Ingressive speech sounds are produced while the speaker breathes in, in contrast to most speech sounds, which are produced as the speaker breathes out. The air that is used to voice the speech is drawn in rather than pushed out.
Occurrence Speech technologist Robert Eklund has found reports of ingressive speech in around 50 languages worldwide, dating as far back as Cranz's (1765) "Historie von Grönland" which mentions it in female affirmations among the
Eskimo. Despite being a common phenomenon, it is frequently associated with
Scandinavian languages. Most words that are subject to ingressive speech are
backchanneling words ("yes, no"). It sometimes occurs in rapid counting to maintain a steady airflow throughout a long series of unbroken sounds. In
English, ingressive sounds include when one says "Huh!" (a gasping sound) to express surprise or "Sss" (an inward hiss) to express empathy when another is hurt.
Japanese has what has been described an apicoprepalatal fricative approximant. This sound is similar to an inbreathed . It is used as a response to statements that are upsetting, or as a sign of deference. Japanese-speakers also use an ingressive bilateral bidental friction as a "pre-turn opening in conversation" or to begin a prayer. Long strings of speech may be inhaled when the speaker is sobbing. There are claims of
Tohono Oʼodham women speaking entirely ingressively.
Inhaled affirmative 'yeah' Several languages include an affirmative "yeah", "yah", "yuh", or "yes" that is made with inhaled breath, which sounds something like a gasp. That is an example of a pulmonic ingressive and is found as follows: • Dialects of English spoken in
Ireland (
Hiberno-English) and the
Scottish Highlands (
Highland English), typically used to express agreement and show attentiveness. • Dialects of
English spoken in
Newfoundland and
the Maritimes in
Canada. • Dialects of English spoken in the US state of
Maine. The word is often transcribed as "ayup", and people attempting to imitate
Maine accent rarely use the ingressive form. It is missing in most Maine-dialect television and Hollywood productions. • Casual European
French (
ouais). • In
Faroese and
Icelandic, entire phrases are sometimes produced ingressively. • In
Danish,
Norwegian, and
Swedish, words like "ja", "jo" (yes), "nei/nej" (no) are often pronounced with inhaled breath. The main function of inhaled speech can be paralinguistic, showing agreement with a statement and encouraging a speaker to continue, but in northern
Sweden, "Yes" can be replaced with an inhalation alone. It is consequently also typical of dialogue. • In
Low German and northern German varieties of
standard German, an affirmative "ja" (yes) is sometimes pronounced ingressively, especially for backchanneling. • In
Finnish joo or
juu (yes). • In
Estonian "jah" (yes) or informally also "jep" (yep). • In
Khalkha Mongolian, the words
тийм ("that/[yes]"),
үгүй ("no"), and
мэдэхгүй know. ("[I] don't know") are often pronounced in daily conversation with pulmonic ingressive airflow. • In
Ewe and other
languages of Togo, as well as in parts of
Mali and
Cameroon and in the
Hausa language of southern
Niger and northern
Nigeria. • In
Philippine languages such as
Tagalog and more forcefully in
Waray and softer in
Borongan (
Samar Province) or usually spelled in these countries
oo and possibly stronger in
Oras,
Arteche,
Dolores (all in Samar). The sound is almost guttural and the aspirant is inhaled, not exhaled, air. Thus, for an English-speaker exhaling the response, the exhaled sound is not understood by native Samar-speakers. The
American English trouble expression "
uh-oh" does not approximate it. Eastern, Western, and Northern Samar have different accents in the same dialect. == Citations ==