In Ireland you'll find that some folks have an odd habit of gasping in mid-conversation. A Texan who lived in Dublin for years says he found this speech trait disconcerting. The hosts explain that this "pulmonic ingressive" is heard other places around the world. More about ingressives here, including examples in audio clips from Sweden and Scotland. This is part of a complete episode.
Here's a video of artist Ursus Wehrli, author of Tidying Up Art.
Not only is the video entertaining from an artistic perspective (he disassembles modern art and reorganizes it), but it is also a great example of the pulmonic ingressive discussed on last weeks show!
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ursus_wehrli_tidies_up_art.html
My gracious, that's distracting! He's funny, but gosh. I can't figure out if that's the same kind of thing or not. I mean, he reminds me of someone I know who talks like that but only because he has one lung and still smokes a pipe.
It would be useful to hear this guy speak in everyday conversation as opposed to a performance, I think.
Thanks for posting this, nately!