Wife: How much do you love me?
Husband: I love you so much. My love for you can’t be measured.
Wife: No just tell me…
Husband: Okay, Let me tell you how much I love you. I’m like this cell phone and you are my SIM card. I’m nothing without you.
Wife: Wow! You’re great. Glad to be your wife.
Husband (to himself): Thank God, she doesn’t know this is a cell phone with four SIM cards.
The term ‘wow’ in the joke above is used by the wife to express her surprise, wonder or pleasure. When we are very pleased or surprised, we use the expression ‘wow’. Exclamations such as ah, aha, alas, oh, hey, uh, ouch and wow are called interjections.
The literary meaning of the term ‘interjection’ is “something thrown in between”. Most interjections stand apart from normal sentences and they are used mainly in informal conversations or spoken English. As written English is becoming more informal and colloquial these days, it is important to learn the meanings of interjections and how they are used in conversations.
According to the authors of the Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English (1999), “If we are to describe spoken language adequately, we need to pay more attention to (interjections) than has traditionally been done.”
How is ‘wow’ pronounced? It rhymes with these words: bow, how, now, and vow. Here are some examples:
• Wow! Is Sangeetha your student? She is the university topper.
• Wow! Is it your painting? It is wonderful.
• Wow! He’s such a nice guy, isn’t he?
Here are the alternatives of the term ‘wow’: Amazing! Stunning! Astounding! Awesome! Incredible! Fantastic! Whoa!
The exclamation ‘ah’ or ‘aah’ is used to express understanding, pleasure, pain, surprise or the fact that you have noticed something.
• Aah, that is wonderful! (expressing pleasure)
• Ah, now I understand. (expressing understanding)
• Ah, Gautam Gambhir is back in the Indian squad for the Test series against England! (expressing surprise)
The exclamation ‘aha’ is used when we suddenly understand or find something.
• Aha! I know the answer to the question.
• Aha! I know where I kept the key.
The exclamation ‘ouch’ is used to express sudden physical pain. It is also used humourously in answer to something unkind that someone says:
• Ouch! It is unbearable.
• Wife: Don’t I look pretty in this dress?
Husband: Darling, you are too fat and look like a potato.
Wife: Ouch, that’s an unfair comment.
The expression ‘hey’ is used as a way of attracting someone’s attention, or expressing joy and surprise, as in the examples below:
• Hey! Look at this girl!
• Hey! What are you doing with my laptop?
• Hey! That’s a good suggestion!
• Hey! I like the joke!
Interjections are not mere sounds or unimportant words. Interjections are useful tools for creating life in chats, conversations and dialogues. As more and more people use social media such as Facebook to chat these days, it is important to master the use of these expressions of emotions to sound natural.
— rayanal@yahoo.co.uk