How did uhn-uh come to mean “no” and uh-huh come to mean “yes” in English?

Question

Pretty much the title. Also curious if other languages have similar non-word sounds for negation/affirmation.

In: Other

Answer 1

I don’t have a fully satisfying answer, but it seems like neither do any of the main sources. When it comes to finding the source of a word, the Oxford English Dictionary is generally regarded as being the most authoritative. However, referencing sources across the OED, American Heritage Dictionary, and other reputable sources, we don’t have a good etymology (word source) here beyond describing it as “imitative”.

So we know this word comes from imitation… Of something, perhaps around the 1920s according to the OED.

As for what languages have non-words, northern Sweden uses a short inhale through pursed lips to indicate an affirmative in some speakers. [This video](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=URgdIAz4QNg) demonstrates it.

Additionally Japanese has a similar pair to English uh-huh and nuh-uh or mm-mm, which is written うん and ううん respectively, but are considered words. These are pronounced as general nasal sounds like our mm-mm and the difference is based on length. A short nasal (a sound made by passing air through the nose but not mouth, [ɴ]) is considered affirmative and a long one is negative.

Edit: Just for reference, in English we have a few different things that are largely characterized by these nasally sounds and glottal stops (the stop in the middle of uh-huh). These are mainly differentiated based on intonation. Uh-huh, mm-hmm are equivalent affirmations, and nuh-uh or mm-mm are negations. The mm-mm has a flat tone.