When the thought process is too slow, and you already need to speak, it is extra words that help gain time. And each of these words or phrases helps to understand the characteristics of a person’s character.
They appear when there is an awkward pause, they do not carry a semantic load, but they help to stall for time. Everyone has them. They are called filler words.
“As if”, “in short”, “in general”, “so to speak”, “here”... With such speech patterns we try to hide ignorance or excitement, and if used excessively we make the interlocutor lose the thread of reasoning and cause irritation.
What is it: a bad habit, a speech defect or a communicative need? What do these words say about us and is it worth getting rid of them? Is it possible to do without them?
We need filler words to overcome speech difficulties, and it is pointless to fight them. Unless, of course, you insert “means” and “so to speak” through the word, because then this is already a speech impediment that complicates communication and irritates the interlocutor.
It is impossible not to note the useful functions of filler words. There are few of them, but they still exist:
- If you are in a hurry, then with a “parasite”, for example, “To-that”, you can express a thought faster than listing what you will do on vacation or for a walk.
- Tactical ploy. If you are asked an awkward question, then with “parasites” (“you see”, “how can I explain it to you”, etc.) you can slightly delay the time in order to have time to formulate a thought and “bomb” your opponent with it.
- Without filler words, it is difficult to play ignorant people in cinema and theater.
- Without many filler words, speech would not be so emotional and easy to understand, even if the text was sometimes reduced to just one word. Exclusively literary speech in ordinary everyday life is like a dried mummy - without emotional coloring, naturalness and liveliness.
As if
One of the most common parasitic words in the Russian language is “as if.” If you hear that your interlocutor often uses “as if”, most likely he is a creative person. Such people spend most of their time in their imaginary world, and with the phrase “as if” they unconsciously want to emphasize their surreal perception of life and isolation from society. This is what the parasitic word “as if” means in psychology. However, sometimes “as if” is just a universal interjection.
Personal qualities
There are also individual parasitic words that are not popular among a large circle of speakers, but constantly slip into the minds of individual individuals (for example, the famous “unambiguously”, so adored by one politician I know), which over time can “infect” their interlocutors and listeners.
“Definitely” indicates the confidence of the speaker. “As if,” on the contrary, is most often used by people who are insecure,” according to Maxim Krongauz. Although he does not agree with the unknown authors of the famous Internet note “Parasitic words give away our secrets”:
Yet the idea that they can reveal our hidden deepest qualities is not entirely accurate. This is probably just one of the bright strokes in the speech portrait, a characteristic of the community and era to which we belong, and not the characteristics of the individual.
Actually
Another word that insecure people cannot do without. Psychologists believe that individuals who use this word too often are prone to neuroses and hysterics.
Indeed, they masterfully throw up scandals, even if there is no particular reason for this. By the way, this is another sign of self-doubt, so they are trying to defend themselves.
Their character lacks confidence and courage, so they try to fake it. And quite successfully. Many do not even realize that in front of them is a person who does not have a strong character.
The most common:
- Extremely limited vocabulary. Its deficiency forces a person to use junk words to connect speech and express his thoughts.
- Low speed of transformation of thoughts into words. In this case, pauses between phrases are automatically filled with words and sounds like “uh-uh,” “like,” “mmm...”, etc.
- Ordinary laziness and lack of understanding of speech culture.
- Excessive excitement when expressing thoughts.
- Intentional use of “garbage” in speech (when the communication style is part of a “fashionable” image).
Of course, one cannot judge a person’s education or level of intelligence by the use of filler words. Sometimes the “Gopnik in the Gateway” expresses himself culturally in beautiful and pure Russian, and some famous professor, speaking on TV, on the contrary, speaks like that same Gopnik from the Gateway.
It is worth noting that everyone has their own parasitic words , and their “set” can be very wide.
In a figurative sense
What does the word parasite mean? This means a lot, especially if such a word becomes an unusual lexeme, for example:
- "Tree sticks". Here is a parasitic word that is used to enhance emotional stress and attract attention.
- "Exactly this". This expression can be interpreted as an inability to find the right expression or as an attempt to carefully attract attention to oneself.
- "In fact". This is an attempt to show your superiority over others and appear smarter.
- “You understand.” From a psychological point of view, this expression indicates uncertainty in what was said, timidity, an attempt to justify oneself, and low self-esteem.
- "Kindergarten". This parasitic word is used by people who are trying to appear in a more favorable light and be better than those around them. This is a sign that the interlocutor lacks compelling arguments, but he does not want to admit his mistake.
Are there any advantages?
Even when interjections and particles become parasites and interfere with a person’s ability to establish contacts, one can highlight the benefits of their use. The general advantages include the following (may linguists forgive me):
- Reduce the information flow. Sometimes, I think it’s appropriate to use strange words, such as “this and that,” “here and there.” If you are talking with a person who knows you well, then when you suggest going for a walk, you can say “Let's take a walk, go shopping, go to the cinema, this and that.”
- Fool around, play. Try on someone else's role by consuming typical weeds.
- Give the conversation emotional expression. Relevant again for communication among friends. Occasionally it is not shameful to say “topic” or “tough” if it is said by you with your own permission. Otherwise, you can purify your speech so much that it becomes businesslike always and with everyone. But besides formal communication, there is informal communication in life.
Additional benefits can be identified separately for the speaker and for the listener.
For the speaker
It’s not for nothing that filler words are also called pause substitutes. They allow a person to select the necessary thoughts and think, that is, they give time. But the conclusion suggests itself: time to “think” is needed by those who have:
- poor vocabulary;
- poorly developed speech;
- weak thought processes.
With swearing and inappropriate repetition of particles, a person fills a mental and speech vacuum.
For the listener
For the listening person, parasites have less of a positive impact. As a result, only parasites become noticeable and interfere with the perception of basic information. But among the advantages:
- the opportunity to consider the partner’s hidden states (behind the parasites lies a specific problem);
- a hint for pause, comprehension of what was said (the word “here”).
An interrogative “yes” or “you know” on the part of the speaker does not necessarily signal his uncertainty; perhaps it is a way of attracting the attention of the listener and maintaining communicative contact.
No
This word can also be a parasite, although it is not introductory, like many others. The word "no" means denial. If a person uses it too often, it means he is trying to defend himself.
Such people do not recognize authorities; they value only their own opinions. Surprisingly, they use the word “no” even when trying to express agreement on any issue.
This word is also used to attract attention. After all, only disagreement will force the interlocutor to listen to the opponent’s point of view.
Analogues in English
Do such words have any national characteristics? Since they are not recommended for use in speech and cannot be found in dictionaries, we do not know this part of foreign languages well. In English-speaking countries, it is very rare for an informal conversation to proceed without you know (“you know”) and I mean (“I mean,” “that is”).
“There are a lot of similarities in languages,” notes Maxim Krongauz, “take, for example, our word “as if,” which intersects in English with like (in this case it is not a verb).” However, it is not known whether analogues of the word “in short” exist elsewhere. American scientists found out where these parasitic words came from: psychologist Joseph Schrock and psycholinguistic specialist, cognitive psychologist Jean Fox Tree.
I mean is a warning about an upcoming clarification to what was said earlier, and you know is an invitation to participate in the conversation of the interlocutor (at least to express disagreement or agreement). These words are called discourse markers. They are also used not for the purpose of forming the main meaning, but to warn about the communicative intentions of the speaker and to create conversational structure. An example of a marker in Russian is the word “yes?”.
“In its form, this is a question, but we will not wait for an answer to it, we will not even pause for the listener to insert at least something,” explains Maxim Krongauz. “The function of this word is to keep the other person’s attention focused on the conversation so that he listens more attentively.”
In fact
This word is loved by self-confident and selfish people, among whom there are many sanguine extroverts. They can trust only their own opinion and themselves, disdaining the position and experience of others. People who are “in reality” often find it difficult to make like-minded people and friends. In disputes, it is important for them not to find the truth, but to silence their opponents. The interlocutors in most cases do not want to accept their point of view and often do not want to deal with them anymore.
Just
This word is used by people who are not sure of their opinion or simply do not have one. Such interlocutors are often dependent on others; they are always afraid to say something wrong or take responsibility. These people are characterized by constantly making excuses and fearing for their future. Having added this word to his speech, the interlocutor seems to reserve the right to change his point of view, refuse everything said, or simply. It is often used when trying to lie, but the feeling of shame haunts you.
Exactly this
This is what people who are not very responsible and lazy prefer to say. They are very impulsive and unreliable and should not be relied upon. Such people can creatively shift their blame onto everyone who bothers to get their hands on it. They often think that they have been unfairly deprived, and that everyone in the world “owes” them - that’s what the parasitic word “this is the same” means.
With an implicit psychological interpretation
- “Wow” is something like a curse that a person sends to himself. If we analyze this expression verbatim, then this is exactly what it prophesies.
- The parasitic word “well” in psychology means a limited vocabulary, fear or inability to express one’s opinion, or the highest degree of excitement. “E” and “this” also belong to this group.
- The parasitic word “type” means that the person who uses it is not confident in his statements.
- “On” usually indicates a lover of swear words who is trying to restrain himself and seem well-mannered.
- “Clearly”, “quickly”, “clearly” - are used when a person is trying to make his interlocutor look more stupid and show his superiority over him.
- “You know” is used by people who want to attract attention, who want to be trusted more. This filler word gives the conversation a more personal emotional overtones.
Prevention
Embolofrasia is a bad habit transmitted by airborne droplets. Not literally, but figuratively. We are influenced by our environment, including how we speak. Have you noticed that close friends have common words and unity of thought, phrases spoken in one voice? So it is with parasitic words. If someone else around you suffers from this disease, then there are three options:
- recover together;
- break contact;
- engage in preventive maintenance regularly.
I propose to consider the latter in more detail.
- Replace simple and primitive words with introductory constructions (“well” with “therefore”, “here” with “further”). Anything is better than the language of gopniks.
- Don't carry on a conversation if it doesn't interest you. Parasites are born from trying to squeeze something out of oneself.
- Make a joke agreement on purity of speech. Whoever utters an unwanted word crows or meows (under any conditions and circumstances).
- Read aloud. Firstly, your vocabulary expands. Secondly, speech skills improve. Thirdly, the brain remembers ready-made speech structures (you won’t notice this yourself, but the information will be recorded on the internal “disk” and will be activated independently). Preference should be given to fiction, journalistic, and popular science literature.
- Retell stories, films, jokes. Pay attention to what words you use. This way you will expand your passive vocabulary.
- Make a list of standard beautiful speech expressions or ready-made sayings and use them (but do not relegate them to the status of “genetically modified parasites”).
- Do exercises to select synonyms (for your speech or text from a book).
How to get rid of parasitic words in speech?
If you notice such structures in yourself, it is better to get rid of them. And you can do this in the following ways:
- Try recording your speech on a voice recorder. Perhaps listening to it will surprise you greatly.
- If you plan to speak publicly, it is better to conduct several rehearsals and draw up a detailed plan for your report.
- Expand your vocabulary. Retell large amounts of information out loud more often, communicate with educated people, read classical literature.
- Replace filler words, it can even become a fun game. To do this, you need to replace it every time you want to say your “favorite word” with a new word found in the dictionary.
- Constantly control yourself. Using filler words is a bad habit, and it takes a lot of effort to get rid of it.
From a psychological point of view, the absence of filler words is a sign of erudition, a person’s rich vocabulary and education, as well as a respectful attitude towards his interlocutor.
