USING FILLERS IN SPOKEN ENGLISH: y'know, I mean, er, well: a sample dialogue. El USO DE MULETILLAS EN EL INGLÉS HABLADO: y´know, I mean, er, well...

Joe: Y’know, I don’t think that people really appreciate their parents until they get older. I mean, at least I can say that about myself. And I think it’s true of, y’know, here in America.
Kristin: Yeah, I was gonna say in this culture, anyway. Yeah I can totally agree with that.
Joe: Yeah, I, eh, y’know, looking back, I think I only really came to, y’know, see all the sacrifices my parents made, and appreciate those sacrifices, when I went away to college.
Kristin: Mm-hm. That’s probably when I started appreciating my parents, too.
Joe: Yeah, I mean, y’know, now looking back I can see that my dad… He was always trying to teach me things. And at the time I, I couldn’t even tell that it was going on. But, y’know, now I see there’s method to his madness, like…
Kristin: Like, what’s an example?
Joe: Alright, well, for example, like on Saturdays, y’know, what I liked to do was probably what any, y’know, little boy used to do. I liked to go out, play with my friends, y’know, play some baseball or some football or, y’know, just, just hang out with my friends.
Kristin: Right.
Joe: Well, my dad on the other hand, y’know, he was really strict. And, uh, he ran a tight ship. I’m tellin’ ya. I mean, I, I think there was this unspoken motto that he had which was my way or the highway.
Kristin: [laugh] I can see that.
Joe: So come Saturday morning, it was time to do some work, and…
Kristin: [laugh]
Joe: …so it was time to spoil the fun I wanted to have.
Kristin: Right.

Joe: So, he’d say something like, “Hey, y’know, uh, today we have to change the oil
on the car, I’ll show you how to do it.”
Kristin: Oh boy.
Joe: I’d be thinkin’, yeah, I’d be thinkin’, oh that sounds like fun…y’know. Or like, uh,
y’know, another time he’d say, “Okay, uh, y’know, we have to change the brakes
today. And I think that, uh, I’ll show you how to do it this time. And you’ll… You can
do it next time.” And I’m sittin’ there, I, I must be eleven years old, I’m thinkin’ to
myself, I’m not gonna remember how to do this. I’m not gonna retain any of it.
Kristin: Right.
Joe: But sure enough, he showed me how to do it. And, y’know, now looking back,
y’know, I can see that, y’know, it was, uh, probably something that he wanted to
make sure I knew how to do as I grew older…
Kristin: Sure.
Joe: …but I didn’t really pay attention, y’know. I couldn’t appreciate it at the time.
Kristin: Yeah, my, my dad, uh, taught me some things about the car, not as detailed
as changing the brakes or changing the oil. But he taught me basics like just
checking my fluids, like power steering fluid, um, brake fluid, the oil. At the time,
y’know, I would dread him teaching me. I wouldn’t retain it. I would forget so he
would constantly be teaching me. And it would just… I knew it would be this
long-winded lecture. When I would be wanting just to get in the car and leave, go
meet my friends.
Joe: Yeah, sure.
Kristin: But now I, I appreciate that he taught me those… how to, uh… check my
fluids actually. It’s a useful thing to know.
Joe: Yeah, there, there were some things that my father would teach me, like, when
I was younger, and I did appreciate it. And I mean like the one thing that stands out
in my mind is learning how to cook. Y’know, my dad was really good about allowing
us to be in the kitchen while he was cooking. ‘Coz my dad’s an amazing cook, and…
Kristin: Yeah, he is.

Joe: …y’know, when we were growing up… I remember like all my friends and, uh,
my mom’s side of the family, it was only the women who cooked. But…
Kristin: Uh-huh.
Joe: …from my dad’s side of the family, the men totally cooked. I mean, I just said
my dad was a great cook. He learned from his father, my grandfather, who was a
great cook. My grandfather’s brother, my great-uncle…
Kristin: Mm-hm.
Joe: …he was a great cook. So it really wasn’t a gender specific trait in my family.
And I think as a result, uh, we weren’t afraid to be in the kitchen. And my father
allowed us to. So, uh, y’know… And my dad was always good about teaching me
how to cook. I mean I remember this one time. . . I was a little kid. I must have been
six years old. I wake up on a Sunday morning. And I go downstairs and I say, uh,
“Hey Dad, can you make me French toast for breakfast?” And I remember him
saying something like, “Okay, yeah, I’ll make it for ya. I’ll teach you how to make it
and then the next time you make it for me.”
Kristin: [laugh] That’s great.
Joe: So I was thinkin’ this is great! I’m gonna be able to make French toast for
myself whenever I want. And then, y’know, also I wanted to try and impress my dad,
uh, y’know. So I wanted to make it for him, too.
Kristin: Uh-huh.
Joe: So, y’know, that was, y’know, that was something that was a bonding
experience with my father and I as well.

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