Uh, um, and their indications in small talk

English Department

San Francisco State University

English 425 “Language in Context”

Dr. Michal Brody

Spring 2015

Uh, Um and Their Indications in Small-Talk

Chelsea Criez

San Francisco State University

English Department

May 3rd, 2015

Criez 1

Table of Contents

1) Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..2

2) Background Information………………………………………………………………...2-5

2.1 Uhs and Ums as Indicators of

Delay……………………………………………….2

2.2 Uhs and Ums as Indicators of Uncertainty…………………………………………

3

2.3 Uhs and Ums as Indicators of Hesitation………………………………………..3-

4

2.4 Uhs and Ums as Indicators of Recall…………………………………………....4-5

2.5 Uhs and Ums Rate of

Use………………………………………………………….5

3) Methodology…………………………………………………………………………….5-6

4) Data Presentation and Analysis………………………………………………………...6-

10

5) Interpretation…………………………………………………………………………10-11

6) Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….11

7) References………………………………………………………………………………..12

8) Appendix…………………………………………………………………………......13-19

8.1) Appendix 1………………………………………………………………..13-

17

8.2) Appendix 2…………………………………………………………………...18

8.3) Appendix 3…………………………………………………………………...19

Criez 2

Criez 3

1) Introduction

This paper will address the issue of uh and um. The idea for this paper came around while

listening to a Teacher’s Assistant give a lecture; she had used uh twenty-six times and used um

nineteen times (needless to say I do not recall what the lecture was about, nor which class it was

for). Then the following questions popped into mind: why do we use uh and um? And why are

they so marked? After some research and surveying, I found that uh and um are useful to the

speaker as well as the audience. Uh and um are used to let an audience know that there will either

be a brief (uh) or a long (um) pause, a hesitation, or a pause for recall which I will show in my

data presentation and interpretation.

2) Background

2.1 Uhs and Ums as Indicators of Delay

In many studies of uh and um, the conclusions were similar to my findings. Clark and

Fox Tree (2002) stated “that speakers use uh and um to announce that they are initiating what

they expect to be a minor (uh), or major (um), delay in speaking. Speakers can use these

announcements in turn to implicate, for example, that they are searching for a word, are deciding

what to say next, want to keep the floor, or want to cede the floor” (p. 73). Which I found to be

consistent with my findings; a subject tended to continue with their speech almost immediately

after using an uh and delayed a few seconds after they had used an um. Clark and Fox Tree found

that uh and um had use and are in fact words, “By words, we mean linguistic units that have

conventional phonological shapes and meanings and are governed by the rules of syntax and

prosody” (p. 75). The use of uh and um can be used to alert the audience “(1) that they wouldn’t

normally expect a delay at this moment; (2) that they anticipated the delay; and (3) that they

Criez 4

were aware, at some level, of the reason for their delay” (Clark & Fox Tree, 2002, 92). Clark and

Fox Tree were able to prove uh and um have meaning and therefore are indeed words.

2.2 Uhs and Ums as Indicators of Uncertainty

O’Connell and Kowal revisited Clark and Fox Tree’s study of uh and um and found that

there could be many other uses for uh and um, not just to signal a minor or major delay.

O’Connell and Kowal (2005) stated that “the filled pause signals the continuing of the speaker

still has merit” (p. 572) and added that the use of uh and um “also stems from a lack of

commitment and certainty other than a general monitoring of on-going cognitive processes” (p.

573). O’Connell and Kowal, however, disagreed with Clark and Fox Tree in that uh and um had

set meanings, and believed the study of uh and um usage should continue further before any

conclusion about their meanings can be made.

2.3 Uhs and Ums as Indicators of Hesitation

Another pair of researchers, Corley and Stewart, also disagreed with Clark and Fox Tree

and argued uh and um are not intentionally used and should not be considered words. Corley and

Stewart (2008) claimed “fillers are most likely to occur at the beginning of an utterance or

phrase, presumably as a consequence of the greater demand on planning processes at these

junctures” (as cited from Maclay and Osgood 1959; Beattie 1979; Barr 2001, p. 590). Because

my data was collected using a random survey and uhs and ums were produced in the answers, my

findings also suggest that they were forms of hesitation, like Corley and Stewart suggest. Corley

and Stewart also argued “a consequence of the view that fillers such as um and uh are words…is

that they should be treated by the listener as a part of the message, just like any other word. And

just like any other word, they should contribute to the meaning of the message, in the sense that

the message would not be identical if the filler were not present” (p. 593). Corley and Stewart are

Criez 5

arguing against Clark’s and Fox Tree’s theory that uh and um are words, saying they cannot be

words because there is no meaning in them and they have no definition. Instead, Corley and

Stewart argued uh and um “demonstrate that in some circumstance, fillers such as uh can help

the listener perform a particular task, such as responding to a predetermined target word…the

fillers are simply affecting the process of comprehension” (p. 594). In this argument, the use of

uh and um is not to let the listener know there will be a delay, but it is used to help the speaker

think and find the right word(s) to say. Similar to what Anna Deavere Smith found when she was

interviewing her students in Anna Deavere Smith’s Young Arts Masterclass (2014). During an

interview with a student, Julian, Smith noticed that Julian had used uh and um quite a few times

and asked him why he thought that was. “I just want to make sure I don’t hurt anyone. I want to

make sure I say the right thing” (Goodman & Simon, 2014). They concluded that Julian was

never sure what he should say next; in other words, he hesitated. After considering Clark’s and

Fox Tree’s studies as well as their own, Corley and Stewart concluded “like a facial gesture or

tone of voice, hesitation disfluencies like uh and um provide information to the listener. The

information is something like ‘pay attention, the speaker’s in trouble and the next part of the

message might not be what you predicted’” (p. 600).

2.4 Uhs and Ums as Indicators of Recall

Fraundorf and Watson (2011) researched the effects of uh and um on memory: “we

investigated the mechanisms by which fillers, such as uh and um, affect memory for discourse”

(p. 161). Fraundorf and Watson put together two experiments where they tested to see if uh and

um facilitated any memory during discourse. “This effect was observed whether or not the

location of the fillers was consistent with their distribution in production…These results are most

consistent with an attentional orienting account in which fillers direct attention to the speech

Criez 6

stream but do not always result in specific predictions about the nature or upcoming material” (p.

172). Fraundorf and Watson were then able to conclude that because uh and um directed the

speaker’s attention to what they were saying, uh and um did in fact help facilitate recall (p. 172).

2.5 Uhs and Ums Rate of Use

In addition to delay indication, hesitation, and recall during discourse, Tottie (2014)

suggested “that uh and um have pragmatic functions…such as signposting speaker turns,

attracting attention, highlighting or correction” (p. 8). Tottie also claimed that the rate of which

uh and um were used increased in intimate casual small-talk and decreased in well prepared

speeches or lectures (p. 17). This could explain why there were many uhs and ums in the survey I

performed. It was intimate small-talk and not well prepared, which is where one would expect,

according to Tottie’s hypothesis, an increased rate of uh and um use. Tottie even proposed the

origins of uh and um: “It is likely that uh and um originated in situations of cognitive load, where

speakers needed time to pause to think and plan, but that they…have now also acquired

pragmatic meanings” (p. 25). Now, when uh and um were once regarded as systemic noises, uh

and um have pragmatic meanings and intentional use and are even considered, by some, to be

words.

3) Methodology

For this research, I conducted several interviews with a convenience sample of five

people who live near me; all of which are native English speakers and have lived in the U.S. for

three or more years, and this study does not consider race, gender, or age as factors to the use of

uh and um. The interviews were recorded using a standard iTouch (mp3 player) and consisted of

questions about family members, the last time they visited a movie theater, their favorite author,

the job they wanted when they were younger and the one they want now, and their favorite food.

Criez 7

The interviews were designed to create an answer that required more than a simple yes or no

answer and instead a longer more thoughtful answer. This was to provide a greater chance of uh

and um taking place in the answer. And to maintain a small-talk feel in order to increase the rate

of uh and um, each interview took place in a casual setting (i.e. bed room, back yard, kitchen…).

And to prevent an observer’s paradox, I informed each interviewee that the interviews are for a

linguistic study and will be recorded, but I did not tell them which aspect of their speech I would

be studying (if they asked, I answered “I’m just looking for patterns that will come up when I

interview several people” and that seemed to satisfy their concern). Other researches have shown

that uhs and ums are used to indicate a delay or hesitation, and to recall during discourse. This

particular research was to answer the following questions: What do uh and um indicate in a

conversation? Why do we use them? And why is it marked? And also to see if the uses of uh and

um are similar to what others have found.

In my data collection, I noticed that uh and um were not the only ways that pauses were

filled. For example, one subject used like and so as pauses as well as uh and um (but I will save

that data for another time as I wish to only focus on the uses of uh and um). I chose the following

transcriptions to illustrate how uh and um are used in the context of each theory of indication of

delay, indication of hesitation, and recall (I will not be able to compare the rate of uhs and ums in

small-talk versus formal speech because all data was collected during small-talk). Due to the

limited data I have collected, the findings I will present do not represent a large population and

show only a sample. However, based on the transcriptions I have collected, these theories

mentioned earlier hold true.

4) Data Presentation and Analysis

Criez 8

In this section of this paper, I will provide examples that follow the theories that uh and

um are used as cues to indicate delay or hesitation and uncertainty, and used for recall. First I

will show how uh and um were used to indicate delay. The first example, lines 10-12:

Example 1

(10) HQ: Now what do you want to be (when you grow up)

(11) EB: still like to be a soccer player really but umm it’s not happening so

(12) Uh..anything…couldn’t give a shit ummm do you want me to pick something random?

Line 11 is where an um is introduced. And though the speaker continues talking after he uses um,

there is a major delay in content—EB does not give a definitive answer to this question for

another thirteen seconds. This follows what Clark and Fox Tree showed where major delays

follow ums. Another example of this is in lines 46-47:

Example 2

(46) HQ: When you were younger what did you want to be when you grew up

(47) SC: umm…I still want to be something when I grow up yeah

Like EB before, SC didn’t give a definitive answer right away. This is another example that

shows how major delays follow ums, as shown by Clark and Fox Tree.

Clark and Fox Tree also showed that uhs were followed by minor delays, as you can see

here in lines 121-123:

Example 3

(121) HQ: Do you know how it’s made? (‘it’ referring to pizza)

(122) MPH: Yes.. you make the dough then you uh you let it rise for a few

(123) hours and then you uh you like you knead the dough and then you can like roll it out

Criez 9

In this example, uh is used throughout the answer indicating that there will be short pauses

throughout, but will not last long. MPH was able to continue explaining how to make pizza

shortly after she used an uh showing that it was a minor delay instead of a major delay like the

earlier examples show.

Example 4

(87) uh her name is Chloe she works at a sushi restaurant and she wants to be a

(88)professional chef when she grows older she doesn’t want to own a restaurant though uh she

(89) just wants to be the head chef at a restaurant.. uh she wants to be in the kitchen and nowhere

(90) else

In these lines, P was asked to describe her sister. She doesn’t use any ums in these lines

so there aren’t any major delays. She does, however, use several uhs and have minor delays

following them. The minor delays after the uh used in these examples follow Clark’s and Fox

Tree’s hypothesis that uhs are followed by minor delays. All of these examples follow what

Clark and Fox Tree argued, uhs indicate a minor delay and ums indicate a major delay.

Next I will show how uhs and ums are used to indicate hesitation and uncertainty as in

lines 107-111:

Example 5

(107) HQ: And what was the movie about?

(108) MPH: The movie was about..um this..boy who grew up in a rough neighborhood

(109)umm and then he gets in trouble one day and he calls this phone number and

(110)this guy comes and does him a favor um..and then he gets asked to join this um this

(111) spy-recruitment-academy-type deal um.. and so like he tries to become a spy

In this example MPH described the movie she last saw in theaters. MPH used quite a few uhs

and ums because she hesitated on how to describe this movie; she wanted to be able to ‘get it

Criez 10

right’ and was uncertain how to describe it well without being prepared to describe it. This

follows what O’Connell and Kowal, and Corley and Stewart argued—uIs and ums are used due

to lack of preparation and hesitation or uncertainty. Another example of this is shown in lines 44-

45:

Example 6

(44)SC: honestly it was the best um I don’t want to say animation but um.. but probably the best

(45) movie I’ve seen of that type of film

In these lines, SC used um because he was uncertain of the type of film he was describing

and didn’t want to use the wrong term for it, which follows what Corley and Stewart claimed.

Another example of uhs and ums based on uncertainty and hesitation is in lines 79-80:

Example 7

(79) W: It’s made with um cream, flavoring so like chocolate of strawberry or whatever um

(80) sugar…I think that’s it and it’s stirred until it’s frozen churned until it’s frozen

Here we can see W used ums in her description of how ice cream is made because she

was uncertain of the exact process, which continues to follow Corley’s and Stewart’s hypothesis

that uhs and ums are used to indicate hesitation and uncertainty.

And lastly, uhs and ums used for recall during discourse. In the interviews, the subjects

were each asked when the last time they saw a movie in a movie theater was. The first example

of uh and um use for recall is in line 2:

Example 8

(2) EB: Umm…probably a month ago?

Criez 11

Here, EB was asked when he saw a movie in theaters and he could not remember straight away.

After he used an um and was able to think about the answer, he was able to provide a time.

Another example is in lines 37-38:

Example 9

(37) SC: O:h gosh, um the last time I saw a movie in the movie theaters.

(38) I think it was probably three years ago four years ago and uh it was probably Avatar

SC was asked the same question as EB and also used um before remembering how long it had

been since he’s gone to the movie theaters. And a third example of this is in lines 103-104:

Example 10

(103) MPH: I think it was um…February? Maybe January. January of February I

(104) can’t remember

In all of these examples, EB, SC, and MPH were all asked a question that relied on their

memories. And each of them used an um before they could tell how long ago it was when they

last saw a movie in a theater, whether it was just last month or five years ago. And all of these

examples are consistent with Fraundorf’s and Watson’s hypothesis that uhs and ums are used to

recall in discourse.

Overall, my data was consistent with the hypotheses of Clark and Fox Tree, O’Connell

and Kowal, Corley and Stewart, and Fraundorf and Watson that uhs and ums are used to indicate

minor (uh) and major (um) delays, to indicate hesitation or uncertainty and unpreparedness, and

to recall during conversation.

5) Interpretation

Based on the data earlier presented, we are able to see the correlating patterns with each

hypothesis. Clark and Fox Tree proposed that filled pauses indicated a delay using an um to

Criez 12

indicate a major delay, which can be seen in my data in examples 1 and 2, and using an uh before

a minor delay, which can also can be seen in my data in examples 3 and 4. O’Connell and Kowal

argued that uh and um could also indicate hesitation, and Corley and Stewart argued that uhs and

ums indicate uncertainty or lack of preparation, which can all be seen in my data in examples 5,

6, and 7. And, lastly, Fraundorf and Watson claimed that uhs and ums are used for recall during

conversation, which is evident in my data collection in examples 8, 9, and 10. Based on my

findings, and the other researchers’. Uh and um can be used for multiple reasons, some for the

listener and others for the speaker. The speaker can use uh and um to let a listener know that

there will be a delay, but they wish to keep speaking; to let the listener know that they’re

uncertain of what to say next and may require assistance; or to let a listener know they’re trying

to remember something and to be patient while they think. And as uhs and ums are useful to

speakers, they are useful to listeners in the same way. When a listener hears the speaker use an

uh or an um, the listener then can determine whether the speaker is delayed, but wants to keep

the floor; is uncertain of what to say next and may require assistance; or is trying to remember

something and telling them to be patient while they think. We now see that uh and um have

meaning, but are they words?

6) Conclusion

In summary, uh and um are used in conversation to indicate there will be a delay, there is

hesitation or uncertainty, or that the speaker is trying to recall something. Uhs and Ums are

marked because they’re signals that let us know what is happening in a conversation. Now we

can determine if uh and um are actually words. Though there are compelling arguments, by Clark

and Fox Tree, that uh and um are words, they are more signals than they are words. Words have

Criez 13

definitions, and though these have meanings they are not definable. Uhs and ums are tools and

signals. In order to prove uh and um are indeed words, much more research must be done.

Criez 14

References

Anna Deavere Smith Young Arts Masterclass [Motion picture]. (2014). HBO.

Clark, H., & Fox Tree, J. (2002). Using uh and um in spontaneous speaking. Cognition, 73-111.

Corley, M., & Stewart, O. W. (2008). Hesitation disfluencies in spontaneous speech: The

meaning of 'um'. Language and Linguistics Compass, 2(4), 589-602.

Fraundorf, S. H., & Watson, D. G. (2011). The disfluent discourse: Effects of filled pauses on

recall. Journal of Memory and Language, 65(2), 161-175.

O'Connell, D.,C., & Kowal, S. (2005). Uh and um revisited: Are they interjections for signaling

delay? Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 34(6), 555-576.

Tottie, G. (2014). On the use of uh and um in American English. Functions Of Language, 21(1),

6-29.

Criez 15

Appendix 1

Transcriptions

Interview 1: Easter Bunny & Harley Quinn

(1) Harley Quinn: When was the last time you went to the movie theaters?

(2) Easter Bunny: Umm..probably a month ago?

(3) Harley Quinn: What movie did you see?

(4) Easter Bunny: Uhh Kingsmen

(5) Harley Quinn: What was the movie about.

(6) Easter Bunny: Men that worked for the king…like umm spies or something…can’t really

(7) remember

(8) Harley Quinn: When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?

(9) Easter Bunny: I wanted..uh to be a footballer-soccer player

(10) Harley Quinn: Now what do you want to be?

(11) Easter Bunny: Still like to be a soccer player really but umm it’s not happening so

(12) uh…anything…couldn’t give a shit ummm do you want me to pick something random?

(13) Harley Quinn: Sure, just pick something random

(14) Easter Bunny: (3.5) I’d like to analyze statistics in a psychological manner

(15) Harley Quinn: Kay..u::mm when you are sad what music do you listen to?

(16) Easter Bunny: Arctic Monkeys, but I listen to them all the time

(17) Harley Quinn: What is your favorite food?

(18) Easter Bunny: Um it used to be Indian back home in England, now u:m…(hh)…I like like a

(19) good roast chicken, like a good rotisserie chicken

(20) Harley Quinn: Do you know how it’s made?

(21) Easter Bunny: Yeah what you do is buy a chicken at a uh store..(hh) shove like a metal pole

(22) through its uh middle up its ass..through its mouth. And then attach that to a motor which

(23) spins it round and put that inside a grill or barbeque or something like that..and just wait for

(24) an hour or so.

Interview 2: StormyC & Harley Quinn

(25) Harley Quinn: Do you have any brothers or sisters?

Criez 16

(26) StormyC: Yes, I have two sisters.

(27) Harley Quinn: Can you tell me about them?

(28) StormyC: …Yes uh my oldest is eight years older than I. Her name is Chewy she lives in

(29) Washington where she uh lives with her husband um that she met when she was in high

(30)school and then met again after a lo:ng time and they finally met up in their latter years uh

(31) probably ten years ago started dating started to get married a:nd uh his name is Hans he uh

(32) was a high school athlete. And my sister C3P0, she is seven years older than I she’s

(33)probably my closer of the two sisters… a:nd uh she works as a dental hygienist she’s going

(34) to retire soon and she lives with her husband u:h his name is R2D2… so yeah um that’s

(35)them!

(36) Harley Quinn: Okay, when was the last time you saw a movie in the movie theaters.

(37)StormyC: O:h gosh, um the last time I saw a movie in the movie theate:rs…I can’t remember

(38) I think it was probably three years ago four years ago and uh it was probably Avatar

(39) Harley Quinn: Oh, what was the movie about?

(40) StormyC: It was a um.. a whole different it’s where the humans were the aliens, basically so

(41) uh it was life another planet and a uh different type of being that was somewhat human-like

(42) but umm different in many ways as well. Umm and it got into the um.. spiritual aspects of it

(43) umm different life forces and things of that nature uh it was very interesting. And quite

(44)honestly it was the best um I don’t want to say animation but um.. but probably the best

(45)movie I’ve seen of that type of film

(46) Harley Quinn: When you were younger what did you want to be when you grew up.

(47) StormyC: …umm I still want to be something want to be something when I grow up yeah

(48) when I was younger I wanted to be a professional baseball player


(50) StormyC: If I could say Thai food I would but nothing beats a really good Habit burger yeah

(51) Harley Quinn: Do you know how it’s made?

(52) StormyC: Umm no not really…with a grill!

(53) Harley Quinn: A:nd if you could eat one food forever what would it be?

(54) StormyC: Umm um um probably prime rib

Criez 17

Interview 3: Winky & Harley Quinn

(55) Harley Quinn: Do you have any brothers or sisters=

(56) Winky: =yes


(60) Winky: Um. I have five brothers and sisters, um.. we all live relatively close to each other

(61) u:m we had a great childhood… um.. I have a brother who lives in the same city my parents

(62) live in the same city um.. we have a lot of fun at parties and holidays

(63) Harley Quinn: What was the last movie you saw in a movie theater?

(64) Winky: Um Up I think that’s what it was uh but that’s what came to mind

(65) Harley Quinn: Do you remember what Up was about?

(66) Winky: U::m little boy old man.. uh a house goes up with balloons and it’s about their

(67)travels

(68) Harley Quinn: When you were little what did you want to be when you grew up

(69) Winky: Umm… the first thing I wanted to be was a police officer and then an architect

(70) Harley Quinn: What do you want to be now?

(71) Winky: Um police officer or an architect uh actually retired but uhh what do I want to be

(72) now? I would like to do something that involves the outdoors like gardening

(73) Harley Quinn: So like landscaping?

(74) Winky: Landscaping or growing things selling fruits and vegetables


(76) Winky: Uhh.. favorite foo:d I would sa:y…umm (2.5) ice cream. Ice cream’s my

(77)favorite food.

(78) Harley Quinn: How’s it made?

(79) Winky: It’s made with um cream, flavoring so like chocolate or strawberry or whatever um

(80) sugar…I think that’s it and it’s stirred until it’s frozen churned until it’s frozen

Interview 4: Harley Quinn & Plato

(81) Harley Quinn: Do you have any brothers or sisters?

Criez 18

(82) Plato: Yes, I have o:ne brother and one sister


(84) Plato: Yeah, um..my: brother i::s nineteen years old his name is Colin he::’s really into cars

(85) and not taking showers and um he wants to be wants to own his own car garage when he

(86) gets older umm… and then my sister..i:s twenty she turns twenty-one in just a couple of

(87) months she: her name is Chloe she works at a sushi restaurant and she wants to be a

(88)professional chef when she grows older she doesn’t want to own a restaurant though uh she

(89) just wants to be the head chef at a restaurant.. uh she wants to be in the kitchen and nowhere

(90) else a:nd um… yeah that’s it

(91) Harley Quinn: Who is your favorite author and why do you like that author

(92) Plato: My favorite author is.. Tolkien, JRR Tolkien be- not just because he can write a good

(93) story it’s because he was able to create a whole other world…it actually started out as a

(94)Linguistics task..he had to create an entire language written and then phonetics for it and

(95) then he kinda it just kinda like took off from there …so um Middle Earth came from a

(96)Linguistics homework assignment so uh that’s funny

(97) Harley Quinn: What’s your job and what do you like about it?

(98) Plato: I’m a part-time private tutor…what I like about tutoring um is that I get to see the

(99) impact I have on other people. Like one of my students…he::… he has ADHD and

(100)sometimes it’s really hard to get him to focus but he.. um.. he’s made a lot of progress and

(101) you can uh see how had he tries

Interview 5: Harley Quinn & Mrs. Potato Head

(102) Harley Quinn: Uh when was the last time you went to the movies?

(103) Mrs. Potato Head: I think it was um…February? Maybe January January or February I

(104) can’t remember

(105) Harley Quinn: What movie did you see?

(106) Mrs. Potato Head: I saw the Kingsman with my boyfriend, Zac

(107) Harley Quinn: And what was the movie about?

(108) Mrs. Potato Head: The movie was about..um this.. boy who grew up in a rough

(109)neighborhood umm and then he gets in trouble one day and he calls this phone number and

Criez 19

(110) this guy comes and does him a favor um.. and then he like gets asked to join this um this

(111) spy-recruitment-academy-type deal um.. and so like he tries to become a spy

(112) Harley Quinn: When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?

(113) Mrs. Potato Head: Well I went through different phases originally I wanted to be: a teacher

(114) and then a friend told me that that’s because the only job I’ve ever seen was a teacher I

(115) needed to hold off on making decisions on what I wanted to be when I grew up um… but

(116) then I thought I also really like singing I want to be a country singer … and then a

(117) doctor..and then like a year ago um.. I sat down and looked at all the classes and the

(118)classes I wanted to take were all English major requirements so I looked at all the different

(119) choices and um English Education stuck out to me the most so um now I’m back to

(120)wanting to be a teacher

(121) Harley Quinn: Do you know how it’s (pizza) made?

(122) Mrs. Potato Head: Yes.. you make the dough and then you um you let it rise for a few

(123) hours and then you um you like you knead the dough and then you can like roll it out and

(124) make a circle and then you um you spread sauce all over it and then you put cheese on it

(125) and then you can add um whatever you want on it

Criez 20

Appendix 2

Key:

= no interval between adjacent utterances

- Short untimed pause with glottal stop

. indicates a stopping fall in tone, not necessarily at the end of a sentence.

, indicates a continuing intonation, not necessarily between clauses of a sentence.

? indicates rising inflection, not necessarily a question

… noticeable pause or break in rhythm without falling intonation (more than a second)

.. pause of less than a second

(time) pause more than 1.5 seconds

: following vowels indicates long vowel sounds

(hh) indicates exhaling

Criez 21

Appendix 3

Interview Questions

1. Do you have any brothers or sisters? (If yes) Can you tell me about them?

2. When was the last time you saw a movie in the movie theaters? What movie did you see?

What was it about?

3. Who is your favorite author? Why do you like that author?

4. When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up? Now what to you

want to be?

5. Do you work now? (If yes) What do you like/dislike about your job?

6. When you are sad, what music do you listen to? Why do you think that helps?

7. What is your favorite food? Do you know how it’s made? (If yes) How is it made?

Uh, um, and their indications in small talk

Documents

Transcript of Uh, um, and their indications in small talk