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.

在电影“Caddyshack”中，美国演员比尔·默瑞扮演一位高尔夫球童。 他为其他人拿高尔夫球杆，并为他们提供如何玩这项运动的建议。

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.

在电影中，默瑞讲述了一个荒唐的故事。 他声称曾到过喜马拉雅山，帮助达赖喇嘛打高尔夫球。 一场比赛后，穆雷说，他向这位西藏精神领袖索要费用。

Here are a few lines from the movie.

下面是电影里的几句台词。

"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.’"

“所以我们打完球后，他要付我钱。然后我说：‘嘿，喇嘛，给我点奖励怎么样?你知道的，对于我刚刚付出的努力，你懂的。’他说：‘哦，我不会给你钱。不过等你去世的时候，你会获得完整的意识。’”

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.

今天我们不谈高尔夫，我们来说说You konw这句话，在刚才的例子中你已经听到主角用了两次。

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

我们会向你展示美国人是如何以及为何用这个短语。你可能会对它这么多的用法感到惊讶。

Acknowledgement markers

确认标记

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.

当你听美国人说话时，你经常听到他们在一句话中的各种地方用you know，可能是一句话开头、中间或者句末。

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."

当他们说“you know”，可能是指字面意思，例如：“你知道那个人吗?” “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，今天我们探讨的是这个词组的其他用法，包括交际用途，比如使用“you know”来软化某个表述的意思。对此语言专家们有一个特定表达，叫“确认标记”。

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.

你不必为这个词组担心，只需记得这是英语语言者为交际用途而用的一些词。它们的意思不仅仅是独立的词所表达的。

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

不用害怕：我们会用一些流行文化里的例子向你解释明白。

"You know" in social situations

社交场合中的“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”让其他人知道你和他们有某种共识。 人们用它来表明他们有共同的理解。

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.

有时候，人们会使用确认标记，因为他们想知道你是否同意。 有时候，他们用它来填补对话或讨论中的空白。 说“You know”让发言者有时间思考下一步该说些什么。

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

上下文会告诉你“You know”具体表达的是什么。

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.’"

让我们通过具体例子来学习一下。回想一下刚刚提到的电影台词：“然后我说：‘嘿，喇嘛，给我点奖励怎么样?你知道的，对于我刚刚付出的努力，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.

在这里，默瑞是想要小费，当他在说“You know”之前以及“for the effort”之后，他是想暗示达赖喇嘛应该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”是为了暗示和建议，他不想直接开口要钱，而是委婉地通过“You know”来索要小费。

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简单地说：“你能为我刚刚给你的帮助，给我点小费吗?” 这样一个直接的问题在美国文化中被认为是不尊重的。

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."

我们来看另一个例子，1994年的电影《这个杀手不太冷》里的台词。- “我的父母四个月前出车祸死了，太糟糕了。” - “你知道的，由于第一次来到这里，我们之间没有太多时间互相了解。不过我想让你明白我不是那种让孩子失望的女人，无论她的处境怎样，无论她犯了什么错。”

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

这里，说话者以“you know”开头，这种情况下，她是想获得女孩的信任。

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”开头，这样就给了女孩一种她们之间有联系的想法。 她想给女孩新的信息，但她也想让自己说的话听起来很熟悉。 她还想提高女孩积极回应她的几率。

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.

最后一个例子，想象一下两个人工作到很晚，一个人可能想对另一个人说他们该走了。

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

她可能会说：“嘿简，你知道的，末班车15分钟后就要开了。”

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.

这里说话者在传达火车的相关信息，就好像是已知的信息。简很可能不知道火车很快就要开了，但是同事想要想要用语言来暗示这句话，表明她知道火车快开了。

History and "you know"

“You know”的历史

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”这句话不新的俚语。 根据语言专家约翰·麦克沃的说法，“You know”有着悠久的历史。他说，说英语的人使用“You know”这种词汇和表达方式已经很久了。

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

麦克沃特指出杰弗里乔的《坎特伯雷故事集》中写的话就是一个例子。 乔在十四世纪写下了现在着名的作品。

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

在“骑士的故事”这一章中，艾米莉这个角色说出“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."

随着时间的推移，“thou”这个词后来变成了“you”。 “Woost”这个动词最终成为“know”。 McWhorter指出，“you know”是14世纪“thou woost”的现代版。

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?

下一次你正在听一位英语的说话者时，试着找出“you know”的例子。 这个人多久使用一次? 你认为他们使用这句话是为了表达什么?

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.

你应该小心使用“you know”。有时英语学习者会变得紧张，经常使用“you know”。这种过度使用意味着他们不会练习使用其他表达或词汇。

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.

今天故事的要点是向你展示英语人士如何使用某些词汇和表达方式来进行社交活动。 还有很多其他的表达方式——我们可以在另一个日常语法节目中探索。

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

“你知道的，我觉得 我们现在应该结束这期节目了。” “好，我觉得你是对的。”