Re: disfluencies/editing expressions

Hey!

Where we're on the topic of filling words and such, what
would German "ja" (yes) and "doch" (no English equivalent!)
in sentences like "Ich *kenne* dich doch!" or "*Dich* habe
ich ja schon lange nicht mehr gesehen!" be translated as in
English? "do VERB" resp. with "VERBsn't it?" and "VERBs
it?" maybe? Note that the use of these words is rather
colloquial.
In questions I find myself and other people in my
environment frequently using the word
"eigentlich" (actually, in fact): "Was hast'n du'n da
eigentlich für'n Buch?". What I find interesting about this
example, too, is the double use of "denn", which itself has
no meaning either, actually. "Denn" is reduced to 'n. One
'n is put after the verb, the other one I usually put after
the personal pronoun of the addressee. The third 'n in the
example above is the reduction of "ein" (sg neu. indef.
art.).
And as for the usual filler, this is "äh" or "ähm". The
pronounciation very much varies on the occation as for
length, intonation and such. Maybe Henrik or Phillip or
Mark Line already said this. For me, "ähm" is between [@:m]
and [A:m]. Some celebrities are famous for their excessive
use of "ähm", especially sportsmen: e.g. Boris Becker,
Franz Beckenbauer, Lothar Matthäus. From the politician's
corner only Edmund Stoiber (Christian Socialists Union,
CSU) comes to my mind. Of course, conjunctions can be
repeated as well.

Erm, I guess I'll, um, stop now -- uh, yes, well.

Carsten

--
Eri silveváng aibannama padangin.
Nivaie evaenain eri ming silvoieváng caparei.
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Le Petit Prince
  -> http://www.beckerscarsten.de/?conlang=ayeri

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