Are "uh", "er" and "um" words?
Are "uh", "er" and "um" words?
By words, I mean linguistic units that have conventional phonological shapes and meanings and are governed by the rules of syntax and prosody.
<By words, I mean linguistic units that have conventional phonological shapes and meanings and are governed by the rules of syntax and prosody. >
¿Que?
¿Que?
They're not words because they don't typically have any meaning, they're just space fillers.
I guess there are random circumstances in which they have some meaning, but I would say that generally, they are not words.
I guess there are random circumstances in which they have some meaning, but I would say that generally, they are not words.
Well, they're words in the sense that they have a part of speech: an interjection. They don't really fit into normal rules of syntax or prosody, though. Prosody would be arguable... you could argue that they're always unstressed -- except to indicate discomfort -- and that they're not subject to wild pitch variation except that a sudden change to a high pitch may also indicate discomfort. So it does have prosodic properties, but they don't fit neatly into English's rules of prosody. For instance, the length of "uhh" is very variable, which doesn't apply to normal words. If I knew no English and it all sounded like a steady stream of gibberish, it would still be very easy to identify these "pause" words most of the time, because they stick out so much. I could probably play English speech backwards and identify them easily, at least once I got used to how English sounds when played backwards.
About the only syntactic rules I can think of are that these pauses shouldn't occur in the middle of a word, or at the end of the sentence, the latter because these words indicate that you're pausing before speaking, so there's no reason to say them if the sentence is otherwise finished. Still, both rules are breakable, though I would argue that most cases of these words at the end of a sentence are actually at the beginning of a new sentence or clause. The first rule can be broken, especially but not necessarily at morpheme boundaries, but it's common to repeat the word from the beginning if you pause in the middle. ("I just saw a hip -- uh, a hippopotamus!") The position of the word in the sentence doesn't affect its meaning at all except for indicating what particular thought or word you're having trouble with, and has no effect on the meaning of other words in the sentence.
- Kef
About the only syntactic rules I can think of are that these pauses shouldn't occur in the middle of a word, or at the end of the sentence, the latter because these words indicate that you're pausing before speaking, so there's no reason to say them if the sentence is otherwise finished. Still, both rules are breakable, though I would argue that most cases of these words at the end of a sentence are actually at the beginning of a new sentence or clause. The first rule can be broken, especially but not necessarily at morpheme boundaries, but it's common to repeat the word from the beginning if you pause in the middle. ("I just saw a hip -- uh, a hippopotamus!") The position of the word in the sentence doesn't affect its meaning at all except for indicating what particular thought or word you're having trouble with, and has no effect on the meaning of other words in the sentence.
- Kef
<They're not words because they don't typically have any meaning,>
What's the meaning of "hello"? Is it a word?
What's the meaning of "hello"? Is it a word?
<For instance, the length of "uhh" is very variable, which doesn't apply to normal words. >
Whaat? Of course it does.
Whaat? Of course it does.
<<About the only syntactic rules I can think of are that these pauses shouldn't occur in the middle of a word,>>
"Now what was the old name of Istanbul? It's on the tip of my tongue. Constantin-er-ople. That's it."
"Now what was the old name of Istanbul? It's on the tip of my tongue. Constantin-er-ople. That's it."
<For instance, the length of "uhh" is very variable, which doesn't apply to normal words. >
He has a greyyy...Ford. That's it."
He has a greyyy...Ford. That's it."
<< "Now what was the old name of Istanbul? It's on the tip of my tongue. Constantin-er-ople. That's it." >>
I did say that it wasn't a hard-and-fast rule and even provided exceptions myself. My point was that it's just preferable not to do it that way, at least, to me.
<<<< For instance, the length of "uhh" is very variable, which doesn't apply to normal words. >>>>
<< Whaat? Of course it does. >>
I should have known you'd make me clarify this point. :P
What I mean is that there is no standard length for the word "uh". English is a stressed-timed language, which means that, assuming that a sentence is spoken at a steady pace, the stressed syllables are spoken at regular intervals. Words like "uh" always violate that rule. They just don't fit into the sentence's prosody the same way that other words do. You CAN say other words in the same fashion, as you pointed out, but those words are usually spoken "normally". If you hold the length of "whaat", or "greyyy", as in your examples, it is a "marked" usage of these words; on the other hand, a long "uh" is not really a marked usage.
- Kef
I did say that it wasn't a hard-and-fast rule and even provided exceptions myself. My point was that it's just preferable not to do it that way, at least, to me.
<<<< For instance, the length of "uhh" is very variable, which doesn't apply to normal words. >>>>
<< Whaat? Of course it does. >>
I should have known you'd make me clarify this point. :P
What I mean is that there is no standard length for the word "uh". English is a stressed-timed language, which means that, assuming that a sentence is spoken at a steady pace, the stressed syllables are spoken at regular intervals. Words like "uh" always violate that rule. They just don't fit into the sentence's prosody the same way that other words do. You CAN say other words in the same fashion, as you pointed out, but those words are usually spoken "normally". If you hold the length of "whaat", or "greyyy", as in your examples, it is a "marked" usage of these words; on the other hand, a long "uh" is not really a marked usage.
- Kef
< My point was that it's just preferable not to do it that way, at least, to me. >
How else would one do it if one did not remember how the last part of the word went?
How else would one do it if one did not remember how the last part of the word went?
<I should have known you'd make me clarify this point. :P >
I'm paid by the word. ;-)
<Words like "uh" always violate that rule. >
I disagree. If you looked them up in a dictionary, or had to explain the use/meaning of "uh" to a student, you would probably use the same (default) length as a million other natives.
I'm paid by the word. ;-)
<Words like "uh" always violate that rule. >
I disagree. If you looked them up in a dictionary, or had to explain the use/meaning of "uh" to a student, you would probably use the same (default) length as a million other natives.