The Great Wide World of "Huh?" [Interactive]

See Inside

Languages all over the world have a word similar to "huh?" that helps speakers repair a conversation after an utterance misses its mark

Aug 14, 2014 | |

Languages around the world share universal principles that transcend grammar or words, according to recent data collected by . By learning different languages and analyzing conversations, these researchers are beginning to identify social cues shared by the speakers of numerous different language groups. People all over the world use a pregnant pause, for example, or a well-timed “huh?” to convey their thoughts and feelings. and , both linguists at the , suggest that such evidence might form a social foundation on which all languages are built. They wrote about this idea in “” in the .

The map above highlights some of the many “huhs?” that Dingemanse, Enfield and their colleagues have gathered around the world. Click on the blue dots to learn about the languages and hear an audio sample.

Is ‘Huh?’ a Universal Word? Conversational Infrastructure and the Convergent Evolution of Linguistic Items. PLOS ONE

Scottish readers: Undecided about the referendum? Please read