| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| huh-uh, oh-oh, uh-huh, uh-oh, uh-uh |
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| These imitative spellings are used in the effort to recreate some sounds of speech. Huh-uh and uh-uh often go with a shake of the head and are conventional representations of the two-syllable negative: Time to go? Huh-uh [uh-uh]. Uh-huh, often with a nod of the head, is the conventional representation of the two-syllable affirmative: Time to go? Uh-huh. Uh-oh and oh-oh are moderate equivalents of oops!, expressions of surprise, especially unpleasant surprise. In speech, the vowels in all these locutions are often somewhat nasalized. | 1 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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