Comments on: What's the quick gasping noise that Danes make while conversing?

Question: What's the quick gasping noise that Danes make while conversing?

Ø — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 04:33:23 -0800

When talking, Danes sometimes make a quick gasping noise that's very distinctive but difficult to describe. Can anyone explain this odd habit? Does it have a name? (More details inside.)

Danes do this when speaking English also; it doesn't seem to be limited to Danish-language conversation.

If you have a DVD of the Danish film "Italian for Beginners," there's a perfect example 12 minutes 20 seconds in. The woman makes the noise right after saying "Jørgen Mortensen."

As far as I can tell it seems sometimes to serve as a verbal nod of sorts, the equivalent of an American saying "yeah" occasionally to let you know that he's paying attention to what you're saying. Other times it seems to serve as a kind of verbal punctuation, emphasizing what the gasper has just said.

Please comment if you know anything at all about this.

By: krautland

krautland — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 04:41:00 -0800

do you perhaps have anything on youtube that could illustrate your point? I lived near the border between denmark and germany for close to twenty years and I can somewhat get by in dansk but I fear I am not getting what you are talking about just yet...

By: DangerIsMyMiddleName

DangerIsMyMiddleName — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 04:48:43 -0800

The Swedes do this too. It seems to be exactly as you suggest: either a "yeah" or a "uh huh", depending on context. My wife, who is Swedish, does this when she's speaking to other Swedes: it sounds like a softer version of the gasp you get putting a cold key down the back of someone's shirt.

By: martinrebas

martinrebas — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 04:54:10 -0800

In Sweden, it's only common in the north (so I'm a bit surprised to hear that Danes do it).

By: martinrebas

martinrebas — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 05:14:32 -0800

I've searched the web and found it referred to as a "schvuu" sound, but I'm not sure if it has any real name. Apparently, it started as a way of saying "jo" (meaning yes) while inhaling.

(I've only searched pages about dialects in northern Sweden; I'm not sure if it's used differently in Denmark).

By: bricoleur

bricoleur — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 05:32:12 -0800

Is this what you're talking about?

By: Ø

Ø — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 05:37:40 -0800

krautland: I'm searching Danish television podcasts for an example, but am not having much luck. This reminds me that I don't think I've ever heard it in formal speech (e.g., a newscast); maybe it's limited to informal conversation?

DangerIsMyMiddleName: Thanks for the data point; I wasn't aware that Swedes do this also.

martinrebas: Great detective work! I'm intrigued by your mention that it's only used in the north. Does it have any class associations in Sweden?

Also, another bit of information: Women seem to make the sound more than men, at least in Denmark.

By: Ø

Ø — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 05:42:13 -0800

bricoleur: yes, that's exactly what I've been trying to describe!

By: kmel

kmel — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 06:16:53 -0800

It's a pulmonic ingressive "yeah" ... I've encountered it in Ireland too.

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 06:44:02 -0800

The phenomenon you're talking about is called back-channeling in linguistics. Most languages have some sort of back-channeling that is, some way to let the speaker know that you're listening without actually interrupting to say so but inhaling isn't always part of it. It's usually plain old exhaled "mm-hm" in English, f'rinstance.

(Now, while "mm-hm" seems a lot more ordinary than your Scandinavian gasping noise, they do have something in common: neither one can be mistaken for an interruption. The Scandinavian gasp isn't a legitimate way to start a word in any Scandinavian language, and "mm-hmm" isn't a legitimate way to start a word in English. So with either sound, if you hear it, you know your listener isn't starting a sentence of her own. She's just agreeing with you, and you can keep talking without worrying that you're holding the floor too aggressively.)

By: agent99

agent99 — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 06:54:03 -0800

Same phenomenon exists in French, with an ingressive "ouais" (yeah); used particularly when you're listening to someone else tell a long and engrossing story of some sort.

By: The corpse in the library

The corpse in the library — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 07:01:43 -0800

Yes! My mom does it. It's like saying "yup" while inhaling.

By: arcticseal

arcticseal — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 07:15:29 -0800

Norwegians do it too. I've lived both in Denmark and in Norway, it's exactly as you describe - verbal punctuation or agreement. Generally used to show that they're following the thread of the conversation.

By: Utilitaritron

Utilitaritron — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 07:26:50 -0800

Icelanders do ingressive já too.

By: SteveInMaine

SteveInMaine — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 07:30:25 -0800

How strange! I've heard Mainers do it. Never knew it had a name until I read the wiki.

By: Skyanth

Skyanth — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 07:37:35 -0800

Heard it done in dutch, too, but not as generally as the scandinavians seem to do it.

By: chillmost

chillmost — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 07:54:45 -0800

I hear it in Germany sometimes as well. I'm in the Hamburg region which is not too far from Denmark. Hmmm.

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 08:33:08 -0800

It seems to be fairy language independant, you just need to talk while inhaling. I've heard it in France, and in Canada.

By: empyrean

empyrean — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 08:34:45 -0800

I do this in English, usually while intoxicated and listening to an engrossing story. Of course I can also whistle while transitioning from exhale to inhale and back again (which may be incredibly common, but hey, so was making the inhaled sound we're discussing, I thought).

By: LordSludge

LordSludge — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 09:21:06 -0800

My ex-wife is native of Denmark, came to the 'States at 21 years old, so she speaks both Danish and English fluently. She's lived in the U.S. for just over 10 years now, so she's picked up on a lot of the subtleties of the American language (and culture) by now.

When she's speaking Danish, she does the "back-channeling" thing, but when speaking English, she says "mm hmm", "yep", and "uh huh" like any American. Her Danish relatives, conversely, all use the back-channeling thing for both Danish and English -- but they all live in Denmark, so they haven't picked up that it's not an American expression at all. So it's a subtle language thing, IMO.

FWIW, Ø, you show that you have a good grasp of this in your [more inside] section. Not sure what your question is, really, unless you just wanted a confirmation of your own take on it. I think you've got it nailed. (And I didn't know it had a name, either!)

By: crickets

crickets — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 09:39:25 -0800

The thread isn't useless without sound files because we know *exactly* what's going on.

I pick up sympathetic accents when I travel (annoying, I know) and during my time in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, I picked this up quite readily.

By: Listener

Listener — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 10:51:29 -0800

I wish I could upload the audio, but I can't. I had a woman who did this for two hours on some audio I had. I thought she had a speech impediment, but it did kind of sound like a strange "yup, yup" breathed in. Now I know. Thanks.

By: !Jim

!Jim — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 13:52:42 -0800

I know exactly what you mean, because when I was in Germany my host parents did the exact same thing. It really sounds exactly like a gasp, it doesn't really seem like part of the language to me.

Sorry though, I never did figure out why they were so shocked all the time.

By: initapplette

initapplette — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 15:01:05 -0800

I'm a midcoast Mainer and some of my family members do this. My central Maine friends do it also.

The Wikipedia entry linked to above states that this is usually transcribed as "ayup." But that is not correct. The "ayup" sound is more like a rising inflection "ya" with a glottal stop and then a small exhale.

By: greta simone

greta simone — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 08:17:02 -0800

Yeah my norwegian stepfather does this. It's kind of like a hiccup right? I think it's said at the end of a statement to signify some kind of definition like "what I just said is undeniable". Like "don't try and argue me on this point because I just did the hiccup and I know I'm right". I don't know. This probably doesn't help at all.

By: Ø

Ø — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 20:51:46 -0800

Thanks for all of your answers!