Monday, March 2, 1998 at 21:10:14

Hi, what an odd, but interesting topic! Firstly my children use "Yeah ?" in the interogative, very frequently in conversation.  I believe that it is used to make occasional contact with their "victim" as they ramble on! However, I have an aquantance who uses an odd phrase of "type thing..." as a filled pause. The use increases with stress.  I think that the use developed from the phrase "type of thing" which was used when he felt that a word was not quite accurate, as in in was a clarinet type of thing.  I think that as his nervousness increases (he is not very confident) he becomes less sure of his speach, and is compelled to insert more "type thing..." pauses.

- NH

Yes, I think I have heard 'type of thing' as a kind of filled pause before. Many people appear to develop such idiosyncratic methods of hesitation in their speech.   Recent American youth are particularly fond of 'you know' and 'like' and freely litter their speech with it (at least judging by the vitriolic feedback I'm getting on the subject!).  A high school teacher I had, however, takes the metaphorical cake as far as I'm concerned.  He often would tag his spoken 'paragraphs' with the following:   "...as far as that there would be concerned."

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