# What words can be conveyed through grunts or sing-songy noise? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 24, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-can-be-conveyed-through-grunts-or-sing-songy-noise/659252 "2013-05-24T18:46:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-can-be-conveyed-through-grunts-or-sing-songy-noise/659252/1 "2013-05-24T18:46:03Z")
Because it’s Friday and I’m bored. I wanted to come up with a list of words or phrases you can “say” without actually uttering any words. For instance, close your mouth and convey the phrase “I don’t know.” You didn’t say a word but you’re immediately thinking about this sing songy group of notes that would let anyone who heard it know exactly what you meant. First, what’s that called? And second, what other words or phrases can you convey in that manner? Here’s a list to get us started 1. Yes (or rather, “uh-huh”) 2. No (or rather, “nuh-uh”) 3. What did you just say? (hmmmm?) 4. Oh oh! 5. Whoo-hoo! 6. I don’t really care one way or the other, or for either of those choices (Meh.) 7. I’m not really sure, let me think on that a minute (hmmmm…) ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-can-be-conveyed-through-grunts-or-sing-songy-noise/659252/2 "2013-05-24T18:58:07Z")
“Get your hands off my throat, you’re choking me!” = Urk! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-can-be-conveyed-through-grunts-or-sing-songy-noise/659252/3 "2013-05-24T18:59:13Z")
For some Englishmen the entire language can be conveyed that way. ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-can-be-conveyed-through-grunts-or-sing-songy-noise/659252/4 "2013-05-24T18:59:37Z")
Tsk= I am a teenager and I reject what you’re saying. Pshh= Yeah, whatever. Hmmph= Yeah, whatever. Whew!= Dang, it’s hot! Brrr!= dang, it’s cold! Mm-mm-mm= she did _not_ just go there! ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-can-be-conveyed-through-grunts-or-sing-songy-noise/659252/5 "2013-05-24T19:01:26Z")
Just play Sims for ten minutes, you’ll have an entire language laid out for you. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-can-be-conveyed-through-grunts-or-sing-songy-noise/659252/6 "2013-05-24T19:27:28Z")
There’s a whole movie about this. Caveman? starring of all people Ringo Star. Its actually not a half bad movie. Almost no English in the whole thing. Except either a midget or a Japanese guy that speaks modern English. I forget which. Lanna. Zugg Zugg ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-can-be-conveyed-through-grunts-or-sing-songy-noise/659252/7 "2013-05-24T20:13:53Z")
Hnh. = “I acknowledge that I’ve heard what you said; please continue.” (With all due respect to Karrin Murphy.) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-can-be-conveyed-through-grunts-or-sing-songy-noise/659252/8 "2013-05-24T20:16:42Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Zugg Zugg Davu! ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-can-be-conveyed-through-grunts-or-sing-songy-noise/659252/9 "2013-05-24T20:18:55Z")
I’m coming! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![watergallop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3bc359/32.png) [@watergallop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watergallop)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-can-be-conveyed-through-grunts-or-sing-songy-noise/659252/10 "2013-05-25T07:29:20Z")
My sister and I convey “I don’t know” with a little singsongy hum beat. Mm-mm-mm. Second mm in a high pitch. ---
**Author:** ![watergallop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3bc359/32.png) [@watergallop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watergallop)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-can-be-conveyed-through-grunts-or-sing-songy-noise/659252/11 "2013-05-25T07:32:45Z")
And also there’s the kind of “mmmm” in a high pitch that means you think the other person’s claim is dubious. Youddon’t quite want to interrupt, but you want the other person to know they need to state a better case. ---
**Author:** ![Lucretia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@Lucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucretia)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-can-be-conveyed-through-grunts-or-sing-songy-noise/659252/12 "2013-05-25T08:01:24Z")
There’s always the classic early morning greeting “Mph” or just “Mm”, that means, essentially “I hear and acknowledge your greeting to me, but I’m not capable of being social quite yet.” ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2013, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-can-be-conveyed-through-grunts-or-sing-songy-noise/659252/13 "2013-05-25T12:08:12Z")
> [@Lucretia](#): > > There’s always the classic early morning greeting “Mph” or just “Mm”, that means, essentially “I hear and acknowledge your greeting to me, but I’m not capable of being social quite yet.” Used memorably in _Ulysses_: > [@James Joyce](#): > > He said softly in the bare hall: > > –I’m going round the corner. Be back in a minute. > > And when he had heard his voice say it he added: > > –You don’t want anything for breakfast? > > A sleepy soft grunt answered: > > –Mn. > > No. She didn’t want anything. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-can-be-conveyed-through-grunts-or-sing-songy-noise/659252/14 "2013-05-26T05:28:16Z")
> [@watergallop](#): > > My sister and I convey “I don’t know” with a little singsongy hum beat. Mm-mm-mm. Second mm in a high pitch. This one is the most interesting to me, because what you are doing is mimicking how you say “I don’t know.” In fact, you may even be articulating the entire phrase, just with your mouth closed. The rest of these just seem like words of their own. There’s no correlation to how you would say it if you were using “normal” words. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-can-be-conveyed-through-grunts-or-sing-songy-noise/659252/15 "2013-05-26T18:33:04Z")
that’s the one i thought of right off. thankfully watergallop knew how to write it. it mostly hangs on rhythym of a spoken “i don’t know” and perhaps a shrug, or hand gesture thrown in.