Those things that creep into language...

[saor]

I've noticed lately in a lot of podcasts (especially US based) there's this tendency to preface a lot of sentences with "yeah well I mean", "I mean" etc. To the point that I've caught myself doing it too, whereas I wasn't doing it 2 months ago. Previous examples would be "yeah but like", or "it's like".

Is there a term for these phrases that find their way into our speech? They're different to things like um & ah, which despite what my English teacher told me (along with her belief that 'fishes' is wrong) apparently have some utility in speech: 'Um' & 'ah' are typically used in speech to indicate an approaching pause of > 1 second or < 1 second which is like a flag to the listener that this oncoming pause isn't their turn to speak. They serve more purpose than being mere 'filler' words.

Is there a word for them?
Any ideas why some people use them so prolifically despite not using them a week ago?

 

[Chevron]

I've noticed lately in a lot of podcasts (especially US based) there's this tendency to preface a lot of sentences with "yeah well I mean", "I mean" etc. To the point that I've caught myself doing it too, whereas I wasn't doing it 2 months ago. Previous examples would be "yeah but like", or "it's like".

Is there a term for these phrases that find their way into our speech? They're different to things like um & ah, which despite what my English teacher told me (along with her belief that 'fishes' is wrong) apparently have some utility in speech: 'Um' & 'ah' are typically used in speech to indicate an approaching pause of > 1 second or < 1 second which is like a flag to the listener that this oncoming pause isn't their turn to speak. They serve more purpose than being mere 'filler' words.

Is there a word for them?
Any ideas why some people use them so prolifically despite not using them a week ago?

http://dictionary.reference.com/slideshows/umwords

Generally inexperienced speakers use a lot of crutch words.

It's always better to pause for a few seconds than to use a crutch word/phrase.

 

[saor]

http://dictionary.reference.com/slideshows/umwords

Generally inexperienced speakers use a lot of crutch words.

It's always better to pause for a few seconds than to use a crutch word/phrase.

Speaking on stage sure - you're not going to be interrupted whilst you pause. But on the phone or drunken debates I can start to see why um & ah have a function. There seem to be scenarios where they have a purpose beyond just being crutch words.

Regardless of whether you agree or not, phrases like 'well I mean' don't seem to have the same utility that um & ah might have - they don't indicate a pause or any other deviation from normal speech. It's this string tagged on to sentences and seems to change from one season to the next. Um & ah also don't share that pattern of seasonal variability.

Eh - maybe they are the same thing. They just seem a bit different .

 

[maumau]

Colloquialism?

 

[Chevron]

Speaking on stage sure - you're not going to be interrupted whilst you pause. But on the phone or drunken debates I can start to see why um & ah have a function. There seem to be scenarios where they have a purpose beyond just being crutch words.

Regardless of whether you agree or not, phrases like 'well I mean' don't seem to have the same utility that um & ah might have - they don't indicate a pause or any other deviation from normal speech. It's this string tagged on to sentences and seems to change from one season to the next. Um & ah also don't share that pattern of seasonal variability.

Eh - maybe they are the same thing. They just seem a bit different .

It's usefulness isn't just limited to stage.

Even in person, speaking slower is always better, You won't be interrupted then as well, as opposed to someone that usually speaks fast, then has a pause.

It's a skill.

 

[saor]

Colloquialism?

Not quite.
'Well I mean' isn't replacing anything in the sentence in an informal manner - it's entirely irrelevant to the sentence.

 

[Chevron]

Not quite.
'Well I mean' isn't replacing anything in the sentence in an informal manner - it's entirely irrelevant to the sentence.

Just to add, that's why people that use them get cut off more. You are devaluing every word you utter when you add on random crutch phrases for no reason. It makes your signal to noise rather go the wrong way.

 

[saor]

It's a skill.

I'm not disagreeing with any of that.