Is there a verb for making (appreciative/agreement/attentive) sounds during conversation? [duplicate]
In the field of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), these language features, present only in spoken discourse, are called "acknowledgement tokens" or "backchannels". From the textbook Language and Power:
Interviewers do not affiliate or disaffiliate with interviewees. They avoid 'acknowledgement tokens' such as 'mmmh', 'uh uh' or 'really', which in ordinary conversation fill pauses and offer 'backchannels'.
In the context of this citation, acknowledgement tokens move conversations along by implying subtle support for the speaker. They lubricate the conversation and avoid awkward pauses, and they mainly comprise the non-word sounds of support you hear. Backchannels are similar and overlap to a degree, and they operate under the pretext that speech functions like an alternating current between speaker and listener. In this function, the listener has the subtle ability to influence the speaker's focus or "channel" by doing things such as audibly announcing consent:
- mm-hhmm
- uh-huh
completing the speaker's sentence:
A: It was just, was just--
B: --Too diificult, I know.
asking for clarification:
- Wai--what?
or adding emphasis:
- "Seriously!"
- "Wow!"
There is no accordant verb for the concept of acknowledgement tokens, but if you said "backchanneled" you would likely be understood by people in the CDA field.
Murmur may be the best catchall for expressing these kinds of "vocal (non-verbal) communication," though it's typically accompanied by a prepositional (of) phrase indicating the type of emotion the murmur is conveying. Just a few examples:
- a murmur of agreement
- a murmur of approval
- a murmur of encouragement
and so on.
When people do this, they make a sound that either falls short of being a verbalization, or the verbalization is so indistinct or quiet that it takes a back seat to the "emotional content" of the sound produced.
Edit: As the OP was requesting a verb, note that murmur works equally well as a verb. For example, you could say:
The listener
- murmured in agreement.
- murmured in approval.
- murmured in encouragement.