That sound you made at primary school if someone broke a rule

[TheFirstOHN]

When I was at primary school, if someone broke a rule or did something deliberately naughty, we would make an ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm! sound, with the inflection rising then falling.

My husband (who comes from the West Country) says his peers used the same inflection, but with an 'ah' at the end: ummmmmmmmmmmmah! A friend once told me that where she came from (Northern England), it was a similar inflection, but the sound was ooooooooooooooh!

I've asked my teenage children about this, and none of them have any idea what I'm talking about. Was it just a 1980s thing? Does anyone here remember children doing this? If so, what sound, what part of the world and which decade?

If there are any linguistics experts on here, I'd love to know if this exclamation has a name or if anything has been published about it online.

Ooheeooheeooheee in central Scotland

I regularly work with a lot of young children on Arts Projects (maybe around 300 - 500 per year?) and the Ommmmmmm has been replaced by the individual’s name with the inflection, often followed by “I’m tehhhhhllllinnnn”

So

“EeeeeeeEeeviiiiiiieeeee, I’m teeeehhhhhlllliiiinnnn”

Or

“GeeeOOOOORRRgggggge, that’s naaaawwwwwwtieeee”

Fascinating topic 😂.

Ours was more of an “oooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr” usually followed by “miiiiisssssssssss!”

Ommmmmmmm am telling !!!

Dc still say that round here too

We used to say chinny and itchy beard to refer to someone lying aswell

IMissGin (and central Scotland) wins Most Changes of Vowel Sound

We did ummmmmm. I remember when my eldest was in reception he did something naughty and I went ummmmmm and his little face was so shocked as he looked at me like 'you do that too?!?' I am fascinated by how these things are passed down in the playground.

It was Uuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmm! I’m telling on you! in London in the 70s.
And also Jimmy Hill, though that may have been a bit later.

I read a book years ago called "The Lore And Language Of Schoolchildren" that compared all the regional variations of sayings, rhymes, jokes etc. I recommend it, it's fascinating.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo but up and down and accompanied by pointing

Mid 1970's in Ireland. We must have been a savage bunch!

clumsyduck I'm relieved to hear it hasn't completely died out.

ShadyLady53 I've also heard the name used, but with a slightly different intonation (ending on a lift).

ummmmmmmmmmmmaaaaahhhh! in SE Australia in the ‘70s too

Haven’t thought of that in years.

I can only imagine that the sound Ooooooohhh, Errrrrrmmmm, Ommmmm was related to the local schwah sound.

The schwah is the utterance you make when you are struggling to find a word or “thinking” and it’s different across the regions of the UK (and across the world actually). So in Liverpool the Schwah sound is a high bright “Irm”, in Berkshire it’s a plummier sounding “Umm”. Some Scot’s relatives (Fife) all use “Ey” with an upward inflection like a question.

That’s my theory anyway. Some linguistics, dialects and phonetics were part of my MA studies so not really an expert but some knowledge.

Our first one from outside the UK!

North east. Ours was more of an Aaaaammmmmmmm iiimmmmmm teeelllllliiiiinnnnn with the A exaggerated :)

It was aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh in Sheffield.

clumsyduck, exactly the same- "ommmmmm am telling" Are you for Nottingham by any chance?...

Ours was 'aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr' with the rising and lowering inflection (if that makes sense? I'm no linguist) - from nottingham

It was 'aaaaahhhhhh' and usually followed by 'Oi'm telling on yow' (Black Country!)

Ummmmmm in SW Wales in the mid 90s too! Also accompanied by "tellin'!" Or the rhyme
"I'm tellin' on you,
You dirty kangaroo!
Flush your head down the toilet at half-past two!"
This was in infant school (nursery-Y2). Died out when we went to the junior school.

@Greensleeves
I grew up in Stoke and it was Aaaaaaaaaaaaah, with a long up-and-down sound.

This ^^^

But if someone dropped a tray it would be "waaaaaaaaaaay" usually accompanied by some clapping.

NE here and I think we had the ah at the end.

Did anyone else screech “Aggy aggy bum rash!” as a teasing sort of thing? If something unfortunate happened to a friend that’s what we would shout. Also if a boy fell over we would chant “She fell over! She fell over!”

Last one, anyone else say “Aayaz” when they hurt themselves?!

Aaaaooommmmm! South Nottinghamshire here!

We also said, 'Chinny-reckon!' while rubbing our chins when someone wasn't telling the truth, as well, as 'Jimmy Hill!'

If someone had thrown a strop we used to say they had a 'monk on'

I remember ummmmm and "chinny reckon" (stroking chin) to indicate someone bull shitting.

Oooooo! You'll get wrong for that! I'm telling on you! NE England, 80s.