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Defined Terms and Documents
'Aboriginal Teenager Life Skills' RTV Social Inclusion Early Intervention Programme
Fillers or Filler Words means
parts of speech which are not generally recognized as purposeful or containing
formal meaning or
semantic content, usually expressed as pauses such as which are often thrown in to allow a speaker time to think:
-
'ahh', 'um',
'gee', 'like', 'er', 'you know', 'I mean'
(an Alan Jones favourite),
'actually', 'basically', 'obviously', 'honestly', 'OK', 'very', 'pretty', 'at the end of the day',
quiet frankly'
-
'whole bunch of' instead of
'bunch of'
-
Starting a response to a question with "Well...." or "Look...."
or "Look well...." or "Well look...."or "Listen"
-
Saying
"I would like to thank ........" (when the speaker has the podium.)
Rather , "I thank
Fred who helped me prepare for this tournament. Jack, thank you for always
being there as a training partner. Jenny, your patients and tolerance when
I had my 'little tantrums' when I was not hitting the ball well. No need to pad with "I would like to..."
-
Kevin Rudd starts many responses to a question with "Can I just say
......." which does not add to answering the question put to him, but provide 'time to
think'.
Filler Words -
a) are also known as
Discourse
Markers which are relatively syntax-independent
and do not change the meaning of the sentence, and have a somewhat empty
meaning.[1];
b) are nothing but empty, unneeded words that restrict conversations
that are often used to fill in gaps and pauses in conversations, or to enable
the speaker time to think;
c) occur regularly in everyday conversation, sometimes representing
upwards of 20% of words in conversation; and
d) are seasonal with 'like' exceedingly popular amongst mid teenage
girls, who often cannot complete a sentence without using 'like' at least once.
Below extract from "Filler
Words in English"
These are some of the common fillers that are found in
most conversations. Even though its quite alright to use these fillers once
in a while during informal conversations, over a period of time they become
a habit and finally are a part and parcel of our speaking style and diction.
In formal situations especially, they can become quite annoying to the
listener, and the speaker could unknowingly become more and more conscious
and use these fillers to make up for the awkwardness he or she feels.
For those who would like to get over the usage of these filler words here
are a few guidelines..
-
Organize your thoughts:
It is human tendency to speak even before your
thoughts have been organized and it is during this gap between the
arranging of your thoughts and the words being spoken that fillers are
used the most. To avoid this take time off to first think about what you
want to say and then say the words. This helps in eliminating
unnecessary use of filler words.
-
Say the filler
word, but only in your head: This means that every time you want
to fill in a gap say with an umm.. in between your talk or speech try to
prolong the word or the vowel sound instead of using a filler word. For
instance.. Instead of saying.. I saw a green ... um moss green coloured
dress, say I saw a green (say the um in your head but think of the word
you want to say and then continue with the rest of your sentence.
-
Pause and take
a break: Try to take a break especially if you have a tendency
to speak really fast and pause between your sentences. You don't have to
feel awkward and fill in the pauses with the use of empty words. Wait a
second before you say your next sentence.
-
Practice:
If you have a really important presentation to make practice in front of
the mirror and also record your speech and listen to it. This will give
a clear idea of the fillers that you un-consciously use when you speak
and make the necessary corrections.
-
Keep it Short,
Simple and Sweet: Always use simple, neat and precise words
that are easy to comprehend and not too complex for the listener (be it
formal or informal communication) This keeps you from being too
monotonous, boring and keeps you away from using filler words. (so you
don't have to think of the high sounding words that you have forgotten
to use.
One Book that gives excellent guidelines on the
subject of Filler Words is Authored by Michael Erard, Um…
: Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders and What They Mean.
University of Wollongong's "IELTS PREPARATION COURSES" - 6 weeks
long @ 20 hours per week
Why do
people say 'like' when it doesn't mean anything?
"I'm, like, really happy that you've come
to, like, find out about 'like'. Like, I thought you might not, like,
bother. There are some people who don't like, like, all this 'like'
stuff, but you know, it can actually be, like, really handy, like."
'Like' is just one of many 'filler' words in English.
Everyone uses fillers to an extent. Which ones you use and how often will
depend on who you are and the situation you're in.
Right...like...you know...actually...I
mean...kind of... um... basically...in a manner of speaking...just...if
you don't mind me saying...uh...really...I suppose...if truth be
told...without a doubt...or something...in actual fact...well...yeah...errr...of
course...so if you know what I mean...and stuff...
Phrases such as this are often condemned as sloppy or
meaningless. Many people assume that fillers are a sign of uncertainty,
stupidity or weakness. Yet all styles of speech can contain filler phrases
that are empty of explicit information. Compare:
"Hey, that's, like, a really really
beautiful dress, yeah?"
"If I may be so bold, that's without a
shadow of a doubt, a simply beautiful dress."
They may not have much semantic content of their own, but
fillers do fulfil important linguistic functions.
They give you an extra split second to decide what to say
next, for example. Using fillers is an extremely useful conversation
strategy since it helps you keep the floor, rather than leaving a pause
where someone else could nip in and start talking.
Fillers can also act as 'hedges', which soften or weaken what
you're saying ("I'm you know, kind of worried about him,"), or 'boosters',
which emphasise or strengthen a point ("I'm really worried about him, you
know?").
These hedges can make blunt utterances sound more gentle or
apologetic, and can be vital when discussing sensitive issues. Compare:
"If you don't mind me saying, you're,
like... well, um I mean you sort of smell a bit."
"You smell."
'Like' isn't a new phenomenon. Etymonline says:
'The word has been used as a postponed filler ("going really fast, like")
from 1778; as a presumed emphatic ("going, like, really fast") from 1950,
originally in counterculture slang and bop talk.'
Incidentally, Swedish and Norwegian have the word 'liksom',
which is just as useful and flexible as 'like' - and bears just the same
social stigma.
RONGly pronounced words:
*
'spose' in lieu of 'suppose'
*
'jest' in lieu of 'just'
"Speaking and
Writing English Effectively"
Wikipedia
Filler (linguistics)
Wikipedia
Filler (disambiguation)
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