Subject:  woo-hoo or whoo-hoo? |
Author:
schlida
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Date Posted: 15:29:48 04/11/04 Sun
I first consciously encountered "whoo-hoo"/"woo-hoo" as an expression coming from a live (albeit internet-transmitted) human being late last year. Then, early this year, I came across the following article. Knowing the interest in PC-ness on this site, I thot I would share:
From _Skiing_, February 2004, page 37:
"Why do skiers shout "whoo-hoo" when shredding a powder field?" by Dr. Flake, MD, PhD, SWM, & Part-time Answer Man.
"Skiers, linguists, and political-correctness consultants have given much thought to this issue. They decided, after years of data gathering, that "yee-haw!" sounded too offensive, with its superior-species-herding-inferior-bovines overtones. They found "yo-da-lay-hee-hoo" -- or any other exclamations derived from the common yodel -- a bit too Eurotwerpy, and hence unsuitable for use among red-blooded Yanks. Thus it was settled: "Whoo-hoo!" Academics, in particular, cite the phrase's ease for people of all tongues, with the exception of Germans, who usually botch it and shout "Voo-hoo," which sometimes comes out like "Boo-hoo." But the expression isn't exclusive to skiing. For proof, Dr. Flake notes that Homer Simpson frequently uses "Whoo-hoo" as an antonym to his more famous "D'oh!" Similarly, Flake refers to the previous decade, when Tag Team's "Whoomp! There it is" and DJ Pooh's "Whoop Whoop!" battled it out for sorority-girl hip-hop supremacy-- two moments in music history that call for anything but a "Whoo-hoo!"
It is time to go riding!!
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