Inserts in Conversation: Exploring the Use of Kurdish Learners English Conversation

Inserts are short words, phrases, or expressions that are mainly used in spoken language to manage interaction rather than to contribute directly to the grammatical structure or propositional meaning of an utterance. Inserts are not similar in form and function, as they perform different roles in spoken interaction. Syntactically, inserts are usually independent of the main clause and may occur at the beginning, middle, or end of an utterance. Semantically, they often carry little propositional meaning, but pragmatically they are highly significant. Expressions such as "Um", "Well", "You know", "Please", "Okay", and "Wow" help speakers manage hesitation, organize discourse, express attitudes, maintain politeness, seek responses, and show emotions. Thus, inserts contribute greatly to fluency, coherence, naturalness, and the effective management of conversation.