@suchalovelyred: we all use filler when we’re thinking, but we just don’t all fill the silence in the same way. in spoken languages, that might sound like “um,” “like,” or “you know.” in ASL, processing time becomes visible thru movement, pauses, holds, repetition, gaze, facial expression, and other discourse behaviors. also: some things that LOOK like filler to a hearing person watching ASL aren’t actually filler. they may be grammatical, discourse-related, or prosodic. if you read this far: if your first language is something other than English, does your “um” sound the same? genuinely curious. (Visual description: Rach is a white woman with red hair and freckles wearing a tan top, beaded bracelets, and hoop earrings. She is standing in front of a black wall and text appears as she signs to the camera.) Transcript: “[wiggle fingers] Umm… There's no ASL sign for "um." There's just... this. [wiggling fingers] That. That's my "um." You know how English speakers say 'um' when they're thinking? Deaf people do that too. It just doesn't use voice. Instead, we use visual space fillers to buy time while we process. Pausing in the middle of a si… …gn also buys time. Sometimes we will repeat… repeat a sign to show that we’re still thinking. Breaking eye contact with a focused expression to signal, "Don't cut in yet, I'm still thinking." Hearing people close their eyes to remember, to buy time. Deaf people keep our eyes open but break contact. Hearing people fill silence with sound: Um. Like. You know. ASL does have signs for some of that too. You know… that… so… But we fill silence with space, A lot of the time, it's not even a sign. It's a wiggle. A hold. A face. A pause. You're watching someone's brain work in real time. Thinking. Out loud. Just not out *loud.*"

rach, Lovely Red 💋

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Friday 28 August 2026 15:12:58 GMT