How did people come to start saying "uh" and "um"?

Answer 1

Because if one pauses in the middle of a sentence and doesn't say anything, the person they're talking to could start talking, even though the first person wasn't finished talking. It's something that simply fills in space to let the other person know you're trying to think of something to say, or the correct words.

Answer 2

This is called a verbal pause or disfluency. It is a way of letting the other person know you are not finished talking, but you need a moment to think of the next words. This often happens when the speaker is experiencing anxiety and finding it hard to think quickly.

The use of the sound "uh" or "um" is cultural. In Britain they say uh but spell it er, just as they pronounce er in butter. The French say something that sounds like euh, and Hebrew speakers say ehhh. Serbs and Croats say ovay, and the Turks say mmmmm. The Japanese say eto (eh-to) and ano (ah-no), the Spanish este, and Mandarin speakers neige (NEH-guh) and jiege (JEH-guh). In Dutch and German you can say uh, um, mmm. In Swedish it's eh, ah, aah, m, mm, hmm, ooh, a and oh; in Norwegian, e, eh, m and hm.

Answer 3

I believe using 'spacer' words like uh and um is pretty universal, regardless of language. Many people make some sort of humming vocalization when they're trying to think of what to say, and 'uh' and 'um' just became the spelling of these vocalizations.

Answer 4

Americans and everyone else for that matter are all about instant gratification. They want everything NOW even when they speak, they don't stop and think about what they want to say therefore when they speak before they think they need to use uh and um as fillers as they try to think about what they want to say.

Answer 5

People started using these words as a way of expressing what they are trying to say. It also comes from wanting to gather your thoughts before you speak. I often find myself saying that to people too, as well as many others. I don't know where it originated from, I just know that people use it for different reasons, or if something is good to them, they will express it by using these words.

Answer 6

The humming that accompnies thought. In midevil times, one was thought to have tiny machines in there head that did the thinking of the body. If one were to hum, or your "um," gulible people would think they could hear the machines in there head, and belive they were clever.

Answer 7

uhmm... That's a good question.

I think people feel comfortable saying something when there's nothign going on in their minds than nothing at all.

It is universal as well, I know my friend from England always says erm.

Answer 8

When you are thinking you area thinking of something, so you aren't thinking of words, it is just another way to buy time to say something, and this is seen a lot. Mostly when thinking of something else to say or if you are clueless or speechless about something.

Answer 9

rhyms with duh and sometimes we get stuck with how we want to present things or our minds just simple go blank so we say um um uh uh dame I forgot what I was gonna say

Answer 10

Its people who start speaking that don't know what they are going to say.