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Why do we, like, hesitate when we, um, speak - Coggle Diagram
Why do we, like, hesitate when we, um, speak
Intro
However, ↑ still continue to occur ≈ 2-3 times/min in natural speech & diff. versions of them can be found in almost every language (including sign language)
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Historically these speech components had been lumped into the broader bucket of disfluencies / linguistic fillers which distract from useful speech
Ancient Greek & Latin texts warned against speaking w/ hesitation; modern schools tried to ban the offending terms; renowned linguist Noam Chomsky dismissed these expressions as errors irrelevant to language
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Discourse Markers
← Direct the flow of conversation; some studies suggest that conscientious speakers use more of these phrases to ensure everyone is being heard & understood
E.g., starting sentence w/ 'look' = indicate your attitude & help you gauge the listeners agreement; 'I mean' = signal that you're about to elaborate on sth; 'like' = many functions e.g., establishing loose connection between thoughts / introducing sb. else‘s words / actions
E.g., 'like', 'well', 'you know', ignoring literal meaning to convey sth about the sentence in which they appear
← Give ppl a real time view into your thought process & help listeners follow, interpret, predict what you're trying to say
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B!
Outside of writing dialogue ↑ serve no purpose in most formal writing; in some contexts the stigma these social cues carry can work against the speaker
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Just because hesitation phenomenon & discourse markers = natural part of communication doesn't mean they're always appropriate
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