We are internationally one big Wuf family, but while the way dogs bark in different countries may not differ, how people emulate a barking sound in their language does! In the UK dogs tend to go Woof Woof, while across the channel in France they go wouaff wouaff, while smaller dogs go Jappe Jappe. Come to think of it that DOES sound like the sound of small dogs barking!
What about in other countries? Well, the phonetic (sound) made by the spelling is quite varied. In Holland, dogs go Blaf Blaf when they bark, but in Denmark not far away it’s vov vov.
Thanks to Dr James Chapman, who specialises in graphic examples of international sounds, we have an illustrated guide to animal sounds around the world. One feature of his Soundimals series is an illustrated overview of barking sounds.
So as you can see, the only real common characteristic of how dogs bark in in different countries that speak different languages, is that they do it twice! Of course, we do not recommend attempting to do imitations of dog-barking in one of these ways, when you are in Spain, France or Turkey, especially when we are alone! That is unless we are sure to check out the social rules of the place we are in as well.
To finish off, here are a bunch of dogs barking happy birthday. It is up to you to decide what sound they are making!
