals (such as a flock) are called in English, and also learn how animals “speak” in English. All words are given with transcription and translation.
Pet names in English
| domestic animals | Pets | |
| cow | cow | |
| bull | bull | |
| horse | horse | |
| stallion | [ˈStæljən] | stallion |
| mare | mare | |
| goat | goat | |
| he goat | goat | |
| sheep | [ʃiːp] | sheep |
| ram | ram | |
| donkey | [ˈDɒŋki] | a donkey |
| mule | mule | |
| pig | pig | |
| cat | cat | |
| dog | dog | |
| calf | calf | |
| lamb | lamb | |
| foal | foal | |
| piglet | [ˈPɪglət] | piglet |
| kitten | [ˈKɪtn] | Kitty |
| puppy | [ˈPʌpi] | puppy |
| mouse | mouse | |
| rat | rat | |
| chinchilla | [ʧɪnˈʧɪlə] | chinchilla |
| hamster | [ˈHæmstə] | hamster |
| guinea pig (cavy) | [ˈGɪni pɪg] [ˈkeɪvi] | Guinea pig |
Note:
- mouse words - mice, not mouses.
- Word sheep plural too sheep(the forms are the same).
Wild animals in English
| wild animal | wild animal | |
| wolf | Wolf | |
| fox | Fox | |
| bear | bear | |
| tiger | [ˈTaɪgə] | Tiger |
| lion | [ˈLaɪən] | a lion |
| elephant | [ˈƐlɪfənt] | elephant |
| ape (monkey) | [ˈMʌŋki] | a monkey |
| camel | [ˈKæməl] | camel |
| rabbit | [ˈRæbɪt] | rabbit |
| hare | Hare | |
| antelope | [ˈÆntɪləʊp] | antelope |
| badger | [ˈBæʤə] | badger |
| squirrel | [ˈSkwɪrəl] | squirrel |
| beaver | [ˈBiːvə] | beaver |
| zebra | [ˈZiːbrə] | zebra |
| kangaroo | [ˌKæŋgəˈruː] | kangaroo |
| crocodile | [ˈKrɒkədaɪl] | crocodile |
| rhino (rhinoceros) | [ˈRaɪnəʊ] | rhinoceros |
| deer | deer | |
| lynx | Lynx | |
| seal | seal | |
| tortoise (turtle) | [ˈTɔːtəs] [ˈtɜːtl] | turtle |
| cheetah | [ˈʧiːtə] | cheetah |
| hyena | hyena | |
| raccoon | raccoon | |
| giraffe | [ʤɪˈrɑːf] | giraffe |
| hedgehog | [ˈHɛʤhɒg] | hedgehog |
| leopard | [ˈLɛpəd] | leopard |
| panther | [ˈPænθə] | panther |
| elk (moose) | [ɛlk] () | Elk |
| anteater | [ˈÆntˌiːtə] | ant-eater |
| opossum (possum) | [əˈpɒsəm] ([ˈpɒsəm]) | opossum |
| puma (cougar) | [ˈPjuːmə] ([ˈkuːgə]) | puma |
| wolverine | [ˈWʊlvəriːn] | wolverine |
| dinosaur | [ˈDaɪnəʊsɔː] | dinosaur |
Note: word deer plural too deer, the shapes are the same.
Groups of animals in English
In addition to the names of individual animals, there are names for groups of animals. In Russian we speak a flock of sheep, a flock of wolves, but not a flock of wolves and a flock of sheep. Here's what groups of animals are called in English with an approximate translation (approximate, because the exact one depends on the context):
| Group name | Transcription | Approximate translation |
|---|---|---|
| colony (of ants, rabbits) | [ˈKɒləni] | the colony |
| swarm (of bees, flies, butterflies) | Roy | |
| flock (of birds, geese) | flock | |
| herd (of cattle, pigs, sheep, goats) | herd | |
| pack (of dogs, wolves) | flock, pack | |
| school (of fish) | flock, joint | |
| pride (of lions) | pride, flock | |
| nest (of snakes) | nest | |
| litter (of puppies, kittens) | [ˈLɪtə] | brood, litter, litter |
As you can see, some words are similar to Russian, some are very different: we also say "colony of ants", but we do not say "colony of rabbits". What amused me most was that a group of kittens, puppies and other cubs was called a litter - literally, scattered things, garbage, mess.
What do animals say in English? Song for children
Another interesting topic about animals is how their "speech" is conveyed in English. For example, we say that the bird is chirping "tweet-tweet" and the pig is grunting "oink-oink", but the Englishman will say that the bird is chirping "tweet-tweet" and the pig is grunting "oink, oink".
Two groups of words should be distinguished here:
- Onomatopoeia like “quack-quack”, “oink-oink”.
- Verbs that call the process of "speech" itself, for example: grunt, grunt.
Onomatopoeia is well demonstrated in this nursery rhyme:
And here is a list of some, let's say, speech verbs. In brackets are the names of animals and birds to which these actions may relate.
Now let's look at which animals these "verbs of speech" belong to:
- growl- bears, tigers, lions
- squeak- rodents (mice, chinchillas, etc.), rabbits
- scream- monkey
- roar- lions, bears
- cluck- Chicken
- moo- cows
- chirp- crickets, cicadas
- bleat- goats, sheep
- bark- dogs
- howl- dogs, wolves
- quack- ducks
- hiss- snakes
- tweet- birds
- meow, purr- cats
I will give examples with some verbs:
Can you hear the dogs barking? Go, check the backyard. - Do you hear, dogs bark? Go check the backyard.
Whose cat is meowing ouside for like an hour? - Whose cat is this for about an hour meows outside?
The mouse sqeaked and hid under the pillow. - Mouse squeaked and hid under the pillow.
My neighbor's dog howls like a wolf every night. - My Neighbor's Dog howls like a wolf every night.
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How do animals speak English?
In many English texts and fairy tales for children, animals are spoken "in English", and children (and sometimes adults) are very surprised at this. In any language there is such a phenomenon as onomatopoeia: one of the oldest forms of speech. People have always tried to imitate animals and the sounds that surround them. This is how our children learn to speak. Adults almost never use onomatopoeia words, while children use these sounds to learn about the world around them.
Each language has its own system of sounds and a special perception of the environment. We hear the same sounds, but we convey them in the language in different ways. Sometimes the human interpretation is not at all like the original. The sounds of animals and objects, familiar to us living in Russia from childhood, sound completely different in English.
The children and I read a little story about a puppy namedSpotwho did not know how to bark. He met a chicken, a cow, a pig, but no one could teach him to bark. The meeting with the cat helped, the dog's instinct worked, and the puppy chased the cat, barking loudly.And then my second-graders excitedly asked me this question:If an English and a Russian dog meet, will they understand each other? I, of course, reassured them by answering that dogs understand each other, even if they are from different countries. There really is a reason for excitement: in Russian, dogs say "Bow-wow", and in English "Bow-wow".
And based on this text, we got a script for a small performance, through which children could find out what sounds English animals make. Of course, we had to increase the number of heroes of this fairy tale - everyone wanted to play in our performance. This is how a horse, a goat, chickens, birds, a sheep and a rabbit appeared in our fairy tale. And we ended our performance with a wonderful song “OldMcDonaldHadaFarm". Even pupils of the first or second grade can play in such a performance with great pleasure.
SPOT
Host: In an English village there was a puppy named Spot. He was a funny and kind puppy, he had many friends. But it upset him that he did not know how to bark. AND here which history with him happened…
HEN: Good morning, Spot!
SPOT: Good morning, Hen!
HEN: Why are you so sad?
HEN:I help you! Cluck-cluck-cluck!
SPOT: Oh no! That is the hen says, little dogs bark!
HEN:
PIG: Good morning, Spot!
SPOT: Good morning, Pig!
PIG: Why are you so sad?
SPOT: I am sad because I don’t know how to bark!
PIG: I help you! Oink-oink!
SPOT: Oh no! That is the pig says, little dogs bark!
PIG:Sorry, Spot! I can't help you! Good bye!
COW: Good morning, Spot!
SPOT: Good morning, Cow!
COW: Why are you so sad?
SPOT: I am sad because I don’t know how to bark!
COW:I help you! Moo-moo-moo!
SPOT: Oh no! That is the cow says, little dogs bark!
COW:Sorry, Spot! I can't help you! Good bye!
GOAT: Good afternoon, Spot!
SPOT: Good afternoon, Goat!
GOAT: Why are you so sad?
SPOT: I am sad because I don’t know how to bark!
GOAT: It's not a problem! I help you! Baaah-baaah!
SPOT: Oh no! That is the goat says, little dogs bark!
GOAT:Sorry, Spot! I can't help you! Good bye!
BIRD: Good afternoon, Spot!
SPOT: Good afternoon, Bird!
BIRD: Why are you so sad?
SPOT: I am sad because I don’t know how to bark!
BIRD: It's not a problem! I help you! Tweet-tweet-tweet!
SPOT:Oh no! That is the bird says, little dogs bark!
BIRD:Sorry, Spot! I can't help you! Good bye!
COCK: Good afternoon, Spot!
SPOT: Good afternoon, Bird!
COCK: Why are you so sad?
SPOT: I am sad because I don’t know how to bark!
COCK: It's not a problem! I help you! Cock-a-dodle-dooo!
SPOT: Oh no! That is the cock says, little dogs bark!
COCK:Sorry, Spot! I can't help you! Good bye!
HORSE: Good afternoon, Spot!
SPOT: Good afternoon, Horse!
HORSE: Why are you so sad?
SPOT: I am sad because I don’t know how to bark!
HORSE: It's not a problem! I help you! Neigh-neigh!
SPOT: Oh no! That is the horse says, little dogs bark!
HORSE:Sorry, Spot! I can't help you! Good bye!
SHEEP: Good evening, Spot!
SPOT: Good evening, Sheep!
SHEEP: Why are you so sad?
SPOT: I am sad because I don’t know how to bark!
SHEEP: It's not a problem! I help you! Baah-baah!
SPOT: Oh no! That is the sheep says, little dogs bark!
SHEEP:Sorry, Spot! I can't help you! Good bye!
CHICK: Good evening, Spot!
SPOT: Good evening, Chick!
CHICK: Why are you so sad?
SPOT: I am sad because I don’t know how to bark!
CHICK: It’s not a problem! I help you! Peep-peep-peep!
SPOT: Oh no! That is the chick says, little dogs bark!
CHICK:Sorry, Spot! I can't help you! Good bye!
RABBIT: Good evening, Spot!
SPOT: Good evening, Rabbit!
RABBIT: Why are you so sad?
SPOT: I am sad because I don’t know how to bark!
RABBIT: Poor Spot! (looks around and sees a cat) Look, Spot! Cat!
SPOT: Bow- wow- wow! (rushes after the cat)
CAT: Mew- mew! (running backstage)
All actors come out:Spotcanbark! Spotcanbark!
All the actors perform the song"Old McDonald Had a Farm".
One day my seven-year-old student excitedly asked me this question: If an English dog meets a Russian dog, will they understand each other? I, of course, reassured the girl by answering that dogs understand each other, even if they are from different countries. There really is a reason for excitement: in Russian, dogs say "Bow-wow", and in English "Bow-wow".
In many English texts and fairy tales for children, animals are spoken "in English", and children (and sometimes adults) are very surprised at this. In any language there is such a phenomenon as onomatopoeia: one of the oldest forms of speech. People have always tried to imitate animals and the sounds that surround them. This is how our children learn to speak. Adults almost never use onomatopoeia words (unless they crow when they lose at cards), and children use these sounds to learn the world around them.
Each language has its own system of sounds and a special perception of the environment. We hear the same sounds, but we convey them in the language in different ways. Sometimes the human interpretation is not at all like the original. I am leading to the fact that the sounds of animals and objects, familiar to us from childhood, sound completely different in English. Onomatopoeia, which are all interjections, are conveyed in many tales and songs. An Old McDonald song, for example, can teach your child many of the sounds that pets make:
Let's look at such familiar to us sounds of animals and birds in Russian and English:
Dog (Woof-woof!): Bow-vo !, Arf-arf!
Cat (Meow): Meaou, neaou, mew-mew
Mouse (Pee-Pee): Squeak-squeak
Cow (Moo!): Moo-moo
Pig / boar (Oink-oink): Oink-oink, Squeal-squel, Grunt-grunt
Sheep (Bee!): Ba-a-ba-a
Donkey (Iia!): Hee-haw!
Horse (Igogo!): Neigh-neigh!
Bear (P-p-p!): Gr-gr-gr!
Wolf: Puff-puff
Elephant: Ugh - ugh
Leo (P-p-p!): R-r-r!
Snake (Sh-sh-sh!): Ch-ch, hiss
Frog (Kva-kva!): Quack-quack !, Krik-krik!
Chicken (Pee-pee!): Сheep -cheep
Rooster (Ku-ka-re-ku!): Сock-a-doodle-doo !, crow-crow
Chicken (Ko-ko): Crow-crow
Duck (Quack-quack): Quack-quack
Turkey: Gobble-gobble
Owl (Whoo!): To-who!
Cuckoo (Ku-ku!): Сuckoo!
Crow (Carr!): Сaw!
Bird (Tweet-tweet!): Wee-tweet-tweet
We imitate not only the sounds of animals, but also the sounds of objects around us. Many of them are firmly rooted:
Doorbell (Ding-dong!): Link-clank!
Knock on the door (Knock knock): Nock-nock!
Phone ringing (Tink-tink): Ring-ring!
Explosion (Bang! Bubukh!): B ang!
Dripping water (drip-drip!): Drip-drop, drop-drop
Flip-flop: Flip-flop
Splash of water (Splash!): Splash!
Collision, hit (Slap! Slap! Bubukh!): Bang!
Beat the drum (Bam!): Bang!
Supermarket checkout: Сa-ching!
Handle flip (Klats!): Click!
Keyboard flip (Click!): Click!
Sound of water boiling, falling into water (Bul-bul): Plop
The sound of air being slashed (Zhuhik! Zhuh!): Swoosh! Whoosh!
Pop, balloon burst, shot (Bang!): Pop!
Knock of heels (Top-top): Сlickety-clack
The sound of train wheels (Tudukh-tuduh!): Сlickety-clack
Squish Sound (Squish): Squish
Strumming (Tink): Clang, clank
Here are some of the sounds people make:
Sneezing (Apchi!): Atishoo!
Snoring (Hrrr!): Z-z-z!
Kiss sound (Smack!): Smack !, Chuck !, Swish!
Heartbeat (Knock-knock): Hump-thump, Throb-throb
At the end of the article, but in continuation of this topic, I recommend you the clip of the Norwegian duet Yivis for the song "The Fox", in which the guys are looking for an answer to the question: What sound does a fox make? and offer the fox their own versions of sounds. Original costumes, unusual choreography, in general, a very funny video:
