Warblish refers to humans vocally imitating bird vocalizations using existing words and phrases in a human language. The term was coined by linguist Hannah Sarvasy in a 2017 academic paper that examined different techniques humans use to mimic birdsong.[1]
Unlike onomatopoeia, where nonsense words are created to sound like a bird's call, warblish uses real lexical items in a language to represent birdsong. For example, the call of the barred owl may be rendered as Who cooks for you? in warblish.
Warblish can take the form of phrases, sentences, or even dialogues attributed to birds. The meaning of the words often relates to the bird species in some way, either referring to its behavior, ecosystem role, mythology, or other cultural associations. However, warblish can also be humorous or nonsensical.
Some examples of English warblish given by Sarvasy include:
Northern waterthrush: Nice old ladies don't chew tobacco
California quail: Chicago! Chicago!
The sounds and meaning of warblish for the same bird species often varies across cultures. While warblish functions partly as mimicry of birdsong, features like rhythm, pitch, and timing may be more important for accuracy than the specific words used.
While warblish might seem trival, it has been suggested to have nontrival functions.
Warblish seems at first to be a trivial phenomenon, a clownish verbal play between children or whimsical adults calling out cheeeeeseburger or whip poor will to the birds. Beyond its role as a mnemonic to help people recognize birds by their calls, it is a meaningful biocultural sensory practice that helps train people to listen carefully, make the world “one’s own” and pay careful attention to the ecologies of the other-than-human life around them.[2]
In many societies, warblish serves as more than just a mnemonic device for remembering bird vocalizations. Sarvasy outlines several functions and meanings associated with warblish cross-culturally:
Heralding seasonal changes, planting/harvesting times Warning humans of approaching people, animals, or spirits Referencing mythology in which people transform into birds Describing observable bird behaviors and routines Facetious or humorous attributions.[1]
According to Sarvasy, warblish has been overlooked as a topic of study compared to onomatopoeia and non-vocal mimicry of birdsong. More research is needed into the forms warblish takes across cultures, its functions and meanings, conventionality within speech communities, and how it relates to cultural knowledge of avian ecology and behavior. Cataloging examples of warblish from around the world can provide insights into humans' creative linguistic responses to the natural environment. A recent study has found warblish to widespread across cultures.[3]
