Corpus-based research on the “filled pauses” um and uh has shown that
um is gaining frequency relative to uh, with um used more frequently by
women and younger people. There has been some speculation that the rise of um is linked to a new discourse
function or meaning, but this has not yet been fully substantiated. This paper approaches the problem from a perceptual angle,
reporting the results of two experiments investigating participants’ judgments of the indexicalities of the “filled pauses”
um and uh in two media: instant messaging and speech. Participants’ qualitative and
quantitative responses suggest that readers and listeners associate the use of um with hesitancy, femininity,
politeness, and thoughtfulness, but that uh is primarily associated just with hesitancy. I argue that these
indexicalities may be linked to the ongoing change, with um indexing a potentially more desirable type of
hesitation than uh.
In media commentary, um and uh are widely considered to be undesirable, unprofessional,
and distracting. Writing in Forbes, for example, Rezvani (2014) refers to them as
“credibility diminishers” and advises readers to “steer [their] speech habits away from ‘Um’ and ‘Uh’ to more surefooted language.”
Along the same lines, Dlugan (2011), a public speaking blogger, writes that “filler words —
including um and uh […] add nothing when a speaker utters them.” In other words, uh
and um are meaningless “empty calories” (McKay and McKay 2012).
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