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'Um' ... A Pause for Linguistic Appreciation

Fresh Air | By Geoff Nunberg

Published April 14, 2008 at 11:33 AM CDT

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It's one of the most common words in English, and one of the most maligned. But it has been doing useful work for centuries, and lately it's acquired a new, hip meaning. Fresh Air linguist Geoff Nunberg gives us his thoughts on the little word, "um."

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Geoff Nunberg

Geoff Nunberg is the linguist contributor on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross.