eelhound:

This strange sound can mean ‘yes’ in the Swedish language.

I actually grew up using a somewhat similar form for “yes” – a short “yeah” or “yep” said on an inhaled breath. I learned in a phonetics class many years later that ingressive “yeah/yep” is considered a unique feature of the Canadian Maritimes, especially more rural areas. The rest of the class was pretty baffled but it seems totally natural to me! I think I use it less now but it might also be subconscious sometimes. (Of course, you don’t have to say yeah/yep as ingressive, it’s just an option. And it’s generally only found when they’re said in isolation, not as the beginning of a longer sentence.) 

You also occasionally get ingressive “no/nope” but it’s less common, and I think lots of dialects do ingressive numbers occasionally if you’re counting aloud and don’t want to pause to breathe in. And it’s possible to say a whole sentence or two on an in-breath with practice, although I don’t know of any language that uses it robustly, as more than just a trick. 

Anyone know any other languages or dialects with ingressives? Is there something about affirmatives that make them particularly likely to be ingressive, even if nothing else is? It seems likely that if you’re going to get ingressives with just one set of words, interjections would probably be a good class. 

(Of course there’s also the nasal ingressive voiceless velar trill.)

3I am Large, I Contain Multigrains

Don't miss out on any interesting linguistics! Get my monthly newsletter in your inbox.



Notes

  1. sunmoonlang reblogged this from saja-star
  2. saja-star reblogged this from ryebreadequation
  3. unichrome reblogged this from ryebreadequation and added:
    Inhaling yes and clicking no confirmed 💯
  4. ryebreadequation reblogged this from saja-star and added:
    I want to say I’ve heard old people use mouthcorner (swe: mungipa) click noise as a no or negatory noise. Any other...
  5. ardensforest reblogged this from its-a-journal-of-ideals
  6. aliresix reblogged this from its-a-journal-of-ideals
  7. its-a-journal-of-ideals reblogged this from fannish-snailien
  8. fannish-snailien reblogged this from spyld
  9. the-soul-of-wit reblogged this from lilenariinpink
  10. leafylotte reblogged this from vampirejuno
  11. lilenariinpink reblogged this from vampirejuno
  12. vampirejuno reblogged this from fealtyfaggot
  13. fealtyfaggot reblogged this from tigerlily1615
  14. tigerlily1615 reblogged this from spyld
  15. spyld reblogged this from fictionalred
  16. vinylborgarhora reblogged this from konstapelnn
  17. delightsofademigodess reblogged this from foervraengd
  18. anthropological-appreciation reblogged this from eelhound
  19. nebulousstateofmind1 reblogged this from flerponius
  20. flerponius reblogged this from youraveragegoat
  21. murderturtles reblogged this from a-casual-egg
  22. teamgerri reblogged this from lnane
  23. eelhound posted this