In linguistics, a filler is a sound or word that is spoken in conversation by one participant to signal to others that he/she has paused to think but is not yet finished speaking.Ā These are not to be confused with placeholder names, such as thingamajig, which refer to objects or people whose names are temporarily forgotten, irrelevant, or unknown.
In Afrikaans, ah, em, and eh are common fillers.
In Arabic, ŁŲ¹ŁŁ yaŹæni (āI meanā) and Łļ·² wallÄh(i) (āby Godā) are common fillers.[2][3][4]
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 Bengali, mane (āit meansā) is a common filler.
In Catalan, eh /É/, doncs (āsoā), llavors (āthereforeā), and o sigui (āit meansā) are common fillers.
In Czech, tak or takže (āsoā), prostÄ (āsimplyā), jako (ālikeā) are used as fillers. Äili (āorā) and že (āthatā, a conjunction) might also be others. A person who says jako and prostÄ as fillers might sound a bit simple-minded to others.[5]
In Danish, Ćøh is one of the most common fillers.
In Dutch, eh, ehm, and dus are some of the more common fillers.
In Esperanto, do (āthereforeā) is the most common filler.
In Filipino, ah, eh, ay, and ano are the most common fillers.
In Finnish, niinku (ālikeā), tota, and ƶƶ are the most common fillers.
In French, euh /Ćø/ is most common; other words used as fillers include quoi (āwhatā), bah, ben (āwellā), tu vois (āyou seeā), and eh bien (roughly āwellā, as in āWell, Iām not sureā). Outside of France, other expressions are tu sais (āyou knowā), tāsaisāveux dire? (āyou know what I mean?ā), or allez une fois (āgo one timeā). Additional filler words include genre (ākindā), comme (ālikeā), and style (āstyleā; ākindā)
In German, a more extensive series of filler words, called modal particles, exists, which actually do give the sentence some meaning. More traditional filler words are Ƥh /ÉĖ/, hm, so /zoĖ/, tja, and eigentlich (āactuallyā)
In Hebrew, eh is the most common filler. Em is also quite common.
In Hindi, matlab (āit meansā) and āMahā are fillers.
In Hungarian, common filler words include hĆ”t (wellā¦) and asszongya (a variant of azt mondja, which means āit says hereā¦ā).
In Icelandic, a common filler is hĆ©rna (āhereā). ĆĆŗst, a contraction of Ć¾Ćŗ veist (āyou knowā), is popular among younger speakers.
In Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia), anu is one of the most common fillers.
In Italian, common fillers include ātipoā (ālikeā), āeccoā (āthereā) and ācioĆØā (āactuallyā)
In Irish Gaelic, abair /ĖabĖ ÉɾŹ²/ (āsayā), bhoil /wÉlŹ²/ (āwellā), and era /ĖÉɾĖ É/ are common fillers, along with emm as in Hiberno-English.
In Japanese, common fillers include eetto, ano, sono, and ee.
In Kannada,Matte for also,Enappa andre for the matter is are the common fillers.
In Korean, eung, eo, ge, and eum are commonly used as fillers.
In Lithuanian, nu, am and žinai (āyou knowā) are common fillers.
IN Maltese and Maltese English, mela (āthenā), or just la, is a common filler.
In Mandarin Chinese, speakers often say čæäøŖ zhĆØge/zhĆØige (āthisā) or é£äøŖ nĆ ge/nĆØige (āthatā). Another common filler is å°± jƬu (ājust/preciselyā).
In Norwegian, common fillers are Ćøh, altsĆ„, pĆ„ en mĆ„te (āin a wayā), ikke sant (literally ānot true?ā, āno kiddingā, or āexactlyā), vel (āwellā), and liksom (ālikeā). In Bergen, sant (ātrueā) is often used instead of ikke sant. In the TrĆøndelag region, skjĆøā (āsee?ā or āunderstand?ā) is also a common filler.
In Persian, bebin (āyou seeā), ŚŪŲ² āchizā (āthingā), and Ł Ų«ŁŲ§ masalan (āfor instanceā) are commonly-used filler words. As well as in Arabic and Urdu, ŁŲ¹ŁŁ yaŹæni (āI meanā) is also used in Persian. Also, eh is a common filler in Persian.
In Portuguese, tipo (ālikeā) is the most common filler.
In Romanian, deci /detŹŹ²/ (āthereforeā) is common, especially in school, and Ä /É/ is also very common (can be lengthened according to the pause in speech, rendered in writing as ÄÄÄ), whereas pÄi /pÉj/ is widely used by almost anyone.
In Russian, fillers are called ŃŠ»Š¾Š²Š°-ŠæŠ°ŃŠ°Š·ŠøŃŃ (āvermin wordsā); the most common are Š-Ń (āehā), ŃŃŠ¾ (āthisā), ŃŠ¾Š³Š¾ (āthatā), Š½Ń (āwellā), Š·Š½Š°ŃŠøŃ (āit meansā), ŃŠ°Šŗ (āsoā), ŠŗŠ°Šŗ ŠµŠ³Š¾ (āwhatās it [called]ā), ŃŠøŠæŠ° (ālikeā), and ŠŗŠ°Šŗ Š±Ń (ā[just] likeā).
In Serbian, znaÄi (āmeansā) and ovaj (āthisā) are common fillers.
In Slovak, onĆ© (āthatā), tento (āthisā), proste (āsimplyā), or akože are used as fillers. The Hungarian izĆ© (or izĆ 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, paÄ (ābutā, although it has lost that meaning in colloquial, and it is used as a means of explanation), a ne? (āright?ā), and no (āwellā) 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 (āthisā), and o sea (roughly means āI meanā).[6], in Spain the previous fillers are also used, but ĀæVale? (āright?ā) and Āæno? are very common too.
In Swedish, fillers are called utfyllningsord; some of the most common are ƶhm, ja (āyesā), ba (comes from ābaraā, which means ājustā), assĆ„ or alltsĆ„ (āthereforeā, āthusā), va (comes from āvadā, which means āwhatā), and liksom and typ (both similar to the English ālikeā).
In Ukrainian, Š¾Š¹ /Éj/ is a common filler.
In Urdu, yani (āmeaningā¦ā), falan falan (āthis and thatā; āblah blahā), umm, and aaa are also common fillers.
In Telugu, ikkada entante (āWhats here isā¦ā) and tarwatha (āthenā¦ā) are common and there are numerous like this.
In Tamil, paatheenga-na (āif you seeā¦ā) and apparam (āthenā¦ā) are common.
In Turkish, yani (āmeaningā¦ā), Åey (āthingā), āiÅteā (āthat isā), and falan (āas suchā, āso onā) are common fillers.
In Welsh, de or ynde is used as a filler (loosely the equivalent of āYou know?ā or āIsnāt it?ā). Ymā¦ and Yā¦ are used similarly to the English āumā¦ā.
Remember that this stuff is really important for fluency of speech. Iāve encountered a bad attitude among language teachers before: āwe donāt teach filler words, because thatās not ānormativeā vocabulary, and it encourages students to sound unsure.ā Ā But thatās so, so wrong. Ā
All people use filler words in conversation and even in formal settings. Ā Itās a way to keep the flow of speech when the train of thought pauses; it holds the audienceās attention and actually helps maintain clarity of thought. Ā Whatās more, these words are instrumental for language learners, who need to pause more often in their speech than native speakers. Ā Allowing them to pause without breaking into their language (saying a filler word in their language) or completely breaking the flow of their speech allows them to gain fluency faster.
My high school Japanese teacher did it right:Ā āettoā andĀ āanouā were in the second lesson. Ā Teach filler words, people!! Ā And if youāre studying a language and donāt know them, look at this list!! Ā It has a lot!
More portuguese fillers: āahnā (uh), āĆ©ā (itās), āaĆā (then), ātipoā (like), ānĆ©?ā (right?).
Important because now I can be a dumb bitch in more than one language. Thank you!
Quebec French additions: fak or faāque (contraction of āƧa fait queā, meaning so) and tsĆ© (shortened, differently-pronounced version of the French ātu saisā, meaning you know).
