n 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.

Contents

 1In English
 2Filler words in different languages
 3In syntax
 4See also
 5References
 6External links

In English[edit]
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.

Filler words in different languages[edit]

 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, ‫ يعني‬yaʿni ("means") and ‫ وﷲ‬wallāh(i) ("by God") are common fillers. In Moroccan
Arabic, ‫ زعمة‬z3ma ("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"), saps? ("you
know"?) 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, ‫( אֶ ה‬eh) is the most common filler. ‫( אֶ ם‬em) is also quite common. Millennials and
the younger Generation X speakers commonly use ‫( כאילו‬ke'ilu, the Hebrew version of
"like"). Additional filler words include ‫( זתומרת‬zt'omeret, short for ‫ זאת אומרת‬zot omeret "that
means"), ‫( אז‬az, "so") and ‫( בקיצור‬bekitsur, "in short"). Use of fillers of Arabic origin such
as ‫( יענו‬yaʿanu, 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.
 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 Mongolian, одоо (odoo, "now") is a common filler.
 In Nepali, माने (maane, "meaning"), चै ने (chaine), चैं (chai), है न (haina, "No?") are commonly
used as fillers.
 In Norwegian, common fillers are eh, altso/altså, på ein måte / på en måte ("in a
way"), berre/bare ("just") ikkje sant / ikke sant (literally "not true?", meaning "don't you
agree?", "right?", "no kidding" or "exactly"), vel ("well"), liksom ("like") and er det ("is it", "it
is"). In Bergen, sant ("true") is often used instead of ikkje/ikke sant. In the region
of Trøndelag, /ʃʉ/ (comes from ser du which means "you see", "as you can see") is also a
common filler.
 In Persian, ‫( ببين‬bebin, "you see"), ‫( چيز‬chiz, "thing"), and ‫( مثال‬masalan, "for instance") are
commonly used filler words. As well as in Arabic and Urdu, ‫( يعني‬yaʿni, "I mean") is also used
in Persian. Also, ‫اه‬eh 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, ‫( مطلب‬मतलब, mat̤ lab, "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, ఇక్క డ ఏంటంటే (ikkada entante, "what's here is...") and తర్వా త (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, ‫( يعنی‬yani, "meaning..."), ‫( فالنا فالنا‬flana flana, "this and that" or "blah blah"), ‫ہاں‬
‫( ہاں‬haan haan, "yeah yeah") and ‫( اچھا‬acha, "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").[original research?]

In syntax[edit]
Main article: Wh-movement
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[edit]
 Interjection
 Like: as a discourse particle
 Phatic expression
 So (sentence closer)
 So (sentence opener)
 Speech disfluency
 Valleyspeak
 Weasel word

References[edit]
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. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.10.8339. doi:10.1177/00238309010440020101. PMID 11575901.
 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.