Wednesday, April 9, 2014

The most famous palindrome..Huh

This word can be tagged as one of the most commonly used slang words among the young gals.
It is always on the tip of their tongue and also on their chat windows.
Whenever they have nothing to say this super word comes as a savior.

My GF loves this word more than me, so I decided to find its hidden qualities.
Is it cute?
Does it have a sex appeal?
Is it funny?

I was eager to know the reason of its charm which made it dearer to her.
And hence began my analysis.

I landed upon a page which described it as below
Main Entry:
huh
Pronunciation:
\a grunt articulated as a syllabic meters or n with a voiceless onset, or as the syllable ˈhə or ˈhəⁿ, often ending in a glottal stop, and uttered with a range of intonations; often read as ˈhə\
Function:
interjection
Etymology:
imitative of a grunt
Date:
1608
—used to express surprise, disbelief, or confusion, or as an inquiry inviting affirmative reply.

Well I could relate the above usage with her daily conversation with me.
She used to get surprised when I used to say, “She is the most beautiful girl I have ever met”.
Also she used to get confused whenever I used to list down my priorities which includes
1. Table Tennis
2.  Blogging
3.  Stock Market
4. Collecting rare coins.
And on the top of the list is you my baby.

Huh was her reply to both the situations and now I can relate a bit to it.

But still I couldn't get a rational reason for huh being so dearer to her.
Were my talks so surprising or confusing that her reply was always “Huh”, no no!! that couldn't be the reason.

So I decided to ponder on the history and origin of “Huh” to know more about it.
And I landed on a page which described it as something like this
 Huh has been suggested in Language History Studies as the response in a questioning tone.
Its origin comes from the old caves of England where the first tribes were discoursing over the
absolute finest example of the most succinct Palindrome.
And upon the utterance of "Huh?" from one of the elder cavers, within seconds were the
uproarious hysterics of joy and unanimous voting, for a splendid new beginning
toward linguistic unity.

Okay so she loves it because it is the finest example of the most succinct Palindrome!! Really..??

My quest for the reason was still on and this time I thought to ask my friends on what they think about the word “Huh”.

Girls were quick and on their toes to answer.
Some of the replies went like this
1. I say it when I am want someone to go to hell.
    Also when I am fed up of something and don’t wanna argue.
2. Another said that when she is not bothered about somebody or something
    she uses it.
3. And the most honest answer was I just love to use it whenever I get a chance.

I was shocked when I found that one of my male friends too liked it !!

But what bothered me more was the consensus on one thing that girls use the word “Huh”
when they are fed up of something and don’t wanna argue.

Well this rang a warning alarm in my mind.
Do I talk senseless these days and behave like the prince of Congress?
Do I argue more than I talk like the spokesperson of Congress?
Or do I just make big promises, am king of dialogues but implements nothing like the
Maflarwala ?

It was a wakeup call and I decided to take a pledge that till next Valentine she will only use “Huh” once in a day while we are conversing.
Am I on the right path?

Enlighten me with your comments and do tell me your opinion on the most scary word for me now..

                                                  “HUH”




4 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Glad that you liked it preeti..thnx for dropping by..:)

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  2. My usage of Huh(which I have done rarely, very rarely) matches with the first reply you have written but in a friendly way, which happens to be said to only my best friend every time.
    He: u donkey
    Me: u hippo
    He: u champu
    Me: huh!

    :P just an example.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. lol Kusum..same pinch..I do ditto with my best friend and at the end she says huh..:P

      Delete