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   clacke (clacke@libranet.de)'s status on Friday, 21-Aug-2026 18:02:04 JST clacke

   I have a Swedish "mm" that means "yes" or "go on", but when I instinctively use it speaking English, people tend to interpret it as a "hmm?", like "sorry, what was that, I was thinking of Ancient Rome", basically the opposite of what it's supposed to signal.

   Over the years, I have tried to get rid of it or, failing that, modify it to sound more affirmative, but to this day, I still have it, and it's still causing confusion.

   If it sounds more like a Japanese "un", native English speakers and Cantonese English speakers read it correctly. I can do it with effort, but unless I catch myself, that's not how it comes out.

   Basically, the Swedish rising tone "mm" sounds like a distracted question mark to people, but a falling tone "un" sounds like an affirmative full stop.

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     BenjaminK (benjaminklein@mastodon.nu)'s status on Friday, 21-Aug-2026 22:06:54 JST BenjaminK

     in reply to

     @clacke being in Sweden I've learnt to interpret this as yes, now when I'm among native English speakers and they mean hmm, I wonder if I'm taking that as yes...

     clacke likes this.