Linguistics: The Mystery Of "Um"

     It's the word we use everyday to fill awkward pauses and gather our thoughts. It's a simple word with many variations such as "ugh" or "uhh". The word I speak of is commonly known as "um", and by definition it is an interjection used as a "common sound when hesitating in speech". Although we as people use it in everyday speech, is there more to this simple word than meets the eye? It would seem as though there is according to ancient Hindu Sanskrit teachings.

The Hindi mantra Aum encircled by the flower of life

     Aum (or Om) is a Hindi mantra which is chanted during meditation to connect to Brahman or God in a sense. You see in Hinduism, Om is the sound of the creator; it is the sound by which everything derives from. Om is the vibration by which everything was based off of; the earth, the sky and even nothingness can be attributed to the "Om" sound in Hinduism. Hindus believe the universal consciousness manifested itself in a vibration in the form of "Om", therefore all of existence vibrates at the same frequency Buddhist monks famously chant in.

     So why do we always see these monks chanting "Om"? Om is a mantra, a series of words which have "psychological or spiritual power". In the Hindu religion, the "sacred utterance" of Om is said to have physiological healing powers. A 1970's study done by Herbert Benson of Harvard reveals the actual relaxation mechanism of such "Om" chanting. Such "magical" chanting of Om actually lowered blood pressure, respiration rates, anxiety levels and metabolic rates. The world was stunned when Dr. Benson published his findings in his book The Relaxation Response. No one could believe the healing effects of such a powerful word!

     Even if Om is a powerful mantra, what relevance does it have in linguistics? As we know from before Um is an interjection used to connect thoughts as well as fill silent pauses in speech. There seems to be two reasons as to why "um" and "om" have a connection.

     Firstly, since om is the sound that "everything derives from", linguistically it might be a way for humans to gather their thoughts and tap into the place where knowledge "derives from". In my past I have noticed that people who do not know what they are talking about use the word "um" frequently in their speech. Since "om"/"um" is the source of all that exists in Hinduism, when a person says "um" it may be a way for that person to psychologically delve into all knowledge that subjectively exists. Repeating this sound may make it easier for information retrieval and memory recall, because that person is accessing all known information. Just like "Om" is the source of everything in Hinduism, "Um" maybe the source of specific knowledge retrieval from all knowledge. Although this is a highly psychological thesis, it may explain why humans lost in thought use the word "um" to get back on track!

A man tapping into brahman/ all knowledge by using the "Aum" mantra!

     A second hypothesis for the "um/om correlation" may be to physiologically calm a nervous talker down. Nervous talkers will usually use "um" a lot to fill in the blanks of their speech. A nervous talker may instinctively use "um" as a means to calm the body down during a speech because of its holistic healing properties mentioned earlier in the post. Buddhist monks use the "aum" mantra as a means to lower blood pressure, drop anxiety levels and even slow down metabolic rates, so why couldn't a nervous talker do the same? 

     Although these are but mere theories, I couldn't help but notice the simple etymological correlation between "aum" and umm". Could "um" be the basic root for all sound just as the hindis described "aum" as the basic root of everything?

What are your thoughts? Could these hypotheses hold true in a clinical setting? Leave any additional hypotheses in the comments section.

References:

1.  Benson H (Dec 1997). "The relaxation response: therapeutic effect". Science 278 (5344): 1694–5.