Filler (linguistics)

In linguistics, a filler is a sound or word that is spoken in conversation by one participant to signal to others a pause to think without giving the impression of having finished speaking.[1] These are not to be confused with placeholder names, such as thingamajig, whatchamacallit, whosawhatsa and whats'isface, which refer to objects or people whose names are temporarily forgotten, irrelevant, or unknown. Fillers fall into the category of formulaic language, and different languages have different characteristic filler sounds. The term filler also has a separate use in the syntactic description of wh-movement constructions.

In English

In English, the most common filler sounds are ah or uh /ʌ/, er /ɜː/, and um /ʌm/.[2] Among younger speakers, the fillers "like",[3] "you know", "I mean", "okay", "so", "actually", "basically", and "right" are among the more prevalent. The use of the Valleyspeak word "like" as a discourse marker or vocalized pause is a particularly prominent example of the "Californianization of American youth-speak,"[4] and its further recent spread throughout other English dialects via the mass-media.

Since the advent of computers, especially streaming video, there has been comparison of filler words to "Buffer words." Buffering, the pause that is experienced while information is retrieved and/or compiled for presentation as a whole, does closely model the cognitive process that accompanies most filler word usage. Similarly, as the increased frequency or duration of buffering in computers indicates data processing deficiencies in a device,the overuse or dependency upon buffering in speech indicate possible cognitive impairment from lack of information, preparation, regard, or confidence, etc. However, in many cases, buffer words, particularly "like,' "you know," and their ilk, have become parlance in casual conversation, suggesting an imprecise statement that invites the listener to "fill in the gaps" and either acknowledge, confirm, or amend the statement, thus completing the transaction. Still, sometimes excessive buffering is just a bad habit that has gone uncorrected and, like all bad habits, increases in frequency and scope through repetition.

Filler words in different languages

  • In Afrikaans, ah, um, and uh are common fillers (um, and uh being in common with English).
  • In American Sign Language, UM can be signed with open-8 held at chin, palm in, eyebrows down (similar to FAVORITE); or bilateral symmetric bent-V, palm out, repeated axial rotation of wrist (similar to QUOTE).
  • In Arabic, يعني yaʿni ("means") and وﷲ wallāh(i) ("by God") are common fillers. In Moroccan Arabic, زعمة z3ma ("like") is a common filler ewa (so) is also a common Moroccan filler.[5][6][7]
  • In Assyrian, yeni ("I mean"), aya, mindy or hina ("thingy" and "uh"), akh ("like") and kheena ("well") are common fillers.
  • In Bengali, মানে (mane: "it means","I mean","that is") and thuri ("..er..that is") are common fillers.
  • In Bislama, ah is the common filler.
  • In Bulgarian, common fillers are ъ (uh), амии (amii, 'well'), тъй (tui, 'so'), така (taka, 'thus'), добре (dobre, 'well'), такова (takova, 'this') and значи (znachi, 'it means'), нали (nali, 'right').
  • In Cantonese, speakers often say 即係 zik1 hai6 ("that is"/"meaning") as a filler.
  • In Catalan, eh /ə/, doncs ("so"), llavors ("therefore"), o sigui ("it means") and diguem-ne ("say") are common fillers.
  • In Chinese, 这个; 這個; zhège; ze2 go3; "this", 那个; 那個; nàge; naa5 go3; "that" and prolonged 嗯; en (in common with "um" in English).
  • In Croatian, the words ovaj (literally "this one", but the meaning is lost) and dakle ("so"), and znači ("meaning", "it means") are frequent.
  • In Czech, fillers are called slovní vata, meaning "word cotton/padding", or parasitické výrazy, meaning "parasitic expressions". The most frequent fillers are čili, tak or takže ("so"), prostě ("simply"), jako ("like").
  • In Danish, øh is one of the most common fillers.
  • In Dutch, ehm, and dus ("thus") are some of the more common fillers. Also eigenlijk ("actually"), zo ("so"), nou ("well") and zeg maar ("so to say") in Netherlandic Dutch, allez ("come on") or (a)wel ("well") in Belgian Dutch, weet je? ("you know?") etc.
  • In Esperanto, do ("therefore") is the most common filler.
  • In Estonian, nii ("so") is one of the most common fillers.
  • In Filipino, ah, eh, ay, and ano ("what"), kuwan, ganun ("something like that"), parang ("like"), Lam mo yan, teh! ("You know, sistah!") are the most common fillers.
  • In Finnish, niinku ("like"), tuota, and öö are the most common fillers. Swearing is also used as a filler often, especially among youth. The most common swear word for that is vittu, which is a word for female genitalia.
  • In French, euh /ø/ is most common; other words used as fillers include quoi ("what"), bah, ben ("well"), tu vois ("you see"), t'vois c'que j'veux dire? ("you see what I mean?"), tu sais, t'sais ("you know"), eh bien (roughly "well", as in "Well, I'm not sure"), and du coup (roughly "suddenly"). Outside France other expressions are t'sais veux dire? ("ya know what I mean?"; Québec), or allez une fois ("go one time"; especially in Brussels, not in Wallonia). Additional filler words used by youngsters include genre ("kind"), comme ("like"), and style ("style"; "kind").
  • In German, traditional filler words include äh /ɛː/, hm, so /zoː/, tja, halt, and eigentlich ("actually"). So-called modal particles share some of the features of filler words, but they actually modify the sentence meaning.
  • In Greek, ε (e), εμ (em), λοιπόν (lipon, "so") and καλά (kala, "good") are common fillers.
  • In Hebrew, אֶה (eh) is the most common filler. אֶם (em) is also quite common. Millennials and the younger Generation X speakers commonly use כאילו (ke'ilu, the Hebrew version of "like"). Additional filler words include זתומרת (zt'omeret, short for זאת אומרת zot omeret "that means"), אז (az, "so") and בקיצור (bekitsur, "in short"). Use of fillers of Arabic origin such as יענו (yaʿanu, a mispronunciation of the Arabic يعني, yaʿani) is also common.
  • In Hindi, मतलब (matlab, "it means"), क्या कहते हैं (kya kehte hain, "what do you say"), वो ना (woh na, "that") and ऐसा है। (aisā hai, "what it is") are some word fillers. Sound fillers include हूँ (hoon, [ɧuːm̩]), आ (aa, [äː]).
  • In Hungarian, filler sound is ő, common filler words include hát, nos (well...) and asszongya (a variant of azt mondja, which means "it says here..."). Among intellectuals, ha úgy tetszik (if you like) is used as filler.
  • In Icelandic, a common filler is hérna ("here"). Þúst, a contraction of þú veist ("you know"), is popular among younger speakers.
  • In Indonesian, anu is one of the most common fillers.
  • In Irish Gaelic, abair /ˈabˠəɾʲ/ ("say"), bhoil /wɛlʲ/ ("well"), and era /ˈɛɾˠə/ are common fillers, along with emm as in Hiberno-English. This accent tends to have the most fillers as Irish people tend to use the word like as well.
  • In Italian, common fillers include ehm ("um", "uh"), allora ("well then", "so"), tipo ("like"), ecco ("there"), cioè ("actually", "that is to say", "rather"), and beh ("well", "so"; most likely a shortening of bene or ebbene, which are themselves often used as filler words).
  • In Japanese, common fillers include ええと (e-, eto, or "um"), あの (ano, literally "that over there", used as "um"), ま (ma, or "well"), そう (so-, used as "hmmm"), and ええ (e-e, a surprise reaction, with tone and duration indicating positive/negative).
  • In Kannada, matte for "also", enappa andre for "the matter is" are common fillers.
  • In Korean, 응 (eung), 어 (eo), 그 (geu), and 음 (eum) are commonly used as fillers.
  • In Kyrgyz, анан (anan, "then", "so"), баягы (bayağı, "that"), жанагы (janağı, "that"), ушуреки (uşureki, "this"), эме (eme, "um"), are common fillers.
  • In Lithuanian, nu, am, žinai ("you know"), ta prasme ("meaning"), tipo ("like") are some of common fillers.
  • In Malayalam, അതായതു (athayathu, "that means...") and ennu vechaal ("then...") are common.
  • In Maltese and Maltese English, mela ("then"), or just la, is a common filler.
  • In Mandarin Chinese, speakers often say 这个; 這個; zhège/zhèige; "this" or 那个; 那個; nàge/nèige; "that". Other common fillers are 就; jiù; "just" and 好像; hǎoxiàng; "as if/kind of like".
  • In Nepali, माने (maane, "meaning"), चैने (chaine), चैं (chai), हैन (haina, "No?") are commonly used as fillers.
  • In Norwegian, common fillers are øh, altså, på en måte ("in a way"), bare ("just") ikke sant (literally "not true?", meaning "don't you agree?", "right?", "no kidding" or "exactly"), vel ("well"), and liksom ("like"). In Bergen, sant ("true") is often used instead of ikke sant. In the Trøndelag region, skjø (comes from skjønner which means "see(?)" or "understand?") is also a common filler.
  • In Persian, ببین (bebin, "you see"), چیز (chiz, "thing"), and مثلا (masalan, "for instance") are commonly used filler words. As well as in Arabic and Urdu, يعني (yaʿni, "I mean") is also used in Persian. Also, اه eh is a common filler in Persian.
  • In Portuguese, é, hum, então ("so"), tipo ("like") and bem ("well") are the most common fillers.
  • In Polish, the most common filler sound is yyy /ɨ/ and also eee /ɛ/ (both like English um) and while common its use is frowned upon. Other examples include, no /nɔ/ (like English well), wiesz /vjeʂ/ ("you know").
  • In Punjabi, مطلب‎ (मतलब, mat̤lab, "it means") is a common filler.
  • In Romanian, deci /detʃʲ/ ("therefore") is common, especially in school, and ă /ə/ is also very common (can be lengthened according to the pause in speech, rendered in writing as ăăă), whereas păi /pəj/ is widely used by almost anyone. A modern filler has gained popularity among the youths – gen /dʒɛn/, analogous to the English "like", literally translated as "type".
  • In Russian, fillers are called слова-паразиты (slova-parazity, "parasite words"); the most common are э-э (è-è, "eh"), вот (vot, "here it is"), это (èto, "this"), того (togo, "that kind, sort of"), (ну) такое ((nu) takoye, "some kind [of this]"), ну (nu, "well, so"), значит (znachit, "I mean, kind of, like"), так (tak, "so"), как его (kak ego, "what's it [called]"), типа (tipa, "kinda"), как бы (kak by, "[just] like, sort of"), and понимаешь? (ponimayesh, "understand?, you know, you see").
  • In Serbian, значи (znači, "means") and овај (ovaj, "this") are common fillers.
  • In Slovak, oné ("that"), tento ("this"), proste ("simply"), or akože ("it's like...") are used as fillers. The Hungarian izé (or izí in its Slovak pronunciation) can also be heard, especially in parts of the country with a large Hungarian population. Ta is a filler typical of Eastern Slovak and one of the most parodied features.
  • In Slovene, pač ("indeed", "just", "merely"), a ne? ("right?"), and no ("well") are some of the fillers common in central Slovenia, including Ljubljana.
  • In Spanish, fillers are called muletillas. Some of the most common in American Spanish are e /e/, este (roughly equivalent to uhm, literally means "this"), and o sea (roughly equivalent to "I mean", literally means "or be it").,[8] in Spain the previous fillers are also used, but ¿Vale? ("right?") and ¿no? are very common too. Occasionally pues ("well"). Young people in Spain tend to use nowadays the filler en plan (meaning "as", "like" or "in [noun] mode").
  • In Swedish, fillers are called utfyllnadsord; some of the most common are öhm or öh, ja ("yes"), ehm or eh (for example eh jag vet inte) or ba (comes from bara, which means "only"), asså or alltså ("therefore", "thus"), va (comes from vad, which means "what"), and liksom and typ (both similar to the English "like").
  • In Tamil, paatheenga-na ("if you see...") and apparam ("then...") are common.
  • In Telugu, ఇక్కడ ఏంటంటే (ikkada entante, "what's here is...") and తర్వాత (tarwatha, "then...") are common and there are numerous like this.
  • In Turkish, yani ("meaning..."), şey ("thing"), işte ("that is"), and falan ("as such", "so on") are common fillers.
  • In Ukrainian, е (e, similar to "um"), ну (nu, "well"), і (i, "and"), цей (tsey, "this"), той-во (toy-vo, "this one") are common fillers.
  • In Urdu, یعنی (yani, "meaning..."), فلانا فلانا (flana flana, "this and that" or "blah blah"), ہاں ہاں (haan haan, "yeah yeah") and اچھا (acha, "ok") are also common fillers.
  • In Welsh, de or ynde is used as a filler (loosely the equivalent of "You know?" or "Isn't it?"); ’lly (from felly – so/like in English, used in northern Wales) and also iawn (translated 'ok' is used as a filler at the beginning, middle or end of sentences); ’na ni (abbreviation of dyna ni – there we are); ym... and y... are used similarly to the English "um...".

Among language learners, a common pitfall is using fillers from their native tongue. For example, "Quiero una umm.... quesadilla". While less of a shibboleth, knowing the placeholder names (sometimes called kadigans) of a language (e.g. the equivalent of "thingy") can also be useful to attain fluency, such as the French truc: "Je cherche le truc qu'on utilise pour ouvrir une boîte" ("I'm looking for the thingy that you use to open up a can").

In syntax

The linguistic term "filler" has another, unrelated use in syntactic terminology. It refers to the pre-posed element that fills in the "gap" in a wh-movement construction. Wh-movement is said to create a long-distance or unbounded "filler-gap dependency". In the following example, there is an object gap associated with the transitive verb saw, and the filler is the wh-phrase how many angels: "I don't care [how many angels] she told you she saw."

See also

References

  1. ↑ Juan, Stephen (2010). "Why do we say 'um', 'er', or 'ah' when we hesitate in speaking?", accessed online here
  2. ↑ BORTFELD & al. (2001). "Disfluency Rates in Conversation: Effects of Age, Relationship, Topic, Role, and Gender" (PDF). LANGUAGE AND SPEECH. 44 (2): 123–147.
  3. ↑ Winterman, Denise (2010-09-28). "It's, like, so common". BBC News. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
  4. ↑ Hitchens, Christopher. "Christopher Hitchens on "Like"". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
  5. ↑ "yanni". UniLang. Retrieved 2017-12-17.
  6. ↑ "Egyptian Arabic Dialect Course"
  7. ↑ Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XV
  8. ↑ "Filler Words and Vocal Pauses"

10. ^ Roseann Duenas Gonzalez et.al. Fundamentals of Court Interpretation , Theory, Policy and Practice, Carolina Academic Press 1991, p291 "Non-Conservation of Paralinguistic Elements, Hedges, Fillers.

  • Why do people say "um" and "er" when hesitating in their speech?, New Scientist, May 6, 1995
  • Lotozo, Eils (September 4, 2002). "The way teens talk, like, serves a purpose". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Citing Siegel, Muffy E. A. (2002). "Like: The Discourse Particle and Semantics". Journal of Semantics. 19 (1): 35–71. doi:10.1093/jos/19.1.35.
  • Nino Amiridze, Boyd H. Davis, and Margaret Maclagan, editors. Fillers, Pauses and Placeholders. Typological Studies in Language 93, John Benjamins, Amsterdam/Philadelphia, 2010. Review
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