On May 10, 6:20 pm, AF6AY wrote:


Why is the (supposed) laugh on voice expressed as "HI HI."

It is the telegraphic laugh.
"hi hi" is the Morse equivalent of a laugh as in Morse it sounds like
someone chuckling ("hehhehhehheh hehheh"). That is ditditditdit dit
it --- or dot dot dot dot dot dot. You really have to listen to it sent
in Morse to appreciate its laugh like sound. It is most commonly used in CW
(Morse Code), but has carried over to voice as well. Many CW expressions
have carried over to voice -- such as 73 (Best Regards) and 88 (love and
Kisses), etc. The origin probably dates back before radio to the telegraph
days. And since Hams used Morse long before voice became practical-- the
sound of the Morse characters HI HI was used to resemble a laugh sound. In
some sense it is equivalent of a smiley. It's onomatopoeic -- that is the
naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated
with it (as buzz, hiss) The definitive answer might be found in the "Dodge's
The Telegraph Instructor Manual" circa 1850 to 1900..So that is my best
guess -- based on what old time telegraphers have told me.

Another use of HI HI is sending a greeting to a fellow Ham when vehicles
pass -- four short horn beeps followed by two short horn beeps. Since many
Hams have Ham License plates -- a fellow Ham is easily spotted as well as
the seeing the mobile antennas.

Lamont