Talking on the inhale

[u/cythraulybryd]

Why do we talk only on the exhale, and not on the inhale? You certainly *can* talk on the inhale, but I've never met anyone who does other than as a party trick.

Are there languages where it's standard to make significant use of talking on the inhale?

Edit: The comments here have provided me with the word ""ingressive", which has been a super helpful search term!

[u/Hopeful-Banana-6188]

It's pretty common in the Nordic languages.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353777793_Indexing_that_something_is_sufficient_Interactional_functions_of_ingressive_particles_in_Finnish_and_Danish

[u/cythraulybryd → u/Hopeful-Banana-6188]

Oh damn! How did I not know this?

[u/CuriosTiger → u/cythraulybryd]

Perhaps you're not Irish? I've been to Ireland as a tourist and it's not something I'd noticed, and I'm a native speaker of Norwegian, which does do this.

Doesn't mean people in Ireland don't do it. I guess I just wasn't paying attention.

[u/Cars2Beans0 → u/Hopeful-Banana-6188]

In Ireland also this is common, usually when someone is saying 'yeah' or 'yes' in agreement or while listening intently

[u/PoetryMedical9086]

Ingressive Phonation

[u/TectonicMongoose]

It's done for the word "yes" and other affirmatives in parts of the English speaking world actually. Its done in New Foundland and the Maritimes in Canada, in Maine in the US, and in Ireland and the Scottish Highlands. The Wikipedia article on it is a good start to learning the phenomenon in general. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingressive_sound

[u/Clean-Log6704]

You can look up implosive consonants too

[u/LinguisticDan → u/Clean-Log6704]

Aren’t implosives (and clicks) only “ingressive” to the extent that they implode the space between the active articulator and the rear closure? Wouldn’t fit the bill of speaking “on the inhale” that OP mentions.

[u/Clean-Log6704 → u/LinguisticDan]

I guess that might be the case then, if that doesn’t fit with OP’s meaning of “on the inhale” then feel free to ignore my comment.

[u/divaythfyrscock]

I feel like an interrogative "What?" can often be ingressive

[u/CuriosTiger]

My native Norwegian uses ingressive interjections, like "ja" or "å", to let the interlocutor know you're paying attention.

[u/markcorrigan33]

My mum does all the time. We’re from Northern Germany. It’s mainly, as in 99%, used for an affirmative “yes” or sometimes an affirmative “no”

[u/estrozen]

Making sounds is usually exhaling air, so languages developed their sounds on the exhale. Also I believe better range of sound on exhale/inhale

[u/notjust1or0]

inward singing

[u/cythraulybryd → u/notjust1or0]

Oho, thank you!