Why do we, like, hesitate when we, um, speak? - Lorenzo García-Amaya

Why do we fill pauses in speech with words like “um,” “uh,” and “like”? Dig into the hesitation phenomenon to find out their linguistic significance.
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For as long as we’ve had language, some people have tried to control it. And some of the most frequent targets of this communication regulation are the ums, ers, and likes that pepper our conversations. These linguistic fillers occur roughly 2 to 3 times per minute in natural speech. So are ums and uhs just a habit we can’t break? Or is there more to them? Lorenzo García-Amaya investigates.
Lesson by Lorenzo García-Amaya, directed by Yael Reisfeld.
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View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/why-do-we-...
Dig deeper with additional resources: ed.ted.com/lessons/why-do-we-...
Animator's website: www.yaelreisfeld.com/
Educator's website: umich.edu/~speechlab/
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Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Brady Jones, Christina Salvatore, Karlee Finch, Michael Goldberg, Mario Mejia, Nicolas Silva, Kurt Almendras, Denise A Pitts, Doug Henry, Kristiyan Bonev, Keven Webb, Mihai Sandu, Deepak Iyer, Javid Gozalov, Jaime Arriola, Rebecca Reineke, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, Valeria Sloan Vasquez, Yvette Mocete, Cyrus Garay, Victoria Soler-Roig, Samuel Barbas, Brighteagle, LadyGeek, Curtis Light, Dwight Schrute, Dianne Palomar, Marin Kovachev, Ravi S. Rāmphal, Tekin Gültekin, Gaurav Mathur, Erik Biemans, Tony, Michelle, Katie and Josh Pedretti, Aidan Forero, Sunny Patel, Lowell Fleming, Hoai Nam Tran, Stina Boberg, Kack-Kyun Kim, Ken, zjweele13, Jurjen Geleijn, Anna-Pitschna Kunz, Edla Paniguel, Thomas Mungavan, Jaron Blackburn, Venkat Venkatakrishnan, ReuniteKorea and John Saveland.

[@alexharvey7660]

Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man.

[@grumpyguy2877]

😂🤣😂🤣

[@tony001513]

like I know what, man???

[@Mike-lx9qn]

Imo, that's just how stoners talk

[@jacobwells8368]

Is this a quote from Joe Biden? XD

[@xd8812]

Lol the dude, um, abides...

[@FinancialShinanigan]

Like... * Important word incoming * ...like you know...

[@xuminghaostolemyheart2466]

Loll

[@zacharytang3840]

Uhmmm... like, how are you supposed to like, understand? Yeah, like, it’s realllly hard to even uhh, understand urr, hesitation thingies! Like, how do you all uh, even get this stuff? Like, you know, it’s like so hard!

[@homeraj838]

Lol 😂

[@saumyasharma6790]

Like, you know, um, I mean that like, er..

[@josephweeks3815]

@@saumyasharma6790 Like subscribe

[@DoctorX17]

I always found it fascinating that English tends to have "uhh" and "umm", which just seem like a simple random noise [particularly "uhh"], but the fillers for other languages seem to be more complex than just a simple sound.

[@byte7645]

uh ok

[@godhateseveryonewhodoesntr5977]

Dutch has those fillers too

[@quozean777yt4]

in Philippines, our fillers would be, “yung ano ah... yung ano.. yuuungg...”

[@karenryder6317]

@@quozean777yt4 So interesting that non-English speaking people have different fillers than "uhm". How did that latter filler get to be the standard for English? Also, no one has spoken about age differences in fillers. Use of "like" and "sort of" as fillers has increased exponentially since the 80s.

[@Delta-xk4qf]

In spanish, the filler tends to be ehh instead of uhh

[@fergochan]

I never become fluent enough in Japanese to know if this is true, but I always remember my teacher saying that ええと and あの were important to learn and say, and it really coloured my perception of the function of ums and aahs in English before I'd ever heard the terms "filled pauses" and "discourse markers". Honestly, for me the best thing about learning other languages has been how much it has helped me understand my own.

[@isabelli7931]

that's amazing

[@romanski5811]

Can you do a Varial Kickflip?

[@acelt0120]

Good luck from JPN🇯🇵

[@sah_813]

How many languages do you know?

[@fergochan]

@@sah_813 I speak English very well. I speak Japanese at a below amateur level. I can make an educated guess at written French or German. I'm completely monolingual is basically what I'm getting at.

[@marchmallow3011]

ending a sentence with "lol" has the same kind of effect lol

[@datmangotho9618]

Yeah it really does lol, or with an emoticon face :D or adding extra letters to the end so you don’t sound rude rightt

[@manswind3417]

Exactly, words like 'lol', 'lmao' and xD, which were initially intended to specifically denote humour/comedy, have gone on to become fillers lol

[@quinn470]

@@manswind3417 trueeeeeeee

[@ummmmno411]

I use them all the time omg

[@ayushisingh4426]

@@ummmmno411 omg as well lol

[@pratyush7987]

The back of my highschool english book says: "I know what to say, I just don't know how to say it" --a student

[@utahimeiori8739]

My entire student life as a gifted kid so far explained

[@ritzzzblitzz6833]

Literally me in any argument.

[@porc1429]

Same it's soo frustrating I know what i wanna say but I just don't know how to say it

[@miu-nyan9267]

@@porc1429 ikr

[@beepboopbeep5369]

is that from a grade 11's english text book?

[@IcecreamCat23]

This is also amazing for storytelling (and texting overall) When you use filled pauses in dialogue in story writing, it makes the character speaking sound more human, and not so much a robot and static. Take the following sentences: "I got the papers back to the boss." Sounds confident, but what if I want to make the character sound more... hesitant or shy? I would add an "uh..." somewhere in the sentence. "I uh... got the papers back to the boss." The placement of "uh..." here makes the sentence sound more casual "Uh... I got the papers back to the boss." Now the character sounds more hesitant "I got the papers back to the uh... boss." This puts emphasis on "boss", and in this context, it sounds like we're unsure about who we actually gave these 'papers' to These words make dialogue more natural in writing, adding in emotion and changing the mood of the sentence. So thank you for adding these in the human language

[@DoofenSpyroDragon16]

Very good point!! It’s a cool phenomenon. 👍

[@rblxcr2261]

0:54 “2-3 times per minutes during speech” ahaha happens to me every 10 seconds. 💀

[@oldveryveryoldmanfromthe1900s]

i forgor 💀

[@zee2348]

As someone who uses "like", and "I mean" a lot in casual conversations, I immediately clicked the video after I saw the title

[@michellerains2732]

Totally guilty of "like".

[@noahway13]

New thing is to start everything with SO...

[@Chirp-chirp]

@@noahway13 guilty!!!

[@StephJ0seph]

frrr

[@koshi8002]

sameee

[@kaleighlin]

Has anyone met one of those people that say “like” every other word and end up paying attention to the number of times they say “like” rather than what they’re saying?

[@samuelphom9432]

I do it most of the time 😁

[@wompwomp3456]

Hey that's me!

[@gg1k]

I've done this once or thrice

[@htrehtrgfrebe63]

reminds me of pencil and match from bfdi

[@divjyotsingh4545]

I know who you are like talking about. Like you know, its almost like every other word

[@DoomFinger511]

I practiced a lot in my social and public speaking to just make a silent pause every time I was about to say 'um'. It actually makes your speech more dramatic and causes people to pay closer attention. Silence is uncomfortable which makes people yearn for it to end and anticipate when the speaking will continue.

[@taniayhy07]

oo thank you

[@ro.7349]

I agree! In public speaking, you need to appear more confident so people will think, "Oh man, whatever this guy has to say must be pretty important", so dramatic pauses do help- but in casual conversation, it can be kind of confusing because you don't know if the other person has finished their response or not, so filled pauses are just generally better in casual conversation.

[@Tonnidas]

2:29 A VIW - very important word coming from a red carpet - the tounge. How creative! Ted-Ed's animators are so good at their job! Love them!

[@cup624]

how can one come to initially figure it out?? that is weirdly amazing

[@amiraaxel2935]

No one: Me to a toddler: _"Um... Quantum Physics."_

[@meettheartist5506]

The kid will learn a word which s/he will NOT be able to pronounce

[@lanternli1ac]

_Um er.....eh...ÆƏŒŁÞ_

[@liamseyepatch8152]

Quant um physics

[@melting_snowman]

That toddler's name? Albert Einstein.

[@Threezi04]

@Aziz maher uhhhh... amogus

[@valentino1646]

I have a friend who doesn't fill her pauses, so she'll just go silent mid-sentence and IT'S SO WEIRDDDD

[@bebepayasito]

My dad does the same thing and I hate it lmao, he gets mad when we interrupt him while he pauses even though there's never a way we can tell if he's done talking.

[@valentino1646]

@@bebepayasito like what are we expected to do just stare in silence and guess when they're done lmao

[@bebepayasito]

@@valentino1646 frrr, and then when you do wait they go "why aren't you talking"

[@valentino1646]

@@bebepayasito omggg exactly!!🤣

[@geebee6676]

My Dad does this half the time I’m not sure if he even heard me

[@tevin3949]

I like how positive the comment section are as usual

[@mihaildraganov470]

This video was so well animated, I can`t believe the level of pay raise this person deserves

[@llfn1718]

Reading the title: "um I'm not sure why we like do that??"

[@mashedpotetoo]

ikr

[@Brightifyisthebest]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/noLUfWx_j5d2ea8

[@anjalih3688]

you know,,

[@adamlatosinski5475]

I mean, that's an interesting question, like, important even.

[@awer1014]

yuh, yur correct

[@suraj-ram7488]

The animator deserves a raise

[@awer1014]

yup

[@dazza2350]

@@heckerjr.7982 be quiet

[@sherylcollins6758]

@Thomas Sheppard non-profits can still pay their employees

[@awer1014]

@@sherylcollins6758 OH MAH GAWD, YUR COMMENT WAS JUST 1 MIN AGO

[@sherylcollins6758]

@@awer1014 I’m not sure what your point is

[@Sugarist0]

Sometimes I just straight up tell my friends to “give me a minute I can’t think of the word” and then completely forget about what I was talking about in the first place

[@CairnsG]

As a person who is learning a few languages filled pauses really help. Because if you can’t remember a word that filled pause gives you time to remember a word and what to say.

[@matrixphijr]

"So, are 'ums' and 'uhs' just a habit we can't break? Yes." *Video ends*

[@hopper6094]

Lol

[@ID-su6cv]

tru tho

[@bellshii9132]

O

[@maryamhayder2169]

LOL!

[@CrumbyCrumbs]

Facts

[@adamgreene9938]

TED just doesn’t run out of art styles, do they.

[@kiricappuchin]

cuz there are alot of amazing animators with varied styles

[@ad-skyobsidion4267]

When they do the world ends

[@Baldoxxx4000]

Because art graduates can't find a job so this is their only opportunity

[@xenon6138]

I made ur comment 1k

[@ezekielgomez-goldberg9124]

@@kiricappuchin what are you talking about? These videos are all made by mr. Ted. He's such a good artist and voice actor

[@kaylaagostini1366]

This art with this voice is everything. So peaceful I loved it

[@taneshqas.2566]

This video was so pleasing to watch. The people behind it deserve all the praise in the world

[@Tc-jj7ee]

The fact that we weren’t even taught the words ‘um’ and ‘uh’ and we all say it, ITS NOT MY FAULT I WAS MANIPULATED

[@yamimayonnaise5378]

The thing is that those words are different in each language. In spanish we don't say uh or I'm, we say eh or ah

[@catalinachioveanu321]

like most words we hear them so that's how we assimilate them into our vocabulary; so not formally taught but taught nonetheless

[@richmail]

no, we did learn it, form others, like, uh, you know, you hear it from ur mom or dad or fridns and you learn it?

[@hasinaacter4686]

In Bangla we say yea

[@awer1014]

yuh, yur right

[@ammaarahfarheen896]

Why do we, like, hesitate when we, um, speak? Anxiety has entered the chat

[@animepabu5526]

Specially when giving a speech and all eyes are you and you say Um....uhh...so....like.... and they just keep on staring 🥲

[@daliah7089]

Anxiety, that's exactly it.

[@Brightifyisthebest]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/noLUfWx_j5d2ea8

[@thegooddinggleberry]

It does make you pay, like, attention the next, um, word.

[@perpetualbystander4516]

Well, it's because..... like.... I mean.... umm.... kinda...... like this...... eh, wait........ ehrm.......sooooo.....you know.......

[@danilo3250]

this is one of their best videos imo! congrats to yael reisfeld and whoever helped creating the storyboard and the whole animation!! cohesive and extremely creative art, got my eyes full of tears with how pleasing and delicate the lesson's message connected to the whole story art, even the sound effects (for example at 3:11 when they popped notifications-like sounds to make those hesitation-connectives remarkable, or at 1:41 when each hesitation-connective drop to their country they make a sound, or the bubbly sounds throughout the whole video to kind of make the presence of those blobby super colorful creatures, alusive to some watery and squishy environment)

[@XOPOIIIO]

It is an evolutionary achievement that helps us to distinguish pause in speech from end of speech. If people will just stop speaking while trying to find a right word, their companion will just go away, thinking that he said all.

[@ramang05]

the question that nobody asked for but everyone want answered (edit- i can't believe how many likes i have got, thank you)

[@lightthroughdarkness4850]

That should just be Ted Eds motto at this point

[@abhinav_a98]

Comment nobody thought they would see but are happy to see

[@carolrickroll767]

@@lightthroughdarkness4850 Agreed!😌

[@fathfez7991]

Fools! This is one of their propaganda in order to control humanity!

[@myhand4272]

@@fathfez7991 eksdee

[@mannybains1371]

I love when KZbin answers all the questions I never asked

[@johnhb123]

If it were for KZbin, they would just show you clickbait and ad opportunities. It's these awesome channels who we should support.

[@naturelover4148]

Its Ted-Ed to be more precise

[@vikramsinghnegi7704]

@@naturelover4148 yeah

[@PhycatainmentMusic]

The power of google.

[@ladygrinningsoul357]

You mean TedEd.

[@gigachad2419]

The Title is the most creative thing i ever saw in the last few months!!!

[@topdamagewizard]

When someone uses these you know you're talking to a really thoughtful person that actual cares about the tone an context of what they are trying to communicate.

[@uncreativecosmos]

Ted-Ed has one of KZbin’s best animators.

[@nemesis2477]

Bad history be like 👁️ 👄👁️

[@yeeyt464]

tis an opinion but k

[@yyukiza]

That is not the truth, but fine

[@_angel_cakes]

Also kurzgesagt is really nice

[@potshead]

kurzgesagt I'd say has better animation. Although, that's my opinion.

[@callinkin]

Me reading the title as a linguistics major: you mean filled pauses and discourse markers Me as an introvert: I haven’t talked to people in days. My voice won’t come out properly and I can’t find the right word

[@noahway13]

New thing is starting every sentence with SO

[@talial8071]

Omg I’m really considering a linguistics major, how has it been for you?

[@0XBlondie96X0]

The introvert part is me

[@dominiquealcantara9641]

@@talial8071 i enjoy mine. take it if you like observing and talking ab how people use language

[@kingman3085]

you're confusing introversion with social anxiety

[@MamboslilMicroscope]

this is one of the best animations i have seen not only on ted but on the whole of youtube

[@shedoesntevengohere7655]

There’s no way you haven’t: Had a ‘who can not say “like” or “um” for the longest’ contest’

[@idiotsupremacy3364]

I haven’t, I always use to and still say “um” before answering a question in school 😥 I can’t control it

[@quitequeerquesadilla]

why is nobody talking about how brilliantly made this video is. the animation is so pleasing to look at, it's like cotton candy, and that little letter ocean literally had me blinking at the screen for a full 5 seconds like woah

[@dearmalaysia]

that's what makes Ted-ed so engaging, you never get bored with their videos

[@straykae]

2:10 is my favorite. I giggled a little and the sound effects are great too

[@lightsoda7445]

"Why is nobody talking about"... it's literally every comment on every Ted video dude

[@klikkolee]

I used to be silent whenever I was struggling to put thoughts together and into words. I started artificially inserting "uh" because people kept stealing the conversation.

[@cevxj]

Find better people lol

[@klikkolee]

@@cevxj there's often a penalty to not talking with people -- things like losing a job. And I can only turn down so many people before being socially deprived. It's a damn-near-everyone problem.

[@sleepynoodles6425]

Start finger snapping and vague gestures with your face to convey that you're trying to find the right word That's what I do

[@moonee2595]

@@sleepynoodles6425 “uhhh what’s that word I’m looking for…”

[@sleepynoodles6425]

@@moonee2595 exactly! The point is to express it outloud verbally or gesturally because people won't read your mind and so automatically they assume you stopped talking and cut you

[@azureabyss538]

this is so informative and i love how they successfully explained so much in little time and that too, elegantly. incredibly helpful and insightful, thank you!

[@jyotiverma2633]

I love how you used abstract art to make an analogy in the end. Such a good idea.

[@TristanSamuel]

I don't hesitate, I just talk weird if I'm recording.

[@metanoia.777]

Tristan Samuel samee😭

[@lukedong749]

Yeah cause like you get pressure and everything

[@Brightifyisthebest]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/noLUfWx_j5d2ea8

[@HiAdrian]

Same!

[@XxxXxx-yh5gz]

same here, English is not my first language, normally I can speak fluently just fine with very light accent, but the moment I record myself doing a presentation for speech class, I was not able to think straight what I want to talk about, my sentences were full of filler words ,my accent became much much more heavy to the point that you can compare that to a beginning learner. It's just so weird.

[@quitequeerquesadilla]

"These seemingly senseless sounds can convey a world of meaning." The "have you ever had a dream" kid: :D

[@diilnuv7052]

have you ever had a dream that you, um, you had, your, you you could, you’ll do, you you wants, you, you could do so, you you’ll do, you could you, you want, you want them to do you so much you could do anything? //tell me if i missed anything

[@nightsaresosstarry]

@@diilnuv7052 I had a stroke trying to read this

[@noonetookthis8935]

@@diilnuv7052 “You wanted them to do you so much you can do anything” I feel like someone’s gonna take that out of context

[@quitequeerquesadilla]

@@noonetookthis8935 It always sounded to me like "You wanted _him_ to do you so much" which is... so much more questionable, somehow

[@sgdusdm8225]

You deserve all the likes and subscribes for the value you provide in your videos.

[@firelow]

I laughed at "two to three times per minute" because my friend's thirty second audios have like 20 filler words in them

[@unitymask]

i wish all tedtalk animators a very pleasant evening i appreciate them

[@0XBlondie96X0]

As someone who struggles with speaking fluidly, who's always using "like" and "um" practically every other word, stuttering and pausing as my brain freezes up like a computer program not responding, and at the end of the day still doesn't get my point across nearly as well as I wanted to.... well, I feel hella called out by this.

[@sss-pw1hc]

i-uh SHUT UP

[@lisaj205]

Half the battle is realizing!

[@dominiquealcantara9641]

does any1 have tips for this

[@BlazerT48]

I trip on my words a lot and use filler all the time, so public speaking is my literal nightmare. I feel like no one understands what I'm saying lol

[@heyahowareyou5971]

Its ok, I kinda do that too

[@unusualEquinox]

I constantly had my parents, (which they still do that.) yell at me for saying “uh, erm, uh, like, and Yknow/ you know” because it wasn’t “proper language” or “respectful” when using it. It always made me afraid that *I* was the one in the wrong, and that *I* had something wrong with me. While I still do think like this, I at least have been having help from myself and my friends to realize that I’m not in the wrong or there is anything wrong with me. So, after finding this video it has made me honestly happy to realize I’m not that big of a oddball like my family would say I was. :)

[@brucevermeiren3374]

I found it very interesting to get an explanation of why we so often use stop words in our colloquial language. I liked the design and it was also very simplistic but nicely done. The speech was quite short, but I found this a plus because it was less likely to lose interest throughout the speech.

[@subbaiahkasi6310]

This is like a comment, that I uhh thought about.

[@MasterCivilEngineering]

👍👍👍

[@bobbygreb1813]

Well... you know, uh, I mean yeah it is... umm... like a comment.

[@fabs1688]

I read that in Californian accent

[@thegermanbasket732]

Yeah uh, really cool uh comment, like I really uh laughed and stuff

[@stuffstuffstudios7193]

I need to send this to all the professors that have lowered my presentation score for saying "um".

[@navareeves8976]

according to this video saying um would make it better because people would remember what you said better.

[@lonestarr1490]

@@navareeves8976 Depends on word density. If more than half of your speech consists of "um"s, then it gets kinda hart to remember anything you actually said.

[@smertonosnyibratni]

This art is insanely awesome. A great way to visualize these super complex ideas and make them interesting. I'm a little disappointed the narrator never gave us examples by saying things like "this is um, a filled pause"

[@mikeysrose]

The word "like" may have a purpose in spoken English, but when you're talking to someone who sticks it in every 5th word or so, it really grates on the brain. I teach college freshmen, and I hear this all the time. Example that's not even an exaggeration: "So, like, I agree, with like, what she said, but like, my experience was totally different like, when I was in high school, because like, well, like, my teachers would like, give us like, busywork, and like, I didn't mind at the time, because like, it was easy, but like, now I think, like, couldn't we have like, done something more like, useful?"

[@resared8538]

but we like, like to speak like that dude

[@coltonbates629]

Well, that's not exactly... Like.... y'know! Uh.... Yea... W-, uh.... Well... You get it!

[@captainaryan26]

Yeah bro even I was thinking like that I use 'like' like so often and it has become a habit

[@Brightifyisthebest]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/noLUfWx_j5d2ea8

[@asdfghjjkl12345zxcvb]

I'm a linguistics student and now preparing for TOEFL. I think you will lose points if you say err or um too much. I even use them in my native tongue a lot so wish me luck.

[@200555280]

Yes, our teachers instruct us not to use them in speaking part funny that I use my native language hesitation marks in English specking test 😁

[@Crystyna03]

Yes, but that doesn't mean you'll have to link ideas very fast, you can practice saying nothing when pausing, it's way more acceptable.

[@ahmetakil787]

iyi şanslar

[@LLLadySSS]

Yeah I had the same...

[@ruthswann88]

Hii uh I did the TOEFL a while back, got a decent score...anyway, I think the best tips are just 1) speak a bit slower so you can think while talk 2) just stop talking when you need to think for a bit 3) limit errs and umms to quick, passing instances (I guess it's like "um" vs "ummm") and 4) practice if you can Anyway thanks for coming to my TEDtalk

[@TheDiscombobulatee]

Can we just take a moment to appreciate the beauty of this video’s illustration art style?

[@happisoul9616]

It's soo necessary and the kudos to the animator I'm speechless

[@ariaelle499]

My speech can't catch up to my thoughts ahhaha that's why I have a hard time vocalizing my thoughts. It's easier for me to write my thoughts down than speaking it.

[@Clydedonovn2424]

Same!!

[@pompom4318]

Same tho

[@athirahnabihah3758]

SAME!!

[@maxi-sf6ro]

Same bro

[@manyavasudeva800]

SAMEE

[@User-jekqocofowowowpeoro]

I’ve been, like, saying too much “like”, like, you know, like even right now

[@s_h_u_a_n]

I get you like it's a force of habit.

[@Brightifyisthebest]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/noLUfWx_j5d2ea8

[@harshitarao2225]

Ya , um , I get you . What ,um, you are,like, trying to say.

[@awer1014]

lol

[@iloveprettycharacters]

You know what im gonna, like do? Give you a like.

[@Kelly-dl7xn]

you put it in such a subtle way that makes me feel better about my stutter

[@LeoDaTiger]

the best thing about ted is that not only its educational but also super good animation

[@dummydummy1493]

The Person Who Wrote the Title: _“Oh God, I have done it again.”_

[@lukedong749]

The profile pic tho...

[@semi-automaticdooropened9007]

Lmao

[@mathewperry4701]

I have aside tip for you guys

[@mathewperry4701]

Bit'c'oi'n'will continue being bullish

[@mathewperry4701]

That's her whatsAPP

[@izzahnazri101]

I always thought "like" is used when you're not too sure about sthg. For example if you say "she was like, i'm so mad at you" vs "she said, i'm so mad at you" the first implies that those might not be the speaker's exact words but ya know what i mean. The latter has more certainty

[@martinacuna9556]

ah not really, but, im really tired for explaining it so i hope someone else comes, sorryy

[@valeriag9443]

This is one of the many definitions of like or I guess ways it can be used! I remember watching a video about all the different “like” ‘s but I don’t know what it was called, if I remember I’ll try to come back to this😊

[@izzahnazri101]

@@martinacuna9556 it's just based on my observation. I'm not a native speaker 😅

[@izzahnazri101]

@@valeriag9443 Thank you for confirming my theory hehe. I would love to watch that 😄

[@merryclift2953]

yeah! like has many meanings though. it is often used as a filler ex. "so, like, you get the ball and you throw it through the hole" or "i knew that but, like, i also didnt" "i dont wanna hurt ur feelings but your hair is like really messy today"

[@JadenDaniels-ow3gp]

The animation going on in the video was spot on. Hooked from start to finish. The topic was fascinating! I use a lot of filler words when I talk and I’ve often wondered the brain processes behind it. Thanks!

[@ThatSaintGirl]

the art in the video is spellbinding

[@lemonxtract]

Me and my friend tried to go an hour without saying like... *I literally failed in the first 2 minutes...*

[@Mike-lx9qn]

Ew

[@firelayer1544]

Um, yea, like, thats impossible lol

[@thatoneslytherin4205]

Lol! Like why!?!!?!

[@Alice-qk9du]

that's, like, so hard!

[@Think_Inc]

No. You “literally failed in [like] the first two minutes.

[@PalmHeartMusic]

I like the sound of this guy's voice.

[@Brightifyisthebest]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/noLUfWx_j5d2ea8

[@shivpatel2925]

@@Brightifyisthebest stop commenting to share your channel on big channels

[@cheyennealvis8284]

Saying AUM is better. It balances out the mind and brings a sense of enlightenment into the conversation

[@akankshatiwari1796]

Can't believe how accurate the animation is to every word conveyed in the video.

[@DaAwsumDude]

When he said people say "uhh" in sign language, I immediately thought of how I snap my fingers when I forget something.

[@sagewiseman8790]

Paul McCartney, saying "y'know" for the third time in the same sentence: ah

[@pratikshyabehera4546]

the animation works wonders, it kept me engaged throughout

[@klee9326]

The title and thumbnail were so good that I didn’t click on this video the first 12 times it came into my recommendations..

[@hollowknight470]

Step 1: Confirm you have green eyes. Step 2: Ask if you could, like, maybe, um, leave?

[@manswind3417]

Lolmao

[@111ena]

I also feel like these days we’re just rushed to come up with straight up sentences, answers, questions, etc that we just need these fillers in order to just scramble through our heads

[@islammokhtar2926]

For me, the most catchy thing in this video other than the astonishing enjoyable information is the amazingly fabulous Artistic animation used to demonstrate ideas.

[@user-ml9qm4dj6w]

Great video. I spent many years learning Japanese. One of the first things that is taught are “filler words” due to how important they are for guiding conversation even though they themselves have no meaning.

[@getpriyanka]

They just give time to people to think about the right word for the situation.

[@dearmalaysia]

unless it's not enough time so after the filler word you just hum or go silent.

[@economicsexplained3753]

I have aside tip for you guys

[@economicsexplained3753]

Bit'c'oi'n'will continue being bullish

[@economicsexplained3753]

For greater profit inve'st with my pr'ofes'sion'al trade'r right now.

[@economicsexplained3753]

+1 ‪ 8 5 9 5 4 5 1 5 8 4‬

[@maryam_bsq]

Okay the animation is just um, absolutely supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

[@MuhammadHamad00]

I am glad to subscribe to this channel. I am dead sure, that I can work on my "issues", better with your informative and Take-Action videos. Totally love it.

[@expired1232]

i love the style of the video. it helps me memorize and learn better

[@sussylasanga5281]

Have you ever had a dream that that you um you had you'd you would you could you'd do you wi you wants you you could do so you you'd do you could you you want you want him to do you so much you could do anything?

[@coltonbates629]

I like like like liked your, like, comment my guy, it was, like, like like funny my guy like I laughed at it so like just like wanted to like, let ya know that, like, I liked it

[@kathrynmorton7262]

Classic.

[@s_h_u_a_n]

I was thinking about that😂😂

[@5h4d_9]

Lol

[@lukedong749]

CoNfUsInG

[@coffeecatto3375]

Funfact : In Javanese we have "anu", it's an absolute multitool but it is absolutely meaningless. It is more like "uhmm". Example "Oh do you remember anu..?

[@flyhigh.studio7372]

Hahaha, i can relate

[@haruyanto8085]

Similar to the Japanese, but mainly female uses it

[@chloebangco3752]

Same in Filipino!!! But it's spelled "ano". For example: "Did you see the ano, on his ano?"

[@fresapreso1491]

@@chloebangco3752 but ano is what in filipino. ano is usually used when you can't remember the thing you're talking about. i know coz i use this a LOT hehe

[@ZONVERIE]

@@fresapreso1491 "yung ina-ano" "narinig mo ba si ano"

[@kayv5840]

100/10. Great video. The content, editing, and animations are all amazing and this words what I think about filler words so perfectly. They’re necessary, and I use them to think of a very specific term that summarizes a concept most times (instead of explaining a lot).

[@vincentclark5739]

One of best speakers I’ve heard, Christopher Hitchens , used fillers and pauses to great effect. I do remember being in elementary school and the teachers really disliking it

[@jade.clarisse_]

Ted ed’s animations never disappoints. It makes every part of the video engaging.

[@ainesh.m]

I like the modified stuff/phrases you put like “more to them than meets the ear” and “Very Important Word”

[@nikkyboy1067]

These videos, particularly this one, do so much more than you know Thank you. I *needed* this one Edit: Plain old-fashioned silence is still something we could all grow more accustomed to.

[@borgietheimmortalturtle1028]

Finally! Like, I was questioning this for like, many years! Now this could like be an answer!!

[@Nessainthebuilding]

I think what annoys people about sentence fillers is when people use them too much. When I did it as a kid my mom would stop me and say "Okay, now think about what you want to say. Do you have it? Alright, now tell me"

[@RainRemnant]

Yes lol, that's why I just stop listening when someone is a "liker"

[@strawberrie_bxbbletea]

FACTS lol ;)

[@datmangotho9618]

It’s so interesting how we have so many ways to communicate with each other, it’s not just saying words and listening, there are verbal cues, visual cues, the discourse markers and sentence fillers, accents, enunciation, your tone of speech, volume.. it makes sense how we use so many emojis or emoticons or weird spellings of words when we text and use the internet lol. It takes so much more than words to communicate.

[@rashir656]

this was amazing. also good writing on the "than meets the ear" joke. loved it

[@allisonburgers7319]

The fillers (characters) looks like straight from Disney Pixar's Soul.

[@yasminadebieche]

YES AHAHHAHA

[@claudiagonciulea2515]

I love the way this video explains filled pauses! As someone new to the subject, research like this is why I enjoy learning about linguistics. Great job!

[@anotheridler]

3:22 “the dreaded ‘like’.....” **Me and my friends at 3 am** - AND I WAS LIKE....AND SHE WAS LIKE.... AND THE OTHERS WERE LIKE...

[@GarrettPetersen]

That's a very different use of the word "like." In that case it's not a filler word. You are using "was like" as a synonym for "said."

[@gwenjosephineautentico2912]

I would watch your videos whole day!

[@Jarod-te2bi]

The art of conversation is not dead!

[@shilohmelekeowei8110]

I just love how they answer the questions no one asked but we all wanted

[@economicsexplained3753]

I have aside tip for you

[@economicsexplained3753]

Bit'c'oi'n'will continue being bullish

[@economicsexplained3753]

Inve'st with my pr'ofes'sion'al trade'r right now for greater profit

[@economicsexplained3753]

+1 ‪ 8 5 9 5 4 5 1 5 8 4‬

[@economicsexplained3753]

That's her whatsAPP

[@ZarrysLux]

the animation never fails to amaze me

[@bluelotus.society]

Beautifully said, and what great animations!