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English is weird
Morituri:
Hmm. All of those suggestions seem to me to denote things which are distinctly different - but perhaps I'm drawing distinctions that most don't.
oddtail:
I'd call the latter an annoyed grunt. I don't think there's a word for something this narrow and specific, at least I can think of none.
Tova:
--- Quote from: Morituri on 11 Feb 2019, 08:00 ---
There's a little noise people make when they're startled and alarmed and I don't know what it's called. If it were fully voiced, it would be a "Yelp," and a whole lot louder. But it's a sharp exhalation, usually partly voiced, often accompanied with a physical startle response like recoiling or jumping back from something. I'm sure everybody's heard this vocalization at least a few times, even if they personally haven't made it themselves. What the heck is it called? A "reverse gasp", in that someone is exhaling rather than inhaling? A "stifled yelp," in that it's not deliberately or fully voiced?
What is a name for it that I can write down and have people understand what happened without further explaining it?
--- End quote ---
The only thing I can think of is a "start." Although strictly, that refers to the physical involuntary movement rather than the sound. But I think of one as produced by the other.
pwhodges:
I have seen the phrase "an audible start", which might work for some.
Morituri:
I think a "start" might actually be the right way to say that. You'd have to qualify it with "audible", or just refer to it as a sound in some other way (somebody heard it, etc) - by default it does refer to the physical action, but if you're talking about the sound of a start ... well, it's that sound.
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