Thursday, March 28, 2019

The terrible sound






Being a blog made exclusively out of words it can be a challenge when I want to tell you about something fundamentally visual, or a taste, or a sound. But words, by design and fate, are all I've got.

Today I am going to tell you about a terrible sound. It is one of my least favorite sounds in the world. 

But how do I express it?

The following is a sound I dislike intensely, though it is not the terrible sound that is the main subject of today's essay. I am, as you know, no general fan of dogs even though I can be enthusiastic on a unique case by case basis, and one of the features of dogs that displeases me most is their barking. It is sharp, and loud, and there is something hostile in it. Surely you know the sound of a dog barking, though of course it can vary widely among dogs. Shall I try a few?

yip yip yip,    yip yip yip,     yip yip yip.

Rowrph....Rowrph....Rowrph....Rowrph....Rowrph....Rowrph....Rowrph....Rowrph....Rowrph....

Bak Bak.  Bak Bak. Bak Bak.

urf urf urf, urf urf urf. (30 seconds pause). urf urf urf, urf urf urf. 

YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW YOW


Well, you get the idea, no matter how clumsy mere writing is to express it. Any of these barks can be seriously annoying. Though some, at a distance, can be hardly annoying at all. In the night, near your window, they can drive you to the brink of madness. For dog lovers any of these might even register a range of positive feelings. But I find any of the above mentioned barking, greeting or warning, most unpleasant.

But at their worst these barks can never be as bad as the terrible noise. However, they are all closely linked to it. The terrible noise always follows on from these barking noises above, and though it ranges across the same kind of variety as different barks do, it is always more terrible than the bark itself.

And so, though I know I can do it no real justice, let me try with just one sample, one I heard on my walk this very morning. It goes something like this:



Fifi! Stop barking. Fifi! Don't worry, she's just friendly. Fifi! QUIET! Fifi, stop it. sorry. FIFI! Fifi! Right now, stop it! Fifi. Quiet! Fifi, quiet! Fifi, stop! Fifi!










2 comments:

  1. Oh, that is so, so true.

    But a variation that bothers me a lot is the sound of a dog barking at night on a very, very cold night. And I want to figure out where that dog is, ring the doorbell, and tell whoever to PLEASE bring that poor dog inside, RIGHT NOW.

    But I never do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, it's a considerate thought at least. It would never occur to me with a dog to be concerned about anything but my own unhappiness.

      Hey, I wrote a Jfic detective story about a dog barking in the night once: http://wikimagenta.blogspot.com/2013/05/wiki-and-dog-that-barked-wiki-magenta-2.html

      Delete

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