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From: wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin )
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Chinese use of "aaahhh"
Message-ID: <1293@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 6-Jan-86 17:02:50 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.1293
Posted: Mon Jan  6 17:02:50 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 10-Jan-86 06:38:29 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: USAMC ALMSA, St. Louis, MO
Lines: 17

I eat lunch in Chinese restaurants a lot, and overhear the staff talking
amongst themselves, in what I suppose is some version of Chinese. (I
thought it used to be most likely that it was Cantonese, but do not know
if that supposition is still accurate, what with the growth of more
varieties of Chinese restaurants in America.) One thing I have
repeatedly and commonly heard is what seems to be an exclamation, a
long, drawn-out "aaaaahhhhhhh" sound. I cannot recall for sure if the
pitch rises or falls during the utterance of this sound.

Is this a word, a non-word exclamation, or some sort of verbal fill-in
(like English speakers use "y'know")? Is it equivalent to the old,
stereotyped and hokey Japanese "ah, so"? If so, is there some commonality
among Oriental languages for using this particular sound in the same
way? Is it used like an English speaker would use "Ah" in "Ah, yes, I
see" where it could also be drawn out to length?

Regards, Will