Non-Lexical Items
Non-lexical items are items that aren’t exactly words, but are common in spoken language. Their
function often serves to allow the speaker time to consider their words before he or she actually
starts to speak, and thus are a critical aspect of turn-taking in conversations.
Hmm, I’m not quite sure about that; I need to think a little while about it.
Umm, I really am not certain that I know the answer; Let me think about it.
Uh-huh, I know, I know; Yes, I know what you mean.
Mm-hmm, I see; Now I understand; Is it so?
Yeah, I understand; Yes.
Nah, Nope, No; I don’t think so.
Oh, Well, that’s a little surprising; Really? I didn’t know that.
Er, I don’t quite understand; You might not be right.
Uh, Just a second; Let me think.
Try to use some of the non-lexical items found above to complete the following sentences:
A: Do you know what the capital of Sweden is?
B: ________, could it be Stockholm?
A: Are you going to play basketball tonight?
B: _______, I’ve got a lot of work to do at home.
A: So you see, we were late because the train was late.
B: _______, OK, now I see what you mean.
A: So after we came home from class we drove to Hailuoto to go fishing.
B: _____, wait a minute. Did you just say that you drove?!
Now, can you think of any non-lexical items that are different/have different meaning in your
own language?
Finnish: In Finnish Mm is roughly equal to English Mm-hmm; in nearly all other situations silence
reigns supreme in conversational Finnish.
AvP08-12