Interjecting

Interjecting refers to the act of inserting a remark or a word into an ongoing spoken or written discourse. In everyday conversation, interjecting commonly serves to express emotion, signal a stance, gain or reclaim the floor, or redirect the topic. In linguistics, interjections are a class of words or particles that function independently from the grammatical structure of the sentence, often with little to no syntactic linkage to surrounding clauses.

Interjections vary in force and function. They can express surprise (oh), disappointment (oh no), pain (ouch), agreement (sure), or hesitation (uh). They also function as discourse markers or fillers, such as well, you know, or I mean, which help manage turn-taking, signal alignment, or sequence an argument, even though they may not contribute propositional content.

Position and delivery: Interjections can occur at sentence-initial, in-line, or sentence-final positions. They frequently accompany overlaps or interruptions as speakers attempt to take the floor or respond quickly. In formal writing, interjections are less common and are usually marked to indicate the speaker’s emotion; in dialogue, they appear as ordinary words or as parenthetical notes.

Cross-linguistically, interjection usage and acceptability vary by language and culture, influenced by norms around politeness, directness, and power dynamics. Researchers study interjective practice to understand how speakers manage face-threatening acts, stance, and interactional rhythm.

Examples: “That was surprising, wow, I didn’t expect that.” “Well, I think we should start.” “Uh, maybe we could try a different approach.”