Don't you like cherry blossoms?
(Responding to negative questions)
- Possible Answers
- A:
This CD is
really good. Do you want to borrow it?
B: No, thanks. It's OK.
A: Don't you like jazz?
B: Yes, I do. I just don't have time to
listen to music these days.
Actually, no I don't. I've never been a
jazz fan.
- A:
You
never speak to Peter very much. Don't you like him?
B: Yes, I like him
very much. I'm just a little shy.
The second
example is one I remember from the NHK TV programme, Eigo de Shabera Night. In one
of the first programmes in the series, Japanese actress
Naomi Kawashima was being interviewed about how she'd learned English.
She mentioned that she had once been overseas on a home-stay programme.
While she was
overseas, she stayed with an English family. The family had a son who
was about the same age as Naomi, but she was a little shy of speaking
to him. One day the mother asked her, "I've noticed you don't
speak to Peter very much. Don't you like him?" Naomi immediately
answered, "No, no."
Naomi then
noticed the shocked expression on the mother's face and realised she
had said something wrong. What did Naomi's "no" mean?
- From Naomi's perspective as a
Japanese it meant: "Your impression that I don't like your son is
wrong. I like him."
- From the mother's view it
meant:
"No, I don't like your son."
Fortunately, Naomi quickly realised her mistake and was able to correct
it. Be careful when you're answering negative questions.
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©
Robert E. Jones, 2006
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