Uhm or erm or er

[lankeela]

Why do we say uhm or erm or er when we don't know what to say next?

I have noticed recently how many people do this, even on that model of grammatical excellence, Radio 4. Some people seem to say it erm as a matter of uhm course when they are er speaking.

[chainfire]

Not sure if this is true, but I heard that it gives the brain time to think of what to say, while still indicating to someone that you are still speaking. Usually when someone is quiet for the same length of time it takes to say erm, it is enough for the other person to talk.

FYI, I don't think I use uhm or erm, I just use er.

[jno]

yes, just a space filler while you formulate your next sentence. Few of us have sufficient gift of the gab not to do it. Nothing to do with grammar or vocabulary.

[lankeela]

I see what you mean, but what I really meant was why do we use those particular sounds? Why not 'ho' or 'zee' or anything else - is there a physical reason that we can say these things easier? May be something to do with intaking breath, as they all are sounds that we make on an intake rather than having to 'push' the sound out like with a hard 't' ? Does that make sense?

[jno]

well, they're just basic sounds - uhhh (or errr) is just making a sound with your lips apart, mmmm is making it with your lips together, and um is one after the other. To say tttt or kkkk you'd have to think about it a little bit, which is precisely what you're trying not to do, because you want your brain to concentrate on what you're saying next.

[heathfield]

We had an Art History lecturer at college who we nicknamed Mr Um. We'd count the consecutive number of 'ums' he utter during a lecture. The record was 18 !

[jno]

heavens, heathfield, I could manage 18 in five minutes! That's not even trying.

[heathfield]

Jno - that was 18 'ums' between two words! And there's not even one in your above, um, post!

[andy-hughes]

I am aquainted with two people who put 'Uums' into e-mails - how odd is that?

One of them when she was cross with me, even put "OK (sigh!) you're going to keep on aren't you ...." as though we were having a conversation verbally.

[jno]

oh, sorry heathfield, I misunderstood. Between two words, that is quite a few, isn't it.

andy, I think emails often do replicate speech; there are formal ones, but the ones you send to friends, even if not in txtspk, are often conversational in tone. But I would have thought that if you write er, it's more likely to be a literary conceit rather than a spoken one - to, um, draw attention to what you're about to say.

[ajmmac]

don't think i use uhm erm or er in my speech--i do definitely use a long 'a' as in the words may lay and say--eg in the sentence-- "It may be the reason that some people 'a' want time to 'a' formulate the rest of the answer."