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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
Usage
"do you know"
It's very common for Japanese people, when speaking English, to use the "do you know X" construction as a literal translation of "X wo shiiteru?" to ask if you have heard of something or someone.
For instance:
"Do you know Bob Sapp?" (meaning "Do you know who Bob Sapp is?") "Do you know karaoke?" (meaning "Do you know what karaoke is?" or "Have you heard of karaoke?")
To me this sounds unnatural (although in general it's understandable, at least when you get used to it). But I'm always afraid of telling people that something is unnatural without checking it first, because more than once that's bitten me in the ass (for instance when I told a number of people that "yard" is not used to mean "field", only later to find out that "yard" in that sense is a British usage).
So is this dialectical at all or is it just plain "wrong"?
-Chris
For instance:
"Do you know Bob Sapp?" (meaning "Do you know who Bob Sapp is?") "Do you know karaoke?" (meaning "Do you know what karaoke is?" or "Have you heard of karaoke?")
To me this sounds unnatural (although in general it's understandable, at least when you get used to it). But I'm always afraid of telling people that something is unnatural without checking it first, because more than once that's bitten me in the ass (for instance when I told a number of people that "yard" is not used to mean "field", only later to find out that "yard" in that sense is a British usage).
So is this dialectical at all or is it just plain "wrong"?
-Chris
Top answer
[nq:1]It's very common for Japanese people, when speaking English, to use the "do you know X" construction as a literal ... in that sense is a British usage). So is this dialectical at all or is it just plain "wrong"?
- [nq:1]It's very common for Japanese people, when speaking English, to use the "do you know X" construction as a literal ...
- in that sense is a British usage).
- So is this dialectical at all or is it just plain "wrong"?
- -Chris[/nq] Sounds like you may be suffering from 'in-country syndrome' - you've been hearing the same ideosyncratic English structure from your students for so long you start doubting your judgement as to whether it's marked or not.
- It's happened to me more than once...
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63 Answers
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[nq:1]It's very common for Japanese people, when speaking English, to use the "do you know X" construction as a literal ... in that sense is a British usage). So is this dialectical at all or is it just plain "wrong"? -Chris[/nq]
Sounds like you may be suffering from 'in-country syndrome' - you've been hearing the same ideosyncratic English structure from your students for so long you start do
Sounds like you may be suffering from 'in-country syndrome' - you've been hearing the same ideosyncratic English structure from your students for so long you start do
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Sorry- made a knee-jerk assumption you're an English teacher - in-wrong group syndrome strikes again..
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[nq:1]It's very common for Japanese people, when speaking English, to use the "do you know X" construction as a literal ... "yard" in that sense is a British usage). So is this dialectical at all or is it just plain "wrong"?[/nq]
imo, Wrong.
I think standard English would be (as you suggest) "Do you know who/what ... is?"
"Have you heard of ...?"
or sometimes "Do you know of ...?"
imo, Wrong.
I think standard English would be (as you suggest) "Do you know who/what ... is?"
"Have you heard of ...?"
or sometimes "Do you know of ...?"
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[nq:1]btw, What's this about some Brits calling a field a "yard"?? Never heard it.[/nq]
According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary (and my students), the term "yard" is used in British English to refer to the place at a school where the students go to play soccer and the like (we always called this a "field").
-Chris
According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary (and my students), the term "yard" is used in British English to refer to the place at a school where the students go to play soccer and the like (we always called this a "field").
-Chris
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[nq:2]btw, What's this about some Brits calling a field a "yard"?? Never heard it.[/nq]
[nq:1]According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary (and my students), the term "yard" is used in British English to refer to the place at a school where the students go to play soccer and the like (we always called this a "field").[/nq]
The Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary (as that really w
[nq:1]According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary (and my students), the term "yard" is used in British English to refer to the place at a school where the students go to play soccer and the like (we always called this a "field").[/nq]
The Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary (as that really w
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[nq:2]It's very common for Japanese people, when speaking English, to ... this dialectical at all or is it just plain "wrong"?[/nq]
[nq:1]imo, Wrong. I think standard English would be (as you suggest) "Do you know who/what ... is?" "Have you heard ... meaning, as long as it's followed up with something like, "Well, I saw him being arrested outside Tesco last night."[/nq]
It has always star
[nq:1]imo, Wrong. I think standard English would be (as you suggest) "Do you know who/what ... is?" "Have you heard ... meaning, as long as it's followed up with something like, "Well, I saw him being arrested outside Tesco last night."[/nq]
It has always star
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[nq:1]The Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary (as that really what it's called) is totally wrong on this one.[/nq]
I agree. At school we would play recreational football (soccer) in the quad (presumably short for quadrangle, or possibly quadrilateral), or formal team soccer on a (playing) field. A yard is somewhere a builder stores his bricks prior to attempting to obtain planning permission
I agree. At school we would play recreational football (soccer) in the quad (presumably short for quadrangle, or possibly quadrilateral), or formal team soccer on a (playing) field. A yard is somewhere a builder stores his bricks prior to attempting to obtain planning permission
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(Email Removed) posted the following:
[nq:1]Sounds like you may be suffering from 'in-country syndrome' - you've been hearing the same ideosyncratic English structure from your students for so long you start doubting your judgement as to whether it's marked or not. It's happened to me more than once...[/nq]
What's worse is when you start saying the structures.
A few times I've cau
[nq:1]Sounds like you may be suffering from 'in-country syndrome' - you've been hearing the same ideosyncratic English structure from your students for so long you start doubting your judgement as to whether it's marked or not. It's happened to me more than once...[/nq]
What's worse is when you start saying the structures.
A few times I've cau
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[nq:1]The Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary (as that really what it's called) is totally wrong on this one.[/nq]
Without seeing the definition, I don't know whether it's totally wrong. I would certainly agree that if something is a "field" then it's not a "yard". But the tarmac area, used for football etc., at my primary school (which didn't have a grass "playing field") was indeed called a
Without seeing the definition, I don't know whether it's totally wrong. I would certainly agree that if something is a "field" then it's not a "yard". But the tarmac area, used for football etc., at my primary school (which didn't have a grass "playing field") was indeed called a
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[nq:2]btw, What's this about some Brits calling a field a "yard"?? Never heardit.[/nq]
[nq:1]According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary (and my students), the term "yard" is used in British English to refer to the place at a school where the students go to play soccer and the like (we always called this a "field"). -Chris[/nq]
The Northern English viewpoint. If it's got a hard s
[nq:1]According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary (and my students), the term "yard" is used in British English to refer to the place at a school where the students go to play soccer and the like (we always called this a "field"). -Chris[/nq]
The Northern English viewpoint. If it's got a hard s
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