how does your dog bark

As a linguist and a language learner, I have always been exposed to and interested in the issue of how much language is arbitrary. In plain terms, does the word form that denominate a certain concept have any internal logic? That is, does the word chair have any relation to the artifact we use for resting our buttocks on?

Etymology, the study of word origins, suggests that every word form is motivated, deriving from something related and meaningful. In the case of chair, the origin is Greek kathedra (through Latin cathedra), in which the stem is -hedra, meaning seat. In German, however, chair is Stuhl, whose origin is different: it comes from Proto-Indo-European *steh, just like stehen (to stand). One language emphasizes its function (that you can use it as a seat), while another its position (being erected, standing). Why does one language choose this form and this emphasis and another that form and that emphasis? This is what seems to be arbitrary, "random".

Animal sounds are somewhat different, as they are onomatopoeic (which means they are supposed to imitate the sound that they describe). So you would expect that dogs bark, cats meow, birds tweet, etc. the same way everywhere in the world. Well, not quite. Here's a short list of how dogs bark around the globe: woof-woof, bow-bow, vau-vau, blaf-blaf, guk-guk, mung-mung, hong-hong, wff-wff, au-au, bho-bho, and so on. Any preference? 

In one of the classes, my kid learner and I went through some of the main animal sounds in English, and I must say, I would have had troubles guessing some of them right. So much for onomatopoeia being universal. Do you want a challenge? Then identify the animals by their sounds:

cluck-cluck
hee-haw

ribbit-ribbit

thump-thump

squeak-squeak

to whit to whoo

.. and my kid's favorite: bla-bla-bla :-)

For the solutions, check the video.