I think that people who criticize such an awesome tip just don´t understand how important fluency is in a real conversation. As I always tell my students, fluency first, precision comes later.

Great post, Benny. Abraços do Brasil.

Great post Benny, thanks for continuing to inspire us!

As for them being wasteful – eh… everything in moderation. You can rely on them too heavily, or not at all, and either situation is preferably avoided. Ever talk to someone in your native tongue who used no filler comments in normal verbal speech? It’s painful. Without the filler, people can come off as very curt or uninterested in the conversation, plus it becomes infinitely harder to read their tone, body language, etc. which is communicated more clearly when a person is relaxed and not stressing over the details of their speech (i.e. when they are using canned, memorized filler phrases). If someone feels comfortable with a filler expression, they can start adding more emotion or flair to it and provide the listener better communication (which is the point, right?) without adding literal content to their speech.

However, I’ve seen (and I’m guilty of this too, for sure) foreign language speakers get hooked on a few phrases and use them over and over ad nauseum. In those situations I just offer a few additional colloquial alternatives (maybe even a bit of appropriate slang) to mix things up a bit. Usually people are immensely pleased to expand this vital part of their vocabulary and are quick to pick up the new phrases.

Good topic!

I’ve searched the internet, but haven’t been able to find Italian translations of this.

Can someone translate/add commonly used Italian conversation connectors to my list @ http://sn.im/itconnectors?

This will not only help me, but everyone else who is learning Italian. Because I’m not a native, I can hardly know what is commonly used.

Email me at: bspragge+yanswers (at) gmail.com and I’ll let you edit the document

Grazie!