MMmmm Owwww Weee or Yarp flooop squerze?
April 9, 2008 6:22 PM Subscribe
Is Ooow Universal? If I kick a Masai warrior, Brazillian beach bum, an Eskimo or an Indonesian will the exclamation for pain be similar? What about Mmmmm?
The question is, how prevalent are the sub-verbal explanations that people make for pain, tastiness, excitement (weee)?
This is excluding actual words commonly used of course.
The question is, how prevalent are the sub-verbal explanations that people make for pain, tastiness, excitement (weee)?
This is excluding actual words commonly used of course.
My wife is Filipino (Visayan) and says it's "Agay" in Cebuano and "Aray" in Tagalog.
posted by nathan_teske at 6:42 PM on April 9, 2008
posted by nathan_teske at 6:42 PM on April 9, 2008
This is secondhand, but a friend went to Taiwan to visit her extended family, and they were completely perplexed by her tendency to say "uh-huh" and "nuh-uh" for yes and no...she said it was like she was yipping like a dog to them. So there are two subverbal expressions that aren't universal.
posted by Bella Sebastian at 6:53 PM on April 9, 2008
posted by Bella Sebastian at 6:53 PM on April 9, 2008
Tamil (South Indian Language): Ayayayo!
Almost pronounced like I-I-O. It's rude, I think. When I was a kid, my mother hushed me for saying it in front of visitors. You could also get away with saying "Amma!" (Mother) or "Appa!" (Father) anywhere in south India. But I think Ayayayo is specific to Tamil.
posted by theiconoclast31 at 7:17 PM on April 9, 2008
Almost pronounced like I-I-O. It's rude, I think. When I was a kid, my mother hushed me for saying it in front of visitors. You could also get away with saying "Amma!" (Mother) or "Appa!" (Father) anywhere in south India. But I think Ayayayo is specific to Tamil.
posted by theiconoclast31 at 7:17 PM on April 9, 2008
i've had a tremendous amount of fun by asking non english/american speakers for their various sounds. scissors is often particularly funny.
posted by lester's sock puppet at 7:17 PM on April 9, 2008
posted by lester's sock puppet at 7:17 PM on April 9, 2008
CrazyJoel: I guess some say "ow" and others say "ai".
In Icelandic both are used. "Ow" is written á and "ai" æ.
posted by Kattullus at 7:39 PM on April 9, 2008
In Icelandic both are used. "Ow" is written á and "ai" æ.
posted by Kattullus at 7:39 PM on April 9, 2008
I'm a native speaker of English and I don't say ow, unless I'm demonstrating something to a child, maybe, or being ironic. Often, I'll use it as a word of sympathy when someone tells me about the time the box of rocks fell on their head. But never as an exclamation.
(I think I say something like gaaaaaa! but I'm not in the mood to test right now.)
I am trying to say that it's not even universal within a language.
posted by rokusan at 7:41 PM on April 9, 2008
(I think I say something like gaaaaaa! but I'm not in the mood to test right now.)
I am trying to say that it's not even universal within a language.
posted by rokusan at 7:41 PM on April 9, 2008
In North America it's "motherfucker!"
posted by Neiltupper at 7:48 PM on April 9, 2008 [9 favorites]
posted by Neiltupper at 7:48 PM on April 9, 2008 [9 favorites]
In Spanish it's "ay" - which rhymes with "I", not "A"
I think "mmm" is usually "emmm" as well.
posted by O9scar at 7:56 PM on April 9, 2008
I think "mmm" is usually "emmm" as well.
posted by O9scar at 7:56 PM on April 9, 2008
> think Ayayayo is specific to Tamil.
We also say this in Kannada
posted by dhruva at 9:53 PM on April 9, 2008
We also say this in Kannada
posted by dhruva at 9:53 PM on April 9, 2008
There's a difference between the instinctual cry of pain that escapes at the moment of injury and the sounds you make afterward to communicate that you've been hurt. I wonder if the former is all that influenced by culture. I think I, an American, cry "AAH!" before I say "Ow". For the latter, they also say "Aduh" or "Adoi" in Malaysia. "Sakit" is the formal word for pain, hurt or disease, so it's not exactly "sub-verbal".
posted by BinGregory at 10:34 PM on April 9, 2008
posted by BinGregory at 10:34 PM on April 9, 2008
I can't think of an alternative for "Mmmm", unless it's a smacking of the lips or clucking of the tongue.
posted by BinGregory at 10:42 PM on April 9, 2008
posted by BinGregory at 10:42 PM on April 9, 2008
> think Ayayayo is specific to Tamil.
We also say this in Kannada
Ha! I was just about to say "Aiyo" for down here in Andhra.
iconoclast, yeah--I guess Ayayao (or any derivative there of) would be inappropriate in front of elders, although, when I was in school, we used to say Niyamma a lot!
posted by hadjiboy at 10:48 PM on April 9, 2008
We also say this in Kannada
Ha! I was just about to say "Aiyo" for down here in Andhra.
iconoclast, yeah--I guess Ayayao (or any derivative there of) would be inappropriate in front of elders, although, when I was in school, we used to say Niyamma a lot!
posted by hadjiboy at 10:48 PM on April 9, 2008
I can't think of an alternative for "Mmmm"
How about "hsssssssh, wahhhhhhh!"
posted by hadjiboy at 10:50 PM on April 9, 2008
How about "hsssssssh, wahhhhhhh!"
posted by hadjiboy at 10:50 PM on April 9, 2008
After watching the vid of the woman crushing grapes who falls, I now say "ogh ogh ogh ogh ogh ogh".
posted by bobot at 4:47 AM on April 10, 2008
posted by bobot at 4:47 AM on April 10, 2008
Japanese people say "ita" really quickly, which I guess it just a truncated version of "itai" (painful/that hurts).
posted by borkingchikapa at 7:11 AM on April 10, 2008
posted by borkingchikapa at 7:11 AM on April 10, 2008
in indonesia "sakit" means "hurt/pain/sick", but if an indonesian stubs their toe or something, most of them seem to make that "ai!"/"ay!" sound.
i never actually say "ow", does anyone? i think i sort of alternate between "ai!" (even before i moved to indonesia) and a sort of harsh, gutteral "ah!" i've travelled a lot, and i think there are learned sounds that change between languages, but when people really get surprised with something very painful out of the blue, they often make a noise along the lines of "ai!" or "ah!" or something similar.
posted by messiahwannabe at 8:55 AM on April 10, 2008
i never actually say "ow", does anyone? i think i sort of alternate between "ai!" (even before i moved to indonesia) and a sort of harsh, gutteral "ah!" i've travelled a lot, and i think there are learned sounds that change between languages, but when people really get surprised with something very painful out of the blue, they often make a noise along the lines of "ai!" or "ah!" or something similar.
posted by messiahwannabe at 8:55 AM on April 10, 2008
Video of the woman crushing grapes, falls, is here. She uses interesting words to express "ouch."
posted by exphysicist345 at 6:58 PM on April 10, 2008
posted by exphysicist345 at 6:58 PM on April 10, 2008
Having lived in the US as a child, I use the gringo-sounds, which brings odd looks from my Chilean compatriots.
So no, they're not universal.
posted by signal at 11:14 AM on April 11, 2008
So no, they're not universal.
posted by signal at 11:14 AM on April 11, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
I guess some say "ow" and others say "ai".
posted by CrazyJoel at 6:27 PM on April 9, 2008