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Gong

Musical Instrument
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 large metal percussion disc that produces a deep, resonant, and sustained sound

Detailed Definition
The gong features in poetry as a symbol of cosmic awakening, ritual power, and Eastern spirituality; its expansive vibration evokes meditation, transformation, and the dissolution of boundaries, often used to mark moments of epiphany or transcendence in cross-cultural lyrical traditions.
Example
Example in poetry:
In ritual poetry, the gong’s deep resonance marks sacred time and cosmic cycles; Poets describe its surface as “a sun forged in bronze”; The gong appears in Southeast Asian verse as the voice of temple and village alike; Its shimmer becomes a metaphor for aftermath—sound expanding beyond impact; In war poetry, the gong signals both alarm and assembly; Modern poets use the gong to explore power—stillness shattered into vibration.
Additional Notes
The gong produces a complex, shimmering sound with long decay; in Asian traditions, it marks ritual time or cosmic shifts—poets can use it to symbolize awakening, the void, or the resonance of a single strike through silence and space.
Also Known As
Tam-tam (for flat gong) chau gong
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