oh-oh! uh-uh! (ekse: Hawaiian loanwords)

[Alan Hartley]

Henry Kammler wrote:

> BTW when and where did uh-huh and uh-uh first appear in written form? (it
> would still not give much information about the actual articulation and
> intonation ... but it might be a hint).

 The earliest records the OED (2d ed.) has for UH-HUH and UH-UH are both from
1924, in the journal "Dialect Notes". The OED very possibly has earlier instances
on file which would appear in the next edition. Incidentally, the OED intends to
begin publishing an online version, updated quarterly, I think, late this year.
(It won't be free, though.)

Alan
http://www.d.umn.edu/~ahartley/