{"id":7520,"date":"2025-05-12T18:48:18","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T16:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/?p=7520"},"modified":"2025-05-12T18:49:24","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T16:49:24","slug":"why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Why \u201cyeah, mm, and huh?\u201d mean so much to us"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cThe focus of my Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) postdoctoral <\/a><\/strong><\/em>project, called SignBACK<\/strong>, lies on these little conversational cues that are so ubiquitous (and fascinating) in human communication, and more specifically on how and why they occur in signed language interaction,\u201d Lepeut said in a phone call from the Netherlands, where she is on her secondment, a research stay part of the MSCA grant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"POrtrett
Alysson Lepeut is studying sign language versus spoken language at NTNU. Photo: Privat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Signed versus spoken languages<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/strong>I\u2019ve always loved looking at people\u2019s interactions, and what they do with their hands and bodies when they communicate, starting with my own family and group of friends. After finishing my studies in Linguistics, I wrote a PhD proposal to compare what hearing and deaf people do when they interact. Since signed languages are natural, fully fledged languages just like spoken languages are, I wondered what the similarities and differences between the two were. This was the topic of my PhD, where I compared Belgian French and LSFB (French Belgian Sign Language).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perfect for a MSCA Fellowship<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the key goals for any successful conversations is to achieve mutual understanding and build common ground. And \u201cas humans, we provide constant conversational feedback cues such as \u2018yeah\u2019 and \u2018mm mm\u2019, as well as through our bodies like head nods, to the people we are talking to, so we can signal our attention and understanding and address communication problems when they arise. These misunderstandings occur once every 83 seconds on average. Given their essential role in human interaction, this seemed to be a very good topic to use in an application for a MSCA PF Fellowship, which gave me the chance to pursue my research career,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Possible to expand your CV<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This was Lepeut\u2019 second try for a grant after a first attempt in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sign E! Photo: Colorbox<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut I had already done all the work and had received a very good evaluation report from the experts with a seal of excellence. I wanted to apply for it a second time. I like the MSCA scheme because it gives you the opportunity to get the training needed to build your CV, whether in or outside academia. It doesn\u2019t focus too much on the number of publications. That was what also motivated me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her main goal was to become a better researcher, and to be able to keep working closely with her supervisor here in Trondheim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sign A. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd since I like the mountains and outdoors, Trondheim and Norway seemed like a nice place to be. This whole package made me apply.\u201d Lepeut said that participating in the different grant-writing seminars and activities organized by the EU and NTNU are very helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEarly on in the process, I did take part in the seminars that NTNU held for applicants, and I got a lot of good information and big help in the actual process from NTNU.  They proofread my application and gave me the support I needed to submit my application.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Sign T. Photo: Colorbox<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cObtaining a grant as competitive and selective as the MSCA Post-Doctoral Fellowship<\/a> represents an incredible opportunity to keep working on what I love and improve my training skills. Indeed, this MSCA-PF is my first long-term opportunity to conduct research at another institution in Europe. It builds on the expertise I have gained during my previous national and international research experiences,\u201d Lepeut said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never give up<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Her best advice to others is to not give up. \u201cIf you are not accepted the first time, try again and listen to the feedback to write better applications the next time. It is also possible to build on and expand the application for other grants,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alysson Lepeut thinks her research with SignBACK will lead to a better understanding of the social structure of human communication and sociality in an understudied area of linguistics, with new information that can be used across disciplines such as human-computer interactions and clinical research investigating impaired social functioning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alysson Lepeut is examining how we use conversational cues such as \u201cyeah,\u201d and \u201cmm mm\u201d to signal our attention and understanding. But how does this work in conversations using sign language? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":7523,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,3],"tags":[47,1089],"theme":[826,26,647,878],"class_list":["post-7520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-forskning","category-research","tag-faculty-of-humanities","tag-sign-language-2","theme-forskningsformidling","theme-humaniora","theme-humanities","theme-research-communication"],"acf":{"force_single_display":false,"authors":[1553],"external_authors":null},"yoast_head":"\nWhy \u201cyeah, mm, and huh?\u201d mean so much to us - NTNU Nyheter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why \u201cyeah, mm, and huh?\u201d mean so much to us - NTNU Nyheter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Alysson Lepeut is examining how we use conversational cues such as \u201cyeah,\u201d and \u201cmm mm\u201d to signal our attention and understanding. But how does this work in conversations using sign language?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NTNU Nyheter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-12T16:48:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-12T16:49:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/COLOURBOX43709032-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1709\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"annelia@ntnu.no\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"annelia@ntnu.no\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"annelia@ntnu.no\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/91d693484488c376467de7d682cbd01d\"},\"headline\":\"Why \u201cyeah, mm, and huh?\u201d mean so much to us\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-12T16:48:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-12T16:49:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/\"},\"wordCount\":682,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/COLOURBOX43709032-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Faculty of Humanities\",\"sign language\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Forskning\",\"Research\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/\",\"name\":\"Why \u201cyeah, mm, and huh?\u201d mean so much to us - NTNU Nyheter\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/COLOURBOX43709032-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-12T16:48:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-12T16:49:24+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/COLOURBOX43709032-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/COLOURBOX43709032-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1709,\"caption\":\"Woman and man learning sign language\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Hjem\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why \u201cyeah, mm, and huh?\u201d mean so much to us\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/\",\"name\":\"NTNU Nyheter\",\"description\":\"Kunnskap for en bedre verden\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"NTNU Nyheter\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/logo-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/logo-1.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":66,\"caption\":\"NTNU Nyheter\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/91d693484488c376467de7d682cbd01d\",\"name\":\"annelia@ntnu.no\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/author\/anneliantnu-no\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why \u201cyeah, mm, and huh?\u201d mean so much to us - NTNU Nyheter","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why \u201cyeah, mm, and huh?\u201d mean so much to us - NTNU Nyheter","og_description":"Alysson Lepeut is examining how we use conversational cues such as \u201cyeah,\u201d and \u201cmm mm\u201d to signal our attention and understanding. But how does this work in conversations using sign language?","og_url":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/","og_site_name":"NTNU Nyheter","article_published_time":"2025-05-12T16:48:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-12T16:49:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1709,"url":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/COLOURBOX43709032-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"annelia@ntnu.no","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"annelia@ntnu.no","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/"},"author":{"name":"annelia@ntnu.no","@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/91d693484488c376467de7d682cbd01d"},"headline":"Why \u201cyeah, mm, and huh?\u201d mean so much to us","datePublished":"2025-05-12T16:48:18+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-12T16:49:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/"},"wordCount":682,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/COLOURBOX43709032-scaled.jpg","keywords":["Faculty of Humanities","sign language"],"articleSection":["Forskning","Research"],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/","url":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/","name":"Why \u201cyeah, mm, and huh?\u201d mean so much to us - NTNU Nyheter","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/COLOURBOX43709032-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-12T16:48:18+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-12T16:49:24+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/COLOURBOX43709032-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/COLOURBOX43709032-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1709,"caption":"Woman and man learning sign language"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/why-yeah-mm-and-huh-mean-so-much-to-us\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Hjem","item":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why \u201cyeah, mm, and huh?\u201d mean so much to us"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/","name":"NTNU Nyheter","description":"Kunnskap for en bedre verden","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#organization","name":"NTNU Nyheter","url":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/logo-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/logo-1.png","width":512,"height":66,"caption":"NTNU Nyheter"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/91d693484488c376467de7d682cbd01d","name":"annelia@ntnu.no","url":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/author\/anneliantnu-no\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/96"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7520"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7536,"href":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7520\/revisions\/7536"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/person\/1553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7520"},{"taxonomy":"theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyheter.ntnu.no\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/theme?post=7520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}