Vocal bursts: The science of oohs and ahhs

When we’re feeling a strong emotion like anger, it more often comes out in the form of an “argh!” sound than a verbal “I am angry!” These sounds are vocal bursts, also called non-word utterances or non-verbal exclamations. It turns out many vocal bursts, like the “mmm” that comes with biting into a delicious cookie or the “ugh” of disgust when someone cuts you off, are universally understood: Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley recently [mapped 24 distinct emotions]( from a study of vocal bursts across cultures. And not only are they easier and more instinctive than saying real words, they can be more nuanced, Mark Wilson writes at Fast Company, “a means to detect the hidden gradient between heady concepts like ‘sympathy’ or ‘love.’” Such a universal language explains why vocal bursts are such a common tool used by musicians and advertisers to play on our emotions. They could also be a useful tool for machine learning, helping AI devices better parse the complexity of human speech—particularly with people whose speech is otherwise limited. Oh, does this sound interesting? Read on. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Sponsored by [Quartz Obsession] Vocal bursts April 01, 2019 Let it go --------------------------------------------------------------- When we’re feeling a strong emotion like anger, it more often comes out in the form of an “argh!” sound than a verbal “I am angry!” These sounds are vocal bursts, also called non-word utterances or non-verbal exclamations. It turns out many vocal bursts, like the “mmm” that comes with biting into a delicious cookie or the “ugh” of disgust when someone cuts you off, are universally understood: Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley recently [mapped 24 distinct emotions]( from a study of vocal bursts across cultures. And not only are they easier and more instinctive than saying real words, they can be more nuanced, Mark Wilson writes at Fast Company, “a means to detect the hidden gradient between heady concepts like ‘sympathy’ or ‘love.’” Such a universal language explains why vocal bursts are such a common tool used by musicians and advertisers to play on our emotions. They could also be a useful tool for machine learning, helping AI devices better parse the complexity of human speech—particularly with people whose speech is otherwise limited. Oh, does this sound interesting? Read on. 🐦 [Tweet this!]( 🌐 [View this email on the web]( Go deeper with Quartz membership --------------------------------------------------------------- 👉Deep analysis of the forces reshaping the global economy, from space travel to big cannabis. 👉Exclusive interviews with the leaders creating the future of business, science, philanthropy, media, and more. 👉Access to our journalists with exclusive member-only conference calls and events. [Start free trial]( By the digits [19%:]( Share of utterances in a database of 1,159 conversations that were [“backchannels,”]( a linguistic term for vocal bursts or words (like mmm-hmm) that signal the speaker to continue [1,130:]( Number of times Homer says “d’oh!” in the first 28 seasons of The Simpsons [12:]( Months of age at which babies typically start to say their first words [31:]( Age that actor Henry Winkler learned he was dyslexic (he developed the catchphrase “aaaay,” made iconic by his character Fonzie on the sitcom Happy Days, to mask his trouble learning lines) [3:]( Weeks Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman” spent at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964 [1678:]( Year that the first known use of ugh is recorded Sponsored by Accenture Decoding Organizational DNA --------------------------------------------------------------- Businesses are waking up to a rich new source of growth: vast amounts of data on work and the workforce that have the power to unlock the true potential of their people. This new data can unleash higher levels of business...[Learn more.]( Giphy Explain it like I’m 5! The universal language of vocal bursts --------------------------------------------------------------- In their study of the emotions behind vocal bursts, a team of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley started with recordings of 2,032 non-verbal utterances from 56 people in the US, Singapore, India, and Kenya. They then tasked over 1,000 adults with identifying the feeling behind the sounds. Based on the respondents’ answers, the researchers were able to group together the vocal burst samples into 24 distinct emotions, from awe to disappointment to surprise. To further test the findings, the researchers took audio samples from YouTube clips with non-verbal exclamations representing each of the 24 emotions. A group of 88 adults were asked to name the emotions from the clips, which matched up with the expected categories. “These results show that emotional expressions color our social interactions with spirited declarations of our inner feelings that are difficult to fake, and that our friends, co-workers, and loved ones rely on to decipher our true commitments,” [said study lead author Alan Cowen]( a PhD student in psychology at UC Berkeley. The findings might be able to teach programs like Siri and Alexa to better understand the sentiment behind our commands, or help doctors working with those with conditions like dementia and autism who have a hard time making sense of emotional cues. The researchers took all the vocal burst recordings and programmed them into an [interactive map]( grouped by emotion—you can take a listen and see if you agree with the categorizations (or just amuse yourself scrolling over the cascade of “ahhs”). Giphy Pop quiz Which of these is not one of the 24 emotions researchers recently determined can be identified from vocal bursts? PainElationAngstSympathy Correct. Although we’d argue the disgusted sigh is a universal indicator of teenage angst. Incorrect. If your inbox doesn’t support this quiz, find the solution at bottom of email. Reuters/Danielle Parhizkaran Million-dollar question Why is the vocal burst so powerful? --------------------------------------------------------------- Not only do vocal bursts and other nonverbal sounds convey emotions, they’re actually better at doing so than words. It takes just [one-tenth of a second]( for the brain to recognize the emotion behind a vocalization like laughter or a growl, according to researchers at McGill University. A separate study by the Yale School of Management showed people are [better at detecting others’ emotions]( from just hearing their voice than seeing their face or even seeing and hearing the speaker. Put another way, we’re more empathetic when talking to someone on the phone than in person. As if we needed more proof that video conferencing was a waste of time. Have a friend who would enjoy our Obsession with Vocal bursts? [ [Forward link to a friend](mailto:?subject=Thought you'd enjoy.&body=Read this Quartz Obsession email – to the email – Charted[atlas_r1o_xCidN@2x] This is going to hurt Speaking of pain --------------------------------------------------------------- Just because we can universally recognize when someone is in pain by a non-verbal utterance doesn’t mean [we’re all saying the same thing](. Below is a sampling of the different ways to express “ouch!” around the world: - Afrikaans: [eina]( - Arabic: [ay]( - Chinese (Mandarin): [aiyo]( - French: [aïe]( - Hindi: [uuii]( - Japanese: [itai]( - Korean: [aya]( - Russian: [oi]( - Spanish: [ay]( - Tagalog: [aray]( Playlist Once more with feeling --------------------------------------------------------------- From Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman” to The Beatles’ “Oh! Darling” to Ciara’s “Oh,” vocal bursts—particularly the ohs and oohs of desire and longing—are often used in music (it also helps that they’re easy to sing). [Click here for a Spotify playlist.]( Fun fact! The world’s only universal word treads the line between word and vocal burst. A [study]( of 31 languages across five continents found that “huh”—as an expression of confusion—was the only word they had in common. Giphy Noodle on this “M’m! M’m! Good!”: Campbell’s most enduring slogan --------------------------------------------------------------- Though the Campbell Soup Company launched its [first advertising campaign]( in 1895, it was the new medium of radio in the 1930s that allowed the company and its red-and-white soup cans to reach a whole new level of recognition in the form of a [catchy radio jingle]( M’m! M’m! Good! M’m! M’m! Good! That’s what Campbell’s Soups are M’m! M’m! Good! The Advertising Age Encyclopedia of Advertising notes it was “a national catch phrase by the end of the decade.” That could be because Campbell’s went all in on the medium: In 1934 its [network radio budget]( was $205,000, but that ballooned to $2.7 million by 1939. The company sponsored early radio favorites like Amos ‘n’ Andy and purchased Orson Welles’ Mercury Theater on Air (rebranded as The Campbell Playhouse) three weeks after the actor’s infamous “War of the Worlds” broadcast. “M’m! M’m! Good!” would later make the jump to [television]( in the 1950s. Campbell’s has tried other slogans over the years—including forgettable/cringeworthy lines like “[We Have a Soup for That]( and “[Never Underestimate the Power of Soup]( has never been able to recreate the magic of its first hit. The company’s [current ads]( are back to using the “M’m! M’m! Good!” tagline. Quotable “The first h-sound is simply a substitute for breath, and the second m-sound, since the mouth is closed, is symbolic of the fact that we’re not quite sure what to say.” —[Linguist Anatoly Liberman on the vocal burst hmmm]( “I remember thinking when Elvis did ‘All Shook Up’ that it was the first time in my life that I heard ‘uh huh’ and ‘oh yeah’ and ‘yeah yeah’ all sung in the same song.” —[John Lennon]( Watch this! Pepper, [“the emotional robot,”]( was designed to pick up on and mimic human emotions through conversation. In this interview with Business Insider, she can be heard letting loose a wistful vocal burst (check it out at around 1:15). Jargon watch What's a walla group? --------------------------------------------------------------- When a director needs just the right sound of background conversation for a scene, one option is a [“walla group.”]( It’s so named because early radio producers used actors saying “walla, walla, walla”—a vocal burst without meaning meant to serve as a sonic backdrop. The term stuck, but the concept has moved [way beyond just murmuring nonsense]( with attention to [accent, region, ethnicity, and other dynamics](. Take me down this 🐰 hole! In January, Lilian Min wrote about the very online [yee haw trend of 2018](. (But if you’re a cowboy—or a horse—“yee haw” is less a vocal burst than [specific instructions]( Giphy Poll Do you show your emotions using vocal bursts? [Click here to vote]( Ohh, so that’s what those noises I make are called.I’m a human. I use words.I prefer emojis. 💬let's talk! In Friday’s poll about [kludges]( 45% of you said you use them because “life is a kludge.” 📧 Tom writes: “Not sure I would call the MCAS fix a ‘kludge.’ Scanning only [one angle of attack sensor]( (when two are available) to operate a system that directly operates the control surface of an aircraft is pure negligence from a software (and safety) perspective. From a technical perspective it is equally baffling.” 🤔 [What did you think of today’s email?](mailto:obsession%2Bfeedback@qz.com?cc=&subject=Thoughts%20about%20vocal%20bursts&body=) 💡 [What should we obsess over next?](mailto:obsession%2Bideas@qz.com?cc=&subject=Obsess%20over%20this%20next.&body=) 🎲 [Show me a random Obsession]( Today’s email was written by [Liz Webber]( edited by [Whet Moser]( and produced by [Luiz Romero](. The correct answer to the quiz is Angst. Enjoying the Quartz Obsession? [Send this link]( to a friend! 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