So, when did it become acceptable for people to say "huh?" instead of "pardon?", "sorry", "excuse me?", "I didn't catch that?", or any one of a whole host of different polite options available to express poor hearimg or understanding?
Actually, I'm not sure if it's spelled "huh? It's usually more of a percussive "ah?" Or maybe a grunt-like "unhh?"
I suppose it might be a contraction of "what?" - which is bad enough! - although there also seem to be equivalents of it in most immigrant languages. In fact, maybe that's where the trend came from... But there are perfectly good options available in all other languages that I am aware of, without havimg to resort to grunting.
Yes, I know I'm just a curmudgeonly old fart. I'm quite aware of that. But am I the only person left in North America that still says "pardon?"
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