Hey everyone, Dana here!
Can you hand me the paper towels, please? Thank you.
Uh-huh.
What’s up with her?
It’s not like that, I promise! Please let me just explain.
What you saw in that clip is a common thing in the U.S., and it never even crossed my
mind that it could be thought of as rude until I had already been living here in Germany
for 5 years, doing it all the time, when finally someone called me out on it.
At first I actually had no idea what the person was talking about because it’s just such
a normal, natural thing for me to do, but the next time that I did it, I noticed it
and then I immediately began replaying in my head all of the millions of times that I had
done it here in Germany and probably ended up coming across as arrogant or aloof or annoyed
at having been asked to do the favor for that person.
And I felt bad about that because actually, the truth is, that that couldn’t be further
from how it actually is.
The uh-huh is actually used to convey the exact opposite of all of that bad stuff.
So, I can’t go back and find all those many Germans who I may have confused or even insulted,
but I can explain it to everyone now and who knows, maybe with a little luck, they’ll
even see this video too!
Let’s have a look at that scene in the kitchen again.
Mr. German Man asked me if I could do him a favor.
Can you hand me the paper towels, please?
And I went ahead and did it.
He then proceeded to thank me.
Thank you.
Now, was this a big favor I had just done for him?
Had it caused me a great deal of strife and time? No.
It was a tiny little thing. No big deal at all.
And my response is meant to convey that.
Thank you. - Uh-huh
The uh-huh is used to get across that what was done for the other person was so small
and so not a big deal, that you don’t even feel comfortable responding to the person’s
thank you by saying you’re welcome because by saying you’re welcome it’s almost like
you're somehow then validating that they did in fact need to thank you in the first place.
You’re trying to show that the thing you did for them was something you so totally
did not mind doing at all, that a thank you was not even necessary.
So you can’t validate it with a you’re welcome.
Because there was really no thank you needed at all.
So I would say the uh-huh in this case could also be replaced by no problem.
Can you hand me the paper towels, please?
Thank you. - No problem.
So my question for you is: Have you ever heard the uh-huh like his before?
And what little vocal sounds do you often make.
Do you best to describe what it sounds like.
Please let me know in the comments below.
Thanks so much for watching. I really hope that you enjoyed this video.
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videos possible.
Thank you so much for your support.
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Until next time, auf Wiedersehen!
The uh-huh is used to get across that it was done for...that what was done.
It's a common thing in the, okay.
What you saw in that clip, okay.
Thank you.
Can you hand me the...bla bla bla.