Hey (interjection)

Look up hey in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Hey is an interjection usually used in the English language as a summonsing or attention-getting device.[1] It is usually marked with an exclamation point.[2] It is also one example of an interjection that speakers may use to express surprise.[3] Some, such as the American grammarian Goold Brown, have suggested that the interjection "Hey" could be a corruption of the adjective "Sigh".[4]

It is also used as an informal greeting, similar to hi.

References

  1. ↑ Gisle Andersen, Karin Aijmer Pragmatics of Society 2011 - Page 262 "The interjection hey is basically a summonsing or attention getting device. Oh is fairly well described already as a marker within the information framework of discourse (see Heritage 1984 and Schiffrin 1987), and several others, namely huh, ..."
  2. ↑ Jodene Smith How to Punctuate: Grades 1-3 1999 - Page 11 "Use an exclamation point after an interjection. Hey! Yikes! Look out! Did you know that these types of words are a part of speech called interjections? An interjection shows a strong emotion and usually ends with an exclamation point."
  3. ↑ Katie Marsico - Interjections -2013 1624312500 Page 8 "The word hey is one example of an interjection that speakers use to express surprise. So are terms such as ah, whoa, wow, gosh, and oh. “Yikes!"
  4. ↑ Goold Brown, Samuel U. Berrian The Grammar of English Grammars 1851 Page 1059 "The Interjection Hey is probably a corruption of the adjective Sigh"
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/23/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.