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How would you say...

door Kojotulo, 3 juni 2011

Berichten: 18

Taal: English

ceigered (Profiel tonen) 5 juni 2011 09:35:29

sudanglo:Eek! is not listed in any of my English dictionaries, including the Shorter OED.

I associate it only with speech bubbles in cartoons (American?). I am sure that I have never heard anybody actually say it.
Reminds me of how kids go "why is that comic man saying 'sigh'?" ridulo.gif

geo63 (Profiel tonen) 5 juni 2011 10:39:56

ceigered:
sudanglo:Eek! is not listed in any of my English dictionaries, including the Shorter OED.

I associate it only with speech bubbles in cartoons (American?). I am sure that I have never heard anybody actually say it.
Reminds me of how kids go "why is that comic man saying 'sigh'?" ridulo.gif
And I remember from my youth the indian "hough" (Winnetou). I wondered what it was and how could they say that (Polish spelling is fonetic, so it is difficult to say "hoŭgĥ" - and those days I knew nothing about English or Esperanto) rido.gif

erinja (Profiel tonen) 5 juni 2011 11:24:21

What is "hough"?

ceigered (Profiel tonen) 5 juni 2011 11:54:12

"Ho!" (or some similar war cry sound stereotypical of Native American warriors dancing around a camp fire like in Peterpan)

or "Hao!" (greeting whilst you hold up your hand in respect to the other).

paulopolo (Profiel tonen) 5 juni 2011 11:57:10

"Hao!" (greeting whilst you hold up your hand in respect to the other).
In that book it was that sense only. Hough chief!

And Indians spoke in fluent germane languageridulo.gif

geo63 (Profiel tonen) 5 juni 2011 12:16:59

erinja:What is "hough"?
A good question! You'd have to ask Karol May for that if he was alive. Frankly I don't know. It is some indian saying: "Hough" = so that shall be.

My old Collins dict says:

hough Brit. n.
1. another word for hock1.
2. (hx). in Scotland, a cut of meat corresponding to shin.

— vb. (tr.)
3. to hamstring (cattle, horses, etc.).

[C14: from Old English hoh heel]

But I don't see any connection with Indians here. Perhaps May invented the word himself.

jefusan (Profiel tonen) 7 juni 2011 13:42:56

"Eek" is pretty common in comic books, and is often associated with a woman's squeal or scream. In fact, it is enough of a cliché of the sound a woman makes when she is up on a chair, trying to escape a mouse, that a famous Jamaican reggae musician gave himself the name "Eek-A-Mouse."

I don't know that it's particularly American. It's not the kind of thing that people say naturally (see "Tsk tsk") but a word meant to call to mind a non-verbal, spontaneous cry.

sudanglo (Profiel tonen) 7 juni 2011 14:46:39

That image feels right to me Jefusan.

So more than an expression of emotion like 'yuk' for revulsion it is perhaps an imitation of sound, the causes for the cry, being various, maybe shock, surprise, fear, or seeing something repellent.

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