The Science Of Yhhuup

Today we're going to talk about the Maritime phenomena of 'yhhuupping' (see today's video for an over the top example). It's when you say a word while inhaling. The word is typically an affirmative like 'yes', 'yup' or 'aye' that is a reaction to something that has been said during a conversation. The question is 'why do we do it'? We don't typically disseminate our words by inhaling, so why do we do it at all? Where did this habit originate?

This might come as a surprise, especially when you consider that there are people starving in this world, but there's a researcher who has looked into the origin of yhhuupping as part of a Master's thesis. Of course they don't call it yhhuupping, they call it the Gaelic Gasp. Gaelic Gasp....isn't that awesome!?!

One of my readership of six (yes, we've gained a reader somehow) sent me a fascinating link to what appears to be a research paper on the topic of inhaling while speaking. It turns out that we Maritimers come by the trait honestly. Our 'people' have been doing it for centuries. We even brought it across the Atlantic with us. Yhhuup.

The article/thesis is called The Gaelic Gasp and Its North American Cousins - A Study Of Ingressive Pulmonic Speech In Scotland. When blog reader Peter T sent me the article yesterday I felt like I had won the lottery. How he stumbled upon this is mind-bending, though I know he found it on Twitter. Twitter? Yhhuup. How odd to think something like this (of such great depth) would appear on Twitter. Twitter...that social media platform that allows little more than 140 character quips and Ellen selfies.

The Gaelic Gasp is an 89 page Master's thesis and I'll confess that I didn't read all of it. I'm usually only good for about 3 pages of anything, though I will often extend my range for articles involving ingressive pulmonic speech (or nudity). Don't you just love that term....ingressive pulmonic speech? If you want to read the thesis, or part of it, then here's the link:

https://www.academia.edu/656901/The_Gaelic_Gasp_and_its_North_Atlantic_Cousins

I wouldn't expect you to read the entire article because you, dear reader, have better things to do. It is, however, an interesting read that takes you from Europe to the Maritimes and Newfoundland. Shockingly, the use of Ingressive Pulmonic Speech is rampant on the island of Vinalhaven (Maine) Who knew? Here's a list of other places where it is common: Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, Iceland, Finland, Greenland, The Faroes, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island, Maine and Prince Edward Island.

Clearly the author of this thesis has never been to New Brunswick or met with any of my mother's friends. Nhhhope.