Radio and PodcastRadio and PodcastLive Radio & Podcasts
Crash Bang Wallop: The Sound of Words artwork
Society & Culture

Crash Bang Wallop: The Sound of Words

Word of Mouth by BBC

Sep 11, 202527:18Society & Culture

Michael Rosen is joined by linguist Dr Catherine Laing to discuss onomatopoeia and other words that sound like their meanings. Not just words for sounds like 'crash' and 'bang', or words for animal noises like 'woof' and...

About This Episode

Crash Bang Wallop: The Sound of Words is an episode from Word of Mouth by BBC. Michael Rosen is joined by linguist Dr Catherine Laing to discuss onomatopoeia and other words that sound like their meanings. Not just words for sounds like 'cr...

Podcast

This episode belongs to Word of Mouth.

Listen Online

Use the player on this page to stream the episode online.

Episode Details

Published Sep 11, 2025, 27:18 long, audio available.

Related Episodes

Continue listening to more episodes from Word of Mouth.

Language Extinction

Feb 19, 2026 - 27:42

Michael Rosen talks to Sophia Smith Galer about the languages we're losing. She's found that by the end o...

Tourette Syndrome

Feb 12, 2026 - 27:31

Michael Rosen talks to Ione Georgakis from Tourette Action about about her personal and professional expe...

Vincentian Creole

Feb 5, 2026 - 27:27

Michael Rosen talks to linguist Teddy Mack about Vincy, a language rooted in English spoken on the Caribb...

Aphorisms: Sayings to Live By

Jan 29, 2026 - 27:42

Michael Rosen talks to James Geary about his lifetime obsession, aphorisms. These short, witty philosophi...

Can AI be our friend?

Jan 22, 2026 - 27:43

Michael Rosen talks to digital anthropologist Jennifer Cearns about the rise of AI companions- how do we...

Scouse

Jan 15, 2026 - 27:44

As a port city Liverpool has long been open to a wide variety of global influences and languages that dev...

The Story of A-Z

Jan 8, 2026 - 27:42

Michael Rosen goes on an alphabetical odyssey with linguist Dr Danny Bate, author of the book 'Why Q need...

Questions About This Episode

What is Crash Bang Wallop: The Sound of Words about?

Michael Rosen is joined by linguist Dr Catherine Laing to discuss onomatopoeia and other words that sound like their meanings. Not just words for sounds like 'crash' and 'bang', or words for animal noises like 'woof' and 'quack', but also other words which perhaps hold something of their meaning within their form. Is there something rough about the word 'rough'? Does 'smooth' feel smooth? And how can we play with this in everyday speech and in poetry? Produced by Becky Ripley, in partnership with the Open University.

Where can I listen to Crash Bang Wallop: The Sound of Words?

You can listen to Crash Bang Wallop: The Sound of Words online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Which podcast is Crash Bang Wallop: The Sound of Words from?

Crash Bang Wallop: The Sound of Words is an episode from Word of Mouth by BBC.

How long is this episode?

This episode is 27:18 long.

When was this episode published?

This episode was published on Sep 11, 2025.

Can I save Crash Bang Wallop: The Sound of Words for later?

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Are there related episodes from Word of Mouth?

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Word of Mouth when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.

Quick Answers About This Episode

Where can I listen to Crash Bang Wallop: The Sound of Words?

You can listen to Crash Bang Wallop: The Sound of Words on this page when the episode audio is available from the podcast feed.

Which podcast is this episode from?

Crash Bang Wallop: The Sound of Words is from Word of Mouth by BBC.

What are the episode details?

Published Sep 11, 2025 and 27:18 long