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From: phoogenb@liberty.uc.wlu.edu (Peter Hoogenboom)
Subject: Re: Cross cultural mumblings (was Pause filling particles)
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Date: Fri, 16 Feb 1996 17:32:32 GMT
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Tobias Benjamin Koehler (y0002349@ws.rz.tu-bs.de) wrote:
: More common: mhm, mhm, mhm, mhm

: When I'm on the phone making this noise for half an hour, my
: roomie knows that my mother called. ;)

: Mhm (stressed on the second syllable) is a German synonym for
: "yes". There is also one for "no":

: - (twice the sound as in English `can', the first syllable
: louder and the second a little deeper in tone) There is no way
: to represent this in written language.

These are hardly limited to German!  In the US, we (or at least I) spell 
them "M-hmm" and "Uh-uh" -- though the affirmative one is sometimes 
(usually?) spoken with the lips open, and written "Uh-huh."  The negative 
one is also sometimes spoken with the lips closed, though I am not sure 
how to write it in a way which distinguishes it from the negative.  We 
also say "Uh-oh" to mean "oops".  (smiley)

The key seems that the affirmative grunt is stressed on the second 
syllable and the negative grunt on the first.  I am reasonably sure that 
Dutch uses these, too.  Anyone know about Scandinavian languages?  What 
about non-Germanic languages?

Peter

--
Peter Hoogenboom                        phoogenb@wlu.edu
Department of Music, DuPont 208         hoogenboom.p@fs.sciences.wlu.edu
Washington and Lee University           phoogenboom@wesleyan.edu
Lexington, VA 24450                     (540) 463-8697
