The Roar

[Stadawim]

Okay. I get it. Since who knows truly when the early days of "Godzilla-net" as it were (and maybe even before then), some fan boy or fan group decided Godzilla's roar should be verbalized as "skreeonk". And i now this has become accepted in the world of G-Fans. But the origin of this echomimetic are really just one or a few persons. So it stands to reason that another one or few person can change this, yes?

So could we?

I personally have never been a fan of writing/typing "skreeonk" as Godzilla's roar cause it just doesn't look right. At no time during any of his roars, do i hear anything that can attributed to the 's'. Not really even the first 'k'. And don't get me started on it finishing with an 'onk'. Godzilla most definitely does not 'onk'. I really may just be talking out my arse here, this may be totally out of right field, and apologies if this offends anyone. But does anybody have their own representation of what they think his echomimetic roar looks like?

[lhb412]

I know exactly where this spelling originated: the licensed Godzilla comics put out by Dark Horse Comics in the 90s. It does roughly coincide with the development of an online fan base. I'll dig into my collection and tell you exactly which issue it first appeared in.

[jellydonut25]

I think SKREEONK is fine.

[O.Supreme]

[lhb412]

Okay, Dark Horse's original 1987 Godzilla Special one-shot (story by Randy Stradley and Steve Bissette - who also provides the art) has the roar as:

"KREEEEEEEEONK!"

and later:

"GREEOOONK!"

Their next project was the six issue manga adaptation of Return of Godzilla done in 1988, also using variations on "KREEEONK!" throughout. As with many early manga translations the script is adapted to suit American tastes beyond the translation of the original Japanese dialogue into English (nowadays, it's more typical to assume that the translator also has the writing chops to do that sort of thing as translating a work of fiction is more like rewriting it then simply porting it from one language into another). The work of translating is uncredited as far as I'm able to tell. A basic, rough translation may have been provided by the foreign publisher, as is sometimes the case. Editor Randy Stradley and publisher Mike Richardson provide the spruced-up English dialogue.

In 1992 we have the Godzilla Color Special written and drawn by Arthur Adams (with Stradley co-writing) and the roar is spelt for the first time with an "S" the beginning!

"SSSKREEEONKG!"

and four pages later:

"SSSKREEEONK!"

Variations on these would be used in further one shots as well as the 17 issue series Dark Horse published in the 90s. The common denominator here is Stradley, so we have to assume this spelling is his baby.

[Benjamin Haines]

^ Thanks for digging that up.

Randy Stradley gave Godzilla fandom onomatopoeia when there was none. We owe it to him to carry on that legacy even if Godzilla's roar doesn't actually sound like it starts with an S or ends with a K. The word "SKREEONK" still looks like it's how Godzilla's roar would sound, like if Godzilla roared into a souffle it would collapse into a shape similar to the shape of the word "SKREEONK." That's how all good onomatopoeia should work.

[lhb412]

Onomatopoeias are entirely subjective anyway. We think cats say 'meow,' but in Japan it sounds to them like 'nyan.'

[Psycho Soldier]

Something like "ayehh-waa-nng" would mimic the real sound more closely, IMO, than "skreeonk." But if we wanted to represent his full roar more accurately, we might also end up with a longer onomatopoeia that fills more of a comic book panel's space. I don't care much for "skreeonk" myself, but because it's a tradition and space-saver, I put up with it.

[jellydonut25]

[Benjamin Haines]

I think Godzilla's most common style of roar, the higher-pitched version that debuted in King Kong vs. Godzilla, would be spelled something like "AH-REE-HAAAAAAAWWW-YEH."

"SKREEONK" just looks cooler than that.

[Moonlight SY-3]

Not sure "Skreeonk" is any better or worse than the usual Japanese "spelling": "Gaooooh" (ガオオオ).

"Gaoooh" is used pretty much across the board for any giant monsters over here, though.

[lhb412]

Well, now that I've read that "GAOOOOH!" is definitive!

[jellydonut25]

[Benjamin Haines]

^ Ha! That explains why I grew from a Godzilla fan into a Metallica fan. The common denominators are rage, mayhem and "YEAH!"

[Baltan II]

Man, I wish I noticed this thread a bit sooner.

There is a Godzilla toy box, might be one of those SD boxes that are constantly bootlegged but I'm unsure, that has Godzilla onomatopoeia in romanji, and it's the closest I've ever seen to looking accurate when I sound it out and match it to Godzilla's actual roar: "aye~n" or something like that. It captures both the initial scream of the roar as well as the defining settling that follows. I sure as hell like it more than "skreeonk" if nothing else.

[Dai]

The original 1954 roar would be something like, "RHAAAAAA-ORRRRAH."