Hunh-unh! (was: Origin of "oops")

[Jonathan Lighter]

Perhaps by disambiguating these semiarticulate yet meaningful grunts we are approaching the "Big Bang" of language itself.

(Not *entirely* in jest this time.)

JL

Victoria Neufeldt <vneufeldt at MERRIAM-WEBSTER.COM> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Victoria Neufeldt
Subject: Hunh-unh! (was: Origin of "oops")
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Hunh-unh' is totally familiar to me. I'm sure that I have always
used (and heard) that as often as 'uh-uh' or 'unh-unh' or 'mm-mm'
(can't think of any other way to write the last one; it too has a
pronounced glottal stop between the syllables).

Victoria

Victoria Neufeldt
727 9th Street East
Saskatoon, Sask.
S7H 0M6
Canada
Tel: 306-955-8910


On Tuesday, March 15, 2005 9:59 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

> Did I mention once before that when I moved to Tennessee I
> heard people saying "hunh-unh!" (No!) with quite audible
> aspiration where I was familiar only with "unh-unh!"
>
> Could this be a survival from Middle English ? You know,
> like "hit" ?
>
> Couldn't resist. But the reported form is genuine.
>
> JL
>

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