I was asking an AA coworker bout “that laugh” the other day after she did it. I’ve noticed that there’s a common “derisive laugh” among most/all AA’s I’ve known, which is really hard to imitate - it’s a sort of back-of-the-mouth “kccch kccch kccch” done in a slower, rhythmic cadence with an almost eighth note triplet feel. I’ve heard most black comedians do it, too, especially when they’re specifically doing a sort of winking derision of something.
Has this thing been codified in any way? I’d really like to read more about it.
Yeah, I realized that derisive is a little too strong. It’s more like…you’d do it when you were giving someone a hard time, but in a fun way. Like if someone did something clumsy or corny.
If it’s the noise I think you are referring to, I always assumed Eddie Murphy did it first in the '80s and since then everyone else has been copying him.
Not so much skin colour, but culture and upbringing. If you’re around certain types of sounds you start to imitate them. At least, that’s what it sounds like here, I have no idea what the OP is talking about. I’d be interested in a sound byte of the kind of laugh.
I’ve heard people from all backgrounds do the Muttley Laugh. I’m just suddenly reminded of that one Mary Poppins song…