Umm, ah, ehem...

[Pacion]

Some (a lot ?) of people use extra sounds (or linguistic equivalents) when they speak with "umm", "ahs" and "ehems".

How aware are you of the extra "words" that you use? What suggestions would you make to someone who wanted to eliminate these "words" from their speech?

One suggestion I have heard was to take a deep breathe when you think you will say one.

 

[Sabor]

well, umm..errr.. hmmmm.. eh.. what was the errr question aaah again hmmm? :shock:

 

[Sagitta]

People use these when listening, like my sister does on the phone - and I as well. These filler sounds are useful when having conversations... It sometimes tells the other person you are listening without interrupting their flow.

 

[Pacion]

Sabor :roll: :raisebro:

Sagitta, yes. Those verbal cues are good from the listener's point of view. But what about from the speaker's point of view? :roll:

 

[DanceMentor]

I still do it but I have been taught to try to avoid it:
1) My grandfather always hated these noises, especially when answering a question with ah-hah or ah-ah.
2) In toastmasters there was an "ah" counter, so the challenge was to avoid these noises. I think sometimes a silent pause can be far more effective.

 

[randomMysh]

I'm getting better. :lol:

One very effective (but annoying!) way of getting rid of verbal trash is to have a good friend repeat the noise immediately after you say it. Every time. That, or count them outloud. After a while murder sounds like a good idea, but you become more aware of how you sound and can start correcting it! I got rid of "like" and helped a friend get rid of "kind of" that way.

 

[cocodrilo]

Try learning a foreign language and going back to your native country and getting laughed at for using foreign umms, errrs and ehhhs.

 

[blue]

Try learning a foreign language and going back to your native country and getting laughed at for using foreign umms, errrs and ehhhs.

:lol:

Especially as the Japanese language (so I've heard) is rich on those. Aizuchii, was it?

 

[blue]

I had a chemistry teacher who was Belgue. Her Swedish was very good, but she said this "eh" here and there, pretty much in the placese where inwriting you would put a point or a comma. For a start I didn't notice, then someone pointed it out - and for a while I hardly heard what she said during her lectures, I just listened for those micro-"eh"s.

 

[cocodrilo]

Try learning a foreign language and going back to your native country and getting laughed at for using foreign umms, errrs and ehhhs.

:lol:

Especially as the Japanese language (so I've heard) is rich on those. Aizuchii, was it?

Aizuchi is the "chiming in" people do when having conversations. There is plenty of that in American English as well. (Oh, really?/Hmm. /Ya don't say!/Uh-huh!)
The Japanese like to say "ne"(pronounced "nay") at the end of a sentence
meaning "Right?"/"Isn't it?"/"Huh?". Saying "ne"(or colloquially "na) has become an unbreakable habit for me...

 

[blue]

OK, so these are two different animals. I never really made a distinction between them.

 

[randomMysh]

Try learning a foreign language and going back to your native country and getting laughed at for using foreign umms, errrs and ehhhs.

Already tried. Amused my mother. :? :lol:
Although English is so widely spread, a lot of people use Americanisms in their Russian conversations even though they don't really know English and definitely have never been to the States.