Filling the Gaps with Fillers Words

By Rachel Abbott, ABC School’s Academic CoordinatorFillers words are often irrelevant, temporary words, used when speaking, to give yourself more time to find the right word you’re looking for and to gather your complete thought or idea. A filler word is usually used within speech and is very rarely used in written English. All languages have these verbal fillers, but understanding why we use them and when to use them in English is a step closer to sounding like a native English speaker. Some of the most common fillers used by English speakers are ‘um’, ‘like’, ‘you know’ and ‘well’. These filler words signal a pause in speech and are perfectly natural. All native English speakers use them, regardless of the topic of conversation, because it is too difficult to keep up perfect, highly-grammatical language all the time! Some people believe that using fillers such as ‘like’ are a sign of laziness but the truth is that this word actually fulfils a useful role in everyday speech. Fillers are a way to buy time when speaking and historically we have always used them. It has nothing to do with being lazy. However, the use of ‘like’ as a filler word is relatively new. Some believe that British English has been greatly influenced by American films and T.V shows and that young people have introduced this word, as a filler, to sound American. An example of its use, especially by young people, is as a grammatical device to mark reported speech. For example: "She was like, 'you aren't going out tonight looking like that’ and I was like, 'yes I am'.” It is also commonly used to exaggerate a point. "I, like, couldn’t believe it when she told me." The fillers ‘um’ and ‘well’ are commonly used to give the speaker time to think of the exact words he or she wants to use. If you need extra time to think of a word that’s at the tip of your tongue, pause, take a short breath, consider and move on. By using these fillers, you are much less likely to experience awkward moments! Imagine that you’re having a conversation with someone who is interviewing you for a job, and the interviewer asks you: “Can you tell me a bit more about why you would like this job?” You start your reply and then your mind suddenly goes blank and you forget your words! You have to admit that if you don’t say anything to fill the silence while you’re trying to remember your words, it would turn into an awkward situation. The interviewer would be staring at you and you’d be staring back at her and she would have no idea whether you are trying to remember something or whether you are experiencing a sudden attack of illness! In a situation such as this, it is probably better to say: “ Um, yes because...” rather than say nothing at all. ‘Well’ is probably one of the most popular words used to buy time while thinking of an answer to a question: You’re so late today, is everything okay?” While you’re thinking about whether or not to tell your teacher the truth, why not use a filler: “Well.., I was going to be here on time but had to climb a tree to save a kitten!” ‘You know’ is a very common English short phrase and is normally added onto the end of a sentence to make the conversation more casual: “Fillers have always been our way of dealing with awkward silences, you know?” It can also be used as a filler word just as successfully: “Is this all the homework you could do in one week?” “Well… You know… I have been saving a lot of kittens this week!” Filler words occur when speakers are uncertain or when they have choices to make. They are a completely natural part of speech and cannot be avoided altogether. I’m not suggesting that you overuse them, as this could make you sound like you have no idea what you are talking about, but there are times when you can use them quite naturally in speech and, like a facial gesture or a tone of voice, hesitation fillers like ‘um’ provide information to the listener to inform them that the conversation is still taking place. Don’t allow silence to cause awkward situations and remember to fill the gaps with fillers!