In the film Caddyshack, American actor Bill Murray plays a golf caddy. He carries golf clubs for other people and offers them advice on how to play the sport.

在電影“Caddyshack”中，美國演員比爾·默瑞扮演一位高爾夫球童。 他為其他人拿高爾夫球桿，并為他們提供如何玩這項運動的建議。

At one point in the film, Murray tells an outrageous story. He claims to have traveled to the Himalayas and helped the Dalai Lama play golf. After one game, Murray says he asked the Tibetan spiritual leader for money.

在電影中，默瑞講述了一個荒唐的故事。 他聲稱曾到過喜馬拉雅山，幫助達賴喇嘛打高爾夫球。 一場比賽后，穆雷說，他向這位西藏精神領袖索要費用。

Here are a few lines from the movie.

下面是電影里的幾句臺詞。

"So we finish 18 and he’s gonna stiff me. And I say, ’Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something? You know, for the effort, you know.’ And he says, ’Oh, uh, there won’t be any money. But when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.’"

“所以我們打完球后，他要付我錢。然后我說：‘嘿，喇嘛，給我點獎勵怎么樣?你知道的，對于我剛剛付出的努力，你懂的。’他說：‘哦，我不會給你錢。不過等你去世的時候，你會獲得完整的意識。’”

Today, we will not explore the world of golf. Instead, we will consider the meaning of two words: you know. You heard them used twice in our example.

今天我們不談高爾夫，我們來說說You konw這句話，在剛才的例子中你已經聽到主角用了兩次。

We will show you how and why Americans use this expression. You might be surprised to learn how "you know" has many uses.

我們會向你展示美國人是如何以及為何用這個短語。你可能會對它這么多的用法感到驚訝。

Acknowledgement markers

確認標記

If you listen to Americans as they speak, you will often hear them say "you know" in strange places in a sentence. You might hear it at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence.

當你聽美國人說話時，你經常聽到他們在一句話中的各種地方用you know，可能是一句話開頭、中間或者句末。

When Americans say "you know," they might mean it in a literal sense, as in the following:"Do you know that person?" "Yes, I know him."

當他們說“you know”，可能是指字面意思，例如：“你知道那個人嗎?” “是的，我知道。”

However, today we are talking about how English speakers use "you know" in other ways. These include social uses, such as saying "you know" to soften the meaning of a statement. Language experts have a term for such an expression: an "acknowledgement marker."

然而，今天我們探討的是這個詞組的其他用法，包括交際用途，比如使用“you know”來軟化某個表述的意思。對此語言專家們有一個特定表達，叫“確認標記”。

You do not need to worry about the term now. Just remember that English speakers choose some words for social uses. They mean more than the individual words suggest.

你不必為這個詞組擔心，只需記得這是英語語言者為交際用途而用的一些詞。它們的意思不僅僅是獨立的詞所表達的。

Do not fear: we will clarify these points by giving you examples from popular culture.

不用害怕：我們會用一些流行文化里的例子向你解釋明白。

"You know" in social situations

社交場合中的“You know”

You know gives other people the idea that you have some kind of shared knowledge with them. People use it to show that they have a common understanding.

“You know”讓其他人知道你和他們有某種共識。 人們用它來表明他們有共同的理解。

Sometimes people use an acknowledgment marker because they want to know if you agree with them. Other times, they use it as a way to fill spaces in a conversation or discussion. Saying "you know" gives the speaker time to think of what to say next.

有時候，人們會使用確認標記，因為他們想知道你是否同意。 有時候，他們用它來填補對話或討論中的空白。 說“You know”讓發言者有時間思考下一步該說些什么。

The context tells you which of these purposes "you know" serves.

上下文會告訴你“You know”具體表達的是什么。

Example #1

例1

Let’s study an example. Think back to the line from Caddyshack: "And I say, ’Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something? You know, for the effort, you know.’"

讓我們通過具體例子來學習一下。回想一下剛剛提到的電影臺詞：“然后我說：‘嘿，喇嘛，給我點獎勵怎么樣?你知道的，對于我剛剛付出的努力，你懂的。’”

Here, Murray is asking for a tip – a small payment. When Murray says "you know" before and after the words "for the effort," he is suggesting that the Dalai Lama knows he has worked hard.

在這里，默瑞是想要小費，當他在說“You know”之前以及“for the effort”之后，他是想暗示達賴喇嘛應該知道自己工作很努力。

Murray uses "you know" to offer a suggestion. He does not want to ask for money directly. He wants to improve his chances of getting the tip by using indirect language.

默瑞用“You know”是為了暗示和建議，他不想直接開口要錢，而是委婉地通過“You know”來索要小費。

Murray’s caddy could have simply said, "Can you give me a tip for helping you?" Such a direct question would be considered disrespectful in American culture.

穆雷扮演的球童可以簡單地說：“你能為我剛剛給你的幫助，給我點小費嗎?” 這樣一個直接的問題在美國文化中被認為是不尊重的。

Example #2

例2

Let’s look at another example. Consider this exchange from the 1994 film, Leon The Professional. - "My parents died in a car accident four weeks ago. It was terrible." - "You know, we didn’t have the time to get to know one another when you first came here. But I want you to know that I’m not the kind of woman who’d let down a child, whatever her situation, whatever her mistake."

我們來看另一個例子，1994年的電影《這個殺手不太冷》里的臺詞。- “我的父母四個月前出車禍死了，太糟糕了。” - “你知道的，由于第一次來到這里，我們之間沒有太多時間互相了解。不過我想讓你明白我不是那種讓孩子失望的女人，無論她的處境怎樣，無論她犯了什么錯。”

Here, the second speaker begins her sentence with "you know." In this situation, she wants to gain the trust of the young girl.

這里，說話者以“you know”開頭，這種情況下，她是想獲得女孩的信任。

She begins her sentence with "you know" so that it gives the girl the idea that they have a connection. She wants to give her new information, but she also wants to make her words sound familiar. She also wants to improve her chances of a positive response from the young girl.

她以“you know”開頭，這樣就給了女孩一種她們之間有聯系的想法。 她想給女孩新的信息，但她也想讓自己說的話聽起來很熟悉。 她還想提高女孩積極回應她的幾率。

Example #3

例3

Here is one final example. Imagine two people are staying late at work. One person might tell another person they need to go.

最后一個例子，想象一下兩個人工作到很晚，一個人可能想對另一個人說他們該走了。

She might say:"Hey, Jane, you know, the last train leaves in 15 minutes!"

她可能會說：“嘿簡，你知道的，末班車15分鐘后就要開了。”

Here the speaker is presenting information about the train, as if it is known information. Jane probably does not know that the train is leaving soon. But her coworker wants to soften the statement by using language that suggests she does know that the train is leaving.

這里說話者在傳達火車的相關信息，就好像是已知的信息。簡很可能不知道火車很快就要開了，但是同事想要想要用語言來暗示這句話，表明她知道火車快開了。

History and "you know"

“You know”的歷史

The term "you know" is not a new form of slang. "You know" has a long history, according to John McWhorter, a language expert. He says that English speakers have long used words and expressions such as "you know."

“You know”這句話不新的俚語。 根據語言專家約翰·麥克沃的說法，“You know”有著悠久的歷史。他說，說英語的人使用“You know”這種詞匯和表達方式已經很久了。

McWhorter points to lines in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales as an example. Chaucer wrote the now famous work in the 14th century.

麥克沃特指出杰弗里喬的《坎特伯雷故事集》中寫的話就是一個例子。 喬在十四世紀寫下了現在著名的作品。

In the Knight’s Tale, the character Emily says the words "thou woost."

在“騎士的故事”這一章中，艾米莉這個角色說出“你忘了”。

The word "thou" later became "you" as the English language changed over time. "Woost" is the verb that eventually became "know." McWhorter notes that "thou woost" was the 14th century version of the modern-day "you know."

隨著時間的推移，“thou”這個詞后來變成了“you”。 “Woost”這個動詞最終成為“know”。 McWhorter指出，“you know”是14世紀“thou woost”的現代版。

What can you do?

你能做什么?

The next time you are listening to an English speaker, try to find examples of "you know." How often does the person use those words? Why do you think they are using them?

下一次你正在聽一位英語的說話者時，試著找出“you know”的例子。 這個人多久使用一次? 你認為他們使用這句話是為了表達什么?

You should be careful about using "you know." Sometimes English learners become nervous and use "you know" too often. This overuse of "you know" means that they do not practice using other expressions or vocabulary.

你應該小心使用“you know”。有時英語學習者會變得緊張，經常使用“you know”。這種過度使用意味著他們不會練習使用其他表達或詞匯。

The point of today’s story was to show you how English speakers use certain words and expressions for social uses. There are many others – which we can explore in another Everyday Grammar program.

今天故事的要點是向你展示英語人士如何使用某些詞匯和表達方式來進行社交活動。 還有很多其他的表達方式——我們可以在另一個日常語法節目中探索。

"You know, I think we should end our report now." "Ok – I think you are right."

“你知道的，我覺得 我們現在應該結束這期節目了。” “好，我覺得你是對的。”