What does well mean? Well, I don't know. Oh, well.

[deilaitha]

The title of this thread is a little facetious, but the question I have is legitimate. What does the word 'well' mean when we preface a sentence with it?

"Well, I didn't realize you were an expert."
"Well, I think that should hold us for a while."
"Well, he never did like bumblebees."

The connotation seems to vary with context, but especially with intonation in speech. What is the denotation? Clearly it is not meant as 'healthy,' 'a hole in the ground,' 'bubbling up', the adverbial form of 'good', or any other of the common usages of the word 'well.'

As far as I can tell, it is a placeholder in speech. I use it all the time and it just occurred to me today that I have not the slightest idea of what I mean by it. Perhaps it is an announcement of sorts--"I am about to start speaking, so pay attention to me." However, it can also show hesitation or consideration. It may also indicate, in the case of "Well, I didn't realize you were an expert," an attitude of huffiness.

Why do I ask?

Well (see what I did there?), I have noticed this pattern in my character's dialogue. I tend to use 'well' frequently, but only when it seems to flow naturally. I often catch myself trying to start multiple quotations in a row with it, but I always edit out the ones that seem more superfluous. Nevertheless, I have started to wonder if using "well" is superfluous in and of itself. I have a character arriving back from a momentary absence with food. What would be more natural, providing this is the first thing the character says?

"Well, I found something for us to eat."
"I found something for us to eat."

I know what I personally would say. I know that the way I write my characters now, they would probably say "well."

But would it be better, well, you know, to not waste space on such, well, meaningless words?

Oh, well. What do you guys think?

 

[Lord Ben]

Usually before an explanation or a lengthy response. I think an "answer through explanation" rather than a brief answer. You're right in that it's a "pay attention to what I'm about to say" way of calling attention to the rest though basically.

"Do you want Chinese or Mexican tonight?"
"I am hungry for pizza." vs "Well, I'm hungry for pizza."

One way is a quick way of saying "I know you presented me with two easy answers but in fact the actual answer is something else." and IMHO the first way comes off a bit ruder, like they're refusing the choices given and stubbornly clinging to a third option. Maybe a bit dramatic but there is a difference in tone between the two.

 

[Lord Ben]

I found a better explanation.

Cambridge Journals Online - English Language and Linguistics - Abstract - The discourse marker well in the history of English

The discourse marker well has four distinct uses in Modern English: as a frame it introduces a new topic or prefaces direct reported speech; as a qualifier it prefaces a reply which is only a partial answer to a question; as a face-threat mitigator it prefaces a disagreement; and as a pause filler it bridges interactional silence.

 

[deilaitha]

I found a better explanation.

Wow. That is a better explanation. Now I just need an explanation as to why I didn't get off of my lazy bum and do my own research.

I am still struggling with whether or not to cull the many instances of 'well' as a discourse marker (which, by the way, is an awesome term) from my work. It feels natural to include them, but I wonder if it's somehow too much. Granted, I did a search on my 26,308-word document and it only found 27 instances (if you can trust ms word technology), so maybe I am just over-thinking this whole issue?

 

[Ayaka Di'rutia]

From the Cambridge Journals Online article:

In Old English well was used on an interpersonal level as an emphatic attention-getting device (similar to Old English hwæt ‘listen’, ‘behold’, or ‘what’). In Middle English, well always functioned as a frame on a textual level. In Early Modern English, and particularly in the plays by Shakespeare, the uses of well diversified considerably and adopted interpersonal uses again.

I use it that way in everyday speech; you could definitely use it as an attention-getter for characters interacting, perhaps in a busy-work or group setting.

 

[wordwalker]

I once knew someone who, whenever you "well"ed around him, liked to say "There's a deep subject." But then, any part of dialog can be get tricky when you look closely at it, and so can any other kind of word choice.

It's true that there are some words it's easy to overuse (a common tip is to look for "just", in dialog and narrative both) and that we all fall into patterns that can seem like ruts. Some writhers use software to count the frequency of every word in a work and look for overused bits.

But, what I'd really (that's one of my own overused words, by the way) suggest is: embrace the lesson here, and use it more consciously. Make a list of different discourse markers (that "really" is an awesome term, Lord Ben!), from "um" to "you see" to "I don't know, maybe" to using someone's name, and decide which characters prefer which one or two, and which are less likely to use them at all. A bold or rough character might never touch them, a shy scholar could use them to tie himself in knots.

Then, be sure you think twice about when to use them. Paced here and there they make great punctuation, to show who considers which instants more pause-worthy than others, but watch that you don't overuse them, or use them more than how much your style of dialog (and other narrative) is taking time for other quirks like this. You don't want to be "the guy who does great well-type words but the rest of his dialog's rushed."

 

[deilaitha]

I once knew someone who, whenever you "well"ed around him, liked to say "There's a deep subject." But then, any part of dialog can be get tricky when you look closely at it, and so can any other kind of word choice.

Nyuk nyuk nyuk.

I like your suggestions for usage of the term. Really.

 

[Fyri]

It is used as a transition word, a vocal filler, a meaningful word(well=good or device used to retrieve water), and, well , thats about it. I would avoid using it too much as the more you use any word the less creative or the more annoying you may seem. Typically the use of well is used as a vocal filler. The case with you seems to be a mix between fillers and transitions. With transitions, it is used to make the sentence flow easier. It is quite safe to use it there because everyone likes a flowing sentence, but be careful! People like to see a variety of words on a page, too. If a carscter is talking, it is really free game! A character is a person and there are reasons these words are invented. People use vocal fillers all the time! Have you ever sat in a class and counted how many time the teacher says um, well, or like? It can get really annoying and distracting. But if that is how you want your character to be, have fun!! If not, still use the vocal fillers, because its almost unnatural not to, but dont use them in every sentence or dialogue. Space it out. For your example, I would drop the well, because without it the reader get the main poi t more obviously and it seems mkre humorous. With it, however, it is still humorous, but the main point is seemingly shy and hidden. Well, I hope this helps!