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Auditory metaphor

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A metaphor employing hearing or acoustic imagery to convey abstract or non-acoustic concepts

Detailed Definition
Auditory metaphor is a figurative expression in which sound is used to represent non-auditory concepts, emotions, or experiences, such as describing silence as “a deafening roar” or love as “a symphony”; this device leverages the emotional and associative power of sound to deepen meaning and create layered sensory interpretations beyond literal hearing.
Example
Example in poetry:
“The wind whispered secrets” uses auditory metaphor to animate nature; Auditory metaphors equate sound with emotion: “her voice was velvet”; In “Ode to a Nightingale,” song becomes “a drowsy numbness”; Contemporary poets liken city noise to animal cries or machinery; They translate abstract feelings into sonic experience.
Additional Notes
Auditory metaphor is a figure of speech where a sound or the act of hearing is compared to something else (e.g., "His laugh was a drum solo"); it connects the aural to the conceptual.
Also Known As
acoustic metaphor sonic metaphor sound-based metaphor tonal metaphor Acousmatic metaphor Sonic imagery Conceit Auditory
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