Dear List,

In a discussion yesterday with a rhetoric class, the topic of audible non-verbal discourse markers came up, specifically, the nasalized sounds often written as "uh-huh" and "hhm." We discussed the meanings of these and how they generally had a clear meaning to the speaker and the hearer.  A student asked if these were words, and I realized that I wasn't really sure.  What makes these either words or not words? We also discussed body language and facial expressions and how some of these had a clear meaning to most people who saw them. In what ways are these fundamentally different from the physical movements used in ASL, for instance, which can be considered words? 

Thanks,
Scott Woods


      

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