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A funny #linguistics thing:

We come up with onomatopoeias for sounds we make that often don't line up with the phonology or phonotactics of our languages. After seeing the onomatopoeia repeated enough times in print, we will then performatively pronounce the word in situations where we want to express the same sentiment.

For example, "whew" or "phew" just represents an exhalation through pursed lips, maybe with some vocalization. But we routinely also *say* these words to express relief.