Other examples are presented below:
(Beginning a lecture in front of an audience)
Well... today, I am going to talk about Japanese society. (Mohan, 1979, as cited in Fujita, 2002, par.4)
Err... Excuse me... What time is it? (as cited in Rose, 1998, p.2)
(Explaining directions to the train station to a stranger)
The central station? Well now, let me think...It's, just a moment, yes I think it's...um...yes, I know...it's err...it's the second street on the left...yes, that's it. (Mohan, 1979, as cited in Fujita, 2002, par.4)
In (1), the filler well... serves to show the lecturer's cognitive process of producing the utterance as well as to draw the listeners' attention. The filler reduces the abrupt impression of the speech to the listener (Mohan, 1979, as cited in Fujita, 2002, par.5). In (2), the speaker knows how to ask the time, but first needs to get the attention of someone to ask. In (3) well, let me think, just a moment, I think, um, err have communicative functions in that they express the speaker's want to hold the floor in a conversation, even though at that time, s/he may have difficulty in finding the right words to express what s/he wants to say (Baalen, 2001, par.7). Moreover, fillers can also be used to block others who wish to take the turn.
Empathizing
In interactional terms, you know is an attention-getting device, meaning that the speaker checks whether the listener pays attention or not. So, no wonder if fillers can function as empathizers, meaning that fillers state an invitation for the listeners to get involved in what the speaker says (Stenstrm, 1994, p.64-65). For example:
A : he's not a relaxed lecturer, but he's (.) a driving lecturer (.) you know
whereas some of them here, stand up poor dears, and they haven't the first clue -- they are so nervous (.) you see painful to listen to. (as cited in Stenstrm, 1994, p.64)
