Names : Ajeng Hidayatul Maghdalena (0203518061)

Aditya Dwi Nugrahanto (0203518067)

Class : Regular-3

Assignment of Discourse Studies

“Identification of Fillers and Backchannels in English Conversation”

In daily conversation, people need a language as a tool to have interaction with others. It
means, the people should be able to communicate. These statement are in line with Bickerton’s
ideas (1945). He stated that “Language is a tool of communication while human intelligence is the
result of the accelerated growth and unusual size of human brains” (p. 14). Besides, English
becomes one of the most important language that people used. Crystal (2003) states that English
has achieved a genuinely global status since it develops a special role that recognized in every
country. Therefore, English is considered as a global language which is spoken by many people
all over the world either as the first, the second language or as the foreign language.

Moreover, as the English Foreign Language (EFL), learn to speak English is not easy,
because English does not commonly used in outside the foreign language classroom. It takes many
efforts to understand and apply it as the native speakers’ communicative competence
appropriately. Santos, Alarcon, & Pablo (2006) have same idea about it. “It requires many efforts
in understanding and applying the foreign language, commitment in learning, and developing the
awareness as each language has its own rules” (p. 1). Because of this reason, people have some
pauses during speaking. It is commonly called as fillers. According to Baalen (2001) Fillers are a
moment when someone pause their speaking to think what they want to say without give the
impression if we finish our speaking. In daily conversation, people often use uh, er, um, ah, ehm,
well, I mean, you know, or similar expressions. He also describes the fillers as sounds or words or
phrases that could appear anywhere in the utterance and could be deleted from the utterance
without a change in content. Clark and Tree (2002) claim that fillers serve a communication
function, having a place in the speakers’ vocabulary. Fillers are not the main message; they just
help to have a meaning in sentences.
 However, fillers may decrease the fluency grade of speaking competence in educational
field. Duglan (2011) claims that filler words can weaken our credibility and can indicate that we
are lack of preparation. He also concludes that fillers are bad in speaking. In other hand, fillers
have a positive perception based on expert’s explanation. Based on Schiffrin (1978) Fillers have
types and functions. It has various functions which depend on the situation of the speaker (p.154).
Therefore this assignment aims to investigate the types and functions of fillers used in a
conversation between the writers and the backchannel as the listener responses in dialogues or
conversation (Gardner, 2001) which are short, and typically mono- or disyllabic (Yngve, 1970).
(See TableAnalysis 1)
 Analysis Result

A. Types of Fillers
Based on the data that comes from recording and then transcribing the conversation of
the writers, it can be found that there are two types of fillers. They are lexicalized fillers
and unlexicalized fillers. According to Rose (1998) and Baalen (2001) Unlexicalized filled
pauses are non-lexemes (non-words) filled pauses which speakers use to indicate hesitation
while the speaker think what to say next utterances Then, Baalen (2001) gives some
examples of unlexicalized filled pauses, such as ehm, uh, err, ee, ah, um, and so on. In
addition, Juan (2006) says that ehm, uh, err, ee, ah, um and other vocalizations which
belong to unlexicalized filled pauses are the easiest sounds which made while having a
speaking.
Moreover, according to Rose (1998), claim that lexicalized filled pauses are fillers in
the form of word or short phrases, such as like, well, yeah, sort of, you know, if you see
what I mean, and so on (p. 7-8). Stenström (1994) also notes that one type of fillers, which
is similar to the lexicalized fillers, is verbal fillers, such as well, I mean, and sort of.
1. Lexicalized Fillers.
The lexicalized fillers is the most frequent fillers used during the
conversation with number of occurrences 81,06%. They tended to use variety of
lexicalized fillers, such as well, I mean, I think, you know, yeah, yes, Okay, etc as
the mark of lexicalized fillers. The detail of lexicalized fillers in the conversation is
presented by following table:
Number of Occurrences and
No. Lexicalized Fillers Frequencies
N %
Well 8 15,68%
Right 4 7,84%
Yes 4 7,84%
Okay 2 3,92%
Oh My God 1 1,96%
 I see 2 3,92%
Alright 1 1,96%
Yeah 2 3,92%
So 8 15,68%
You know 1 1,96%
I mean 1 1,96%
I think 2 3,92%
What 1 1,96%
Of course 3 5,88%
Sure 1 1,96%
Total Number 34 81,06%

From table above, the most frequently lexicalized fillers used are well (8),
so (8). It can be seen that both of them are 15,68%.
2. Unlexicallized Fillers
In the conversation, unlexicallized fillers also used in the conversation,
although the number of frequent is only 1,96% aha, oh, as the mark of
unlexicallized fillers rarely appears during the conversation. While, wow(4) are the
most frequently unlexicalized fillers. It has 7,84% Then, the detail of unlexicalized
fillers in the conversation is presented by following table:
Number of Occurrences and
No. Unlexicalized Fillers Frequencies
N %
1. Emm 3 5,88%
2. Oh 1 1, 96%
3. Wow 4 7,84%
4. Aha 1 1,96%
Total Number 9 17,64%
B. Fillers Function
There are at least five functions of fillers that will be explained further. They are
hesitating, empathizing, mitigating, editing term, and time-creating devices. The researcher
analyzed the productions of fillers and defined the functions by considering the context of
situation from the utterances. In order to answer the second research problem, the
researcher used the functions of fillers based on Stenström (1994), Foss and Hakes (1978),
Wu (2001), and Baalen (2001).
1. Hesitating
Stenström (1994) defines a mark of hesitation as one of the functions of fillers. Foss
and Hakes (1978) hesitations are pauses which increase in the places of a sentence
when a speaker has difficult decision in using the words (p. 184). Most of filled pauses
(ee, em, err, uhm, ah, hm, et cetera) are used as the breathing pauses, such pauses
generally match semantic-syntactic boundaries (Stenström, 1994, p. 7). Therefore,
filled pauses are used for the hesitation purposes. The example:

: That’s sound great, Ajeng! Emm, how about if you only

51 AD Emm
buy 1pcs batik? Do you get a special price?
It is one of popular batik corporation in Pekalongan. Em,I
mean not only in Pekalongan, but in Grobogan, Semarang, Emm,
58 AJ
Surabaya, Tuban, ect. As far as I know, there are many
people know it.
: Emm, I think that’s too dark. In my opinion, you are
60 AJ Emm.
suitable with this one.

In the examples above, Emm was said by adding a slight pause, which means that
that’s fillers appeared to give the speaker time to think what to say next.
2. Empathizing
The speaker can use filler as an attention-getting device. It means that the
speaker can check whether the listener pays attention or not. Based on Stenström
(1994), fillers define as an invitation for the listener to be involved in what the
speaker says (pp. 64-65). The examples of fillers as empathizing purposes are you
know, right, hey and so on. The Example:
37 AD Well,
: Well you know, of course I want to find a job, making
You
money, and making my own business.
know
 : Wow Congratulation for you! So, you are pregnant So
21 AD
when still studying.
: Alright, hope you enjoy with your new life. So, what So
27 AD
is his name?
36 AJ : So, Adit, what will you do after finishing your study? So
49 AD : So, do you get a special price? So
63 AD : So, how much is it? So

Based on the examples above, Ajeng and Adit try to invite the listener to pay
attention and check the understanding of message are received or not.
3. Mitigating
Fillers can also serve as mitigating devices. Baalen (2001) assumes that fillers
can mitigate utterances in order not to hurt the addressee's feelings (para. 6). She also
highlights the fillers as a solidarity marker or politeness device. She explains that
protecting face needs is an important function of fillers because face needs are the
need to feel liked (positive face needs) and the need to have one's personal space
respected (negative face needs). Fillers as like well, ehm, eer, and okay can be
functioned as mitigating or politeness devices. The Examples are in this following
table:
3 AD : Well, how have you been? Well
9 AD : Well, I am still continuing my study right now. What Well
about you?
25 AD : I see, you have a lot homework to do. I see
31 AD : I see. So it’s Karim. It is very familiar word, isn’t it? I see
: I see. What’s the meaning of Karim? Can you explain
33 AD I see.
to me?
61 AD : I see. You have a good choice, Ajeng! I will buy 2pcs. I see
: Of course, Karim means Noble. And hopefully his life
34 AJ Of course
will be blessed. Amin.

According to examples above, both of speakers show their solidarity marker or

politeness device. It means that both of them try to make their conversation flowing
smoothly and more polite by saying well, I see, of course.
4. Editing term
The editing term is also one of the filler functions. According to Baalen (2001),
fillers are used to correct the speech errors in the utterances’ speakers. In the other
 word, the speaker is aware if he/she makes a speech error. Then, he/she wants to
correct it. I mean, um, ehm, uh, huh, ee, et cetera can indicate the speaker's awareness
of the speech error followed by her/his attempt to correct it, for the example:
58 AJ It is one of popular batik corporation in Pekalongan. I Mean
Em,I mean not only in Pekalongan, but in Grobogan,
Semarang, Surabaya, Tuban, ect. As far as I know, there
are many people know it.

From table above, it can be seen that the speaker want to correct her
explanation. For the first time, she said “It is one of popular batik corporation in
Pekalongan”, then she corrected it by saying “I mean, not only in Pekalongan, but
in Grobogan, Semarang, Surabaya, Tuban, ect. As far as I know, there are many
people know it”.
5. Time-creating devices
According to Stenström (1994), fillers can also be used as time-creating
devices. Fillers give some time for the speaker to think about what to utter next.
Stenström (1994) argues that the common form of fillers used as the time-creating
devices is the lexical repetition (pp. 77-78). Moreover, lexical repetition consists of
two types. The first is single words repetition. It means that the speaker repeats a
single word in his/her turn. The second is clause partial repetition. It is the clause
repetitions which appear in his/her turn. All repetitions in the utterances function as
the fillers in order to give some time for the speaker to plan what to say next. In this
following table, there are some examples:

22 AJ : Yes it is! That’s why I have a lot of jobs to do. A lot of

23 AD : A lot of jobs? What are they? jobs
: There is a requirement, Adit. You will be a reseller if 1000pcs,
46 AJ
you can buy Batik at least 1000pcs in 3 months.
3 months
: What! 1000pcs? 3 months? Oh My God! Are you
47 AD
kidding me, Ajeng?

Based on analysis above, there are five function of fillers that can be found in the casual
conversation between Ajeng and Adit. The five function of fillers are hesitating, empathizing,
mitigating, editing term, and time-creating devices which have their own function in
conversation.
C. Backchannels
In conversation, there will be automatically exchange roles as a speaker and listener.
When the speaker is talking, the listener can insert a short utterance to express his/her attention
to the conversation, which is called as backchannel response. Backchannel is a vocal indication
of attention, e.g. Huh-huh, hmm, when someone else is talking (Yule, 1998:127). There are two
kinds of backchannel response: verbal backchannel response such as mm-hm, uhh- huh, okay,
and really, and non-verbal backchannel response such as head nod, eye gaze, and laugh. Those
types of backchannel response usually appear in daily conversation in a natural setting. However,
in this mini research the focus is only on the verbal responses. According to Sungkawan (2006),
he suggests six types of verbal backchannel responses. In our analysis there are six type of
backchannel, that are repetition ,short questions & answer, short verbalization, lexical item,
phrase, sentence. The Result of our analysis can be seen below:

Types and the Percentage of Verbal Backchannel Responses

Number & Frequency of

Occurrences
NO TYPES
N %

1. Repetition 3 9.68%

2. Short questions & answer 7 22.58%

3. Short verbalization 6 19.35%

4. Lexical item 12 38.71%

5. Phrase 0 0%
6. Sentence 3 9.68%
TOTAL 31 100%

1. Repetition.
This is the type of verbal backchannel response which is done by repeating the speaker’s
utterances. It can be in the form of a word, phrase, or/and sentence which. The function is to support
the previous speaker’s utterances, to request a clarification, and to signal the attention. The example
can be seen below:

AJ : Yes it is! That’s why I have a lot of jobs to do. A lot of

AD : A lot of jobs? What are they? jobs
: There is a requirement, Adit. You will be a reseller if 1000pcs,
AJ
you can buy Batik at least 1000pcs in 3 months.
3 months
: What! 1000pcs? 3 months? Oh My God! Are you
AD
kidding me, Ajeng?
 From the example above, Adit repeated Ajeng’s utterances to request a clarification, and to
signal the attention.
2. Short question and answer.
Short question-answer as short comment when someone listens to unexpected news. The
functions is to request clarification, to express exclamation or awareness to the speaker. Short
question can be a general short question: what, where, when, which, why and how, in a form
of stressing word as really?, and in a form of the word that the speaker already said, for the
example:
: I see. What’s the meaning of Karim? Can you explain
AD
to me?
What…
: Of course, Karim means Noble. And hopefully his life
AJ
will be blessed. Amin.
3. Short verbalization
In the form of short utterances performed in a single or set form, that is also called short
verbal backchannel and minimal response, such as mm-hm, mhm, uh-huh, okay and yeah.
Regularly, it is employed to show that the listener is interested and pays attention to the topic
carried by the speaker. The listener spontaneously utters short verbalization without any
intention to interrupt the speaker or to give a sign that he/she wants to take the floor. The
example can be seen in this following table:

AD : Alright, hope you enjoy with your new life. So, what is
his name?
AJ : His name is Muhammad Karim Hakimul Asror.
AD : Wow! That is very long name. How should I call him? Wow!
AJ : You can call him Karim.
AD : I see. So it’s Karim. It is very familiar word, isn’t it? I see
AJ : Yeah! You often hear this word. Yeah
Example, Ramadhan Kareem...

4. Lexical item
Lexical item is performed after short verbalization and sentence to explain more if it is
needed. It functions to show agreement, support an idea and/or awareness that the listener is
paying attention to the speaker. The following is an example of lexical item:

AJ : So, Adit, what will you do after finishing your

study?
AD : Well you know, of course I want to find a job,Well, you
making money, and making my own business. know
AJ : That’s good Adit! Do you like business too? That’s
good
AD : Of course I am! The best way to develope your Of course
pasion is by doing business

5. Phrase
A phrase form can be the type of verbal backchannel response performed , such as
with you, next week, that day, and very good. It is also performed after short verbalization,
Unfortunately we can not find the example phrase type of backchannel in our conversation
 6. Sentence
This is the verbal backchannel response performed at the sentence level. A sentence can
be considered as the sentence of the verbal backchannel response when the listener attempts
to respond the speaker by repeating and/or reasking what the speaker said. It is usually
performed after the speaker completes his/her sentence and functions to support the speaker’s
idea and to indicate agreement or disagreement, for example:

AD : Well thanks! So, I heard you have been married?

AJ : Yes, that right! I am a mother right now.
AD : Congratulation, Ajeng! I am happy to hear that.
AJ : Thank you Bro, and how about you?
AD : No, no, no, I am still single. How it feels to be a mother?
AJ : Well, it’s very amazing, nine months carrying a baby with me,
also I have to deal with mood changing too. And now I do have a
boy.
AD : Wow Congratulation for you! So, you are pregnant when still
studying.
AJ : Yes it is! That’s why I have a lot of jobs to do.
AD : A lot of jobs? What are they?
AJ : First, I am a mother, I am a wife, I am teacher, and the last is I
am a student
AD : I see, you have a lot homework to do.
AJ : Yes you’re right, but I am very happy with my life.

Based on analysis above, it can be concluded that there are six types of backchannels that can be
found in the casual conversation between Ajeng and Adit. They are repetition, short question and answer,
shor verbalization, lexical item, phrase, and sentences.
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