Learn Filler Words To Become Fluent In A Foreign Language
Learning to speak a foreign language may be easy for some,
but for most people, it takes efforts and hacks. One such interesting hack is
to learn the filler words. By filler words we mean words without any meaning.
When you know such words, you can easily fill in the gaps and you will get time
to frame your sentence.
In fact, such filler words make you a better speaker.
According to a recent study from the University of Rochester English speakers
pay attention to unfamiliar objects if the word 'uh' is used before giving the
object's name. Basically when you use fillers, you are psyching out the
listener that you are going to say something unfamiliar and he or she will pay
more attention.
Every language will have fillers that will help you in three
ways. One, it will indicate that you haven't finished your sentence, therby
raising the curiosity of the listener. Two, you will have time to build
confidence and three you will sound more native. Using fillers is a
counter-intuitive approach to building confidence. However, be careful you
don't overuse them. Then you are risking your chance of sounding like a
non-native. Here are some interesting fillers from five languages.
Fillers in English
The most common fillers used while speaking English are 'um'
and 'uh'. These are used as pauses between words.
Fillers in German
'Ahm' and 'Ah', pronounced almost like 'um' and 'uh' are
greater indicators that you havent finished speaking. You can also use 'weisst
du', meaning 'you know' when you get stuck in between.
Fillers in Japanese
'Eeto' and 'ano' are teh most common fillers in Japanese.
You can also use the word 'nanka' which means 'like'.
Fillers in Italian
Italians mostly go for hand gestures than fillers. However,
some words they use are 'ecco', meaning 'there' and 'cioe', meaning 'actually'.
Fillers in Spanish
Fillers, such as 'bueno' and 'a ver', meaning 'so' and
'well' respectively are great ways of starting a conversation.
