ecn-pa:scott (12/03/82)
I seems to me that "yep" and "nope" could just be the result of a verbal utterance occurring at the same time as a particular facial expression. (How to describe a facial expression, hmmmm....) When a person is certain about something, a way of indicating that visually is by pressing the lips together slightly while rolling the lips slightly inward. Note also that that is no doubt at all implied by "yep" and "nope". Can you imagine someone expressing a tentative "yes" by saying "yep"? It seems plausible that the final p was added by simply keeping the sound going on the way to a facial confirmation of the verbal utterance. Scott Deerwester Purdue University Libraries
death (12/10/82)
This is getting excessive. Why not open discussion on the evolution of the schwa as an (a) interrogative (b) expletive (c) descriptive (adjective/ adverb) or (d) declarative? uhhhh
dce (12/11/82)
I would guess that the schwa can be used anywhere the speaker wishes to think, or when the details don't need to be repeated. After all, it takes less muscles to make a mid, lax, voiced vowel than any other sound. David