Meh

[enochs_fable]

How the Internet is Saving the Interjection.

I've never before heard or seen "awwa" as a variant of aww.

meh has its numerous fans on my very own LJ.

I had no idea that feh had Yiddish roots, and think maybe that one will come in handy someday.

Comments

[amelia_eve]

I think that "awwa" is the author's attempt to render "aww" with a rising intonation. The classic sympathetic "aww," as in the sound clip, has a descending intonation in tune with the deflating spirit of the speaker. But imagine the uptalk version of a couple of valley girls looking at puppies, and you get a rising intonation. It's the "awwa" of cuteness vs. the "aww" of commiseration.

And how could you not imagine that "feh" was Yiddish? It just sounds Yiddish even the first time you hear it. Yiddish has a wonderful vocabulary for expressing complaints, bad luck, lack of enthusiasm, and general loserish qualities. "Feh" fits right in.

[enochs_fable]

I just realized I could unplug my ipod phones to plug them in and listen to the sounds. Doh.

feh

[enochs_fable]

I think that's just one of those words that I never knew where it came from!

If you haven't read Born to Kvetch, you should. It's awesome.

As far as awwa,
After conferring with jhuliaghulia, she allows that she might sound like that on occasion.

Re: feh

[amelia_eve]

I was staring at the cover of Born to Kvetch in a bookstore window while waiting for a bus the other day. That little boy on the jacket is adorable. So it was a bit in my mind when I wrote my post. And see? "kvetch" is one of those types of words.

[piperjoy]

i hadn't ever thought of cute-aww as "awwa" before, but i instantly recognized it from the authors description (i don't have speakers at work either).

it was an interesting article. i think the debate between formalizing the language when it's written or allowing it mimic speech when used in blogs and the like is fascinating. thanks for the link!

Kinineh Horah p-p-p

[kickindancer]

At least that's what my grandma says (loosely translated: God Forbid! and the p-p-p represents spitting to ward off the evil eye.)

I think we should start a trend with that one.

Anyway, if you check out dog_macros (community on LJ)not only will you laugh your ass off, but you will see another usage of "meh." I understood what they meant in the article, from context. And in the macros, its often used to mean "me" with a doggy accent. (look for "Im on ur ceiling, fueling ur nightmares.")

Re: Kinineh Horah p-p-p

[enochs_fable]

Ha! I'll have to remember this one.

I saw dog_macros from the spotlight, and that "fueling your nightmares" one. Creepy!

I wonder what all the "do not want!" ones refer to though.

Re: Kinineh Horah p-p-p

[kickindancer]

Nothing in particular. It just means the dog in the pic looks very unhappy with its situation. So, if something comes up in a discussion thread, like bird-flu, you'd put a picture of a dog clearly not wanting the sweater or the broccoli or whatever is going on, and the caption says "DO NOT WANT!". So, you don't want the bird flu, like the dog doesn't want the broccoli.

I've seen a lot of the macros in fark discussions, but I didn't know they were called "macros." I've been collecting them and using them as background wallpaper on my computer. I've got the "...fueling ur nightmares" one up now.