Newsgroups: sci.lang
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!news2.near.net!news.mathworks.com!uunet!in1.uu.net!world!dbucher
From: dbucher@world.std.com (Daniel B Bucher)
Subject: Re: what people say when they're pausing (uh)
Message-ID: <D3prLC.LCI@world.std.com>
Organization: Massachusetts Bay Mesopotamia
References: <enkeli.791151377@proffa> <3gh8m3$i6f@newsbf02.news.aol.com> <dougD3p9p9.8y3@netcom.com>
Date: Thu, 9 Feb 1995 03:41:36 GMT
Lines: 17

In article <dougD3p9p9.8y3@netcom.com>, Doug Merritt <doug@netcom.com> wrote:
> <3gh8m3$i6f@newsbf02.news.aol.com> wprestong@aol.com (WPrestonG) writes:
>>
>>  I personally am trying to get over the habit of saying
>>"uh".
>>It comes from growing up in a family where people always interrupt
>>you if you leave "dead air" in the conversation for half a second.  Most
>>middle-class American families do this.  I think if people really listened
>>and didn't interrupt, we wouldn't learn to do this.
>
>I doubt that.

I second that doubt. Everybody speaks with ums and ahs, it is perfectly
normal. As a matter of fact you will probably be perceived as a bit
odd or stilted by your interlocutors if you put too much effort into
this.

