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

Translator: Sevara Pulatova Reviewer: Nazarbek Nazarov

For as long as we’ve had language, some people have tried to control it.

Til mavjudligidan beri ayrim insonlar uni nazorat qilishga harakat qilishgan.

And some of the most frequent targets of this communication regulation

Va eng ko’p uchraydigan maqsadlardan biri muloqotni nazorat qilish

are the ums, ers, and likes that pepper our conversations.

masalan um,hm,mm deb nutqimizni to’ldirib turadigan.

Ancient Greek and Latin texts warned against speaking with hesitation,

Qadimgi yunon va lotin matnlari uyalmasdan gapirishdan ogohlantirishgan,

modern schools have tried to ban the offending terms,

zamonaviy maktablar haqoratli so’zlarni taqiqlashga harakat qilgan

and renowned linguist Noam Chomsky dismissed these expressions as “errors”

va mashhur tilshunos Noam Chomskiy bunday ifodalarni “xato” degan

irrelevant to language.

va tilga taaluqli emas deb aytgan.

Historically, these speech components had been lumped

Qadimda,nutq komponentlari

into the broader bucket of “disfluencies”—

kengroq “chalg’ishlar”ga sabab bo’ldi-

linguistic fillers which distract from useful speech.

asosiy nutqdan chalg’ituvchi vositalar.

However, none of this controversy has made these so-called disfluencies less common.

Ammo,hech qaysi ziddiyatlar bu chalg’ituv- chilarning kam ishlatilishiga sababmasdir.

They continue to occur roughly 2 to 3 times per minute in natural speech.

Ular tabiiy nutqda bir minutda taxminan 2-3 marta ishlatilishda davom etadi.

And different versions of them can be found in almost every language,

Va ularning turli variantlari deyarli barcha tillarda topiladi

including sign language.

imo-ishoralarni ham.

So are ums and uhs just a habit we can’t break?

Shunday qilib, hm va mm biz tashlay olmaydigan odatmi?

Or is there more to them than meets the ear?

Yoki ular biz eshitadigandan ham ko’proqmi?

To answer this question, it helps to compare these speech components

Bu savolga javob berish uchun,bu til komponentlarini o’zimiz kunlik

to other words we use in everyday life.

ishlatadigan boshqa so’zlarga taqqoslashimiz kerak.

While a written word might have multiple definitions,

Yozilgan so’zning birdan ortiq ta’riflari bo’lgani uchun

we can usually determine its intended meaning through context.

biz uning talab etilayotgan ma’nosini matndan keltirib chiqarolamiz.

In speech however, a word can take on additional layers of meaning.

Ammo nutqda, so’z qo’shimcha ma’nolarni ham olishi mumkin.

Tone of voice, the relationship between speakers,

Ovoz toni, suhbatdoshlar o’rtasidagi munosabat va

and expectations of where a conversation will go

muloqotning qayergacha borishi

can imbue even words that seem like filler with vital information.

hattoki so’zlarni ham muhim ma’lumot bilan to’ldirishi mumkin.

This is where “um” and “uh” come in.

Mana shu mm va hmlarning kelib chiqishi.

Or “eh” and “ehm,” “tutoa” and “öö,” “eto” and “ano.”

Yoki “eh” va “ehm” va ”“öö” ,“eto”,“ano”.

Linguists call these filled pauses, which are a kind of hesitation phenomenon.

Tilshunoslar buni to’ldirilgan bo’shliqlar ya’ni ikkilanish sifatida aytishadi

And these seemingly insignificant interruptions

Va bular ahamiyatsiz chalg’ituvchilardek tuyulsada,

are actually quite meaningful in spoken communication.

aslida og’zaki muloqotda juda ham ahamiyatli.

For example, while a silent pause might be interpreted

Masalan, tinch jim turish qolganlar uchun gapirish uchun

as a sign for others to start speaking,

bir belgi sifatida bo’lishi mumkin.

a filled pause can signal that you’re not finished yet.

va to’ldirilgan pauzalar hali tugatmaganingizdan belgi bo’lishi mumkin.

Hesitation phenomena can buy time for your speech to catch up with your thoughts,

Ikkilanish voqeasi siz uchun fikrlarizni jamlab olish uchun vaqt jamlashi mumkin,

or to fish out the right word for a situation.

yoki vaziyat uchun maqbul so’zni tanlash uchun.

And they don’t just benefit the speaker—

Va ular faqat so’zlovchi uchun foyda keltirmaydi-

a filled pause lets your listeners know an important word is on the way.

to’ldirilgan pauza tinglovchi uchun muhim so’z aytilishini bildiradi

Linguists have even found that people are more likely

Tilshunoslar topishdiki,insonlar ikkilanishdan so’ng aytilgan

to remember a word if it comes after a hesitation.

so’zni ko’proq eslab qolishadi.

Hesitation phenomena aren’t the only parts of speech

Ikkilanish hodisasi faqat dialogga yangi ma’no beradigan

that take on new meaning during dialogue.

faqat nutqning bir qismi emas.

Words and phrases such as “like,” “well” or “you know”

So’z va iboralar:bilasizmi yoki yaxshimi

function as discourse markers,

muloqot vositalari sifatida xizmat qiladi,

ignoring their literal meaning to convey something about the sentence

asl ma’nosini yo’qotib muloqotning bir tekisda

in which they appear.

ketishini ta’minlaydi.

Discourse markers direct the flow of conversation,

Muloqot vositalari suhbatning ritmini ushlaydi

and some studies suggest that conscientious speakers

va ayrim o’rganishlar shuni ko’rsatadiki adolatli/haqgo’y insonlar

use more of these phrases to ensure everyone is being heard and understood.

bunday iboralardan barchaning eshitishi va tushunishi uchun ko’proq ishlatishadi.

For example, starting a sentence with “Look...”

Masalan, gapni “Qarang..” bilan boshlash

can indicate your attitude and help you gauge the listener’s agreement.

munosabatingizni va tinglovchilarning eshitayotganini sezishga yordam beradi

“I mean” can signal that you’re about to elaborate on something.

“Men aytmoqchimanki...” bu sizning nimadir haqida gapirishingizni bildiradi.

And the dreaded “like” can perform many functions,

Va ko’plab qo’rquvlarni keltiruvchi like so’zi ko’p funksiyali:

such as establishing a loose connection between thoughts,

Masalan fikrlar orasida bo’sh munosabatlar yaratish

or introducing someone else's words or actions.

yoki biror boshqa insonning so’zlari yoki harakatlarini tanishtirishda.

These markers give people a real-time view into your thought process

Bu vositalar jarayon vaqtida tinglovchiga fikrlarizngizni ko’rishga yordam beradi

and help listeners follow, interpret, and predict what you’re trying to say.

va tinglovchilarga siz nima demoqchilingiz haqida qiziqish,taxmin paydo qiladi.

Discourse markers and hesitation phenomena

Muloqot vositalari va ikkilanish holati

aren’t just useful for understanding language—

faqat tilni tushunishga yordam bermaydi

they help us learn it too.

ular tilni o’rganishga ham yordam beradi.

In 2011, a study showed toddlers common and uncommon objects

2011-yilda,chaqaloqlarga tanish va nota- nish buyumlar yonida nima ekanligi

alongside a recording referring to one of the items.

haqidagi yozuv bilan ko’rsatilgan.

When a later recording asked them to identify the uncommon object,

Notanish buyumni aniqlash haqida so’ralganda,

toddlers performed better if that instruction contained a filled pause.

agar o’rtada to’ldiilgan pauza bo’lsa, chaqaloqlar yaxshiroq natija ko’rsatishgan

This may mean that filled pauses cue toddlers to expect novel words,

Bu pauzalar chaqaloqlarga yangi so’zlarni o’rganish uchun signaldir

and help them connect new words to new objects.

va ularga yangi so’zlarni yangi narsalarga bog’lashga yordam beradi.

For adolescents and adults learning a second language,

Yoshi kattlar uchun,ikkinchi tilni o’rganyotganda

filled pauses smooth out awkward early conversations.

dastlabki muloqotlarni silliqlashishiga yordam beradi

And once they’re more confident,

Va birmuncha o’ziga ishongandan so’ng

the second-language learner can signal their newfound fluency

ikkinchi til o’rganuvchi maqbul ikkilanish holati orqlai

by using the appropriate hesitation phenomenon.

o’zlarining talaffuzini haqida belgi berishi mumkin.

Because, contrary to popular belief,

Chunki, mashhur e’tiqodga zid ravishda,

the use of filled pauses doesn't decrease with mastery of a language.

to’ldirilgan pauzalarni ishlatish tilning masteri bo’lish ehtimolini tushirmaydi

Just because hesitation phenomena and discourse markers

Muloqot vositalari va ikkilanish

are a natural part of communication doesn’t mean they’re always appropriate.

muloqotning bir qismi bo’lishi ular har doim to’g’ri degani emas.

Outside of writing dialogue, they serve no purpose in most formal writing.

Yozma dialogdan tashqarida, eng rasmiy muloqotda ularning roli yo’q

And in some contexts, the stigma these social cues carry

Va ba’zi holatlarda bu yoqimsizliklar

can work against the speaker.

so’zlovchiga qarshi ishlashi mumkin.

But in most conversations, these seemingly senseless sounds

Ammo ko’pchilik muloqotlarda, bu hech qanday ma’noga ega bo’lmagan

can convey a world of meaning.

so’zlar bir dunyo ma’noni olishi mumkin.