Problems
You ask, 'Where do you live?'
Somebody replies, 'America'.
'Oh, yes,' you reply. 'Where?' (You mean which city.)
They repeat, 'America'.
Where can mean which country, which city, or which type of building, or what is the name of the street or block of flats.
Singaporeans use the word 'stay' to mean living. They ask, 'Where do you stay?"
Stay also implies overnight.
If I am going to Malaysia for the weekend, "I might reply, I'm just doing for the day. I'm not staying there."
You stay in a hotel. Few people are lucky enough to live long-term in a hotel nowadays.
You ask, 'Where do you live?'
Somebody replies, 'America'.
'Oh, yes,' you reply. 'Where?' (You mean which city.)
They repeat, 'America'.
Where can mean which country, which city, or which type of building, or what is the name of the street or block of flats.
Singaporeans use the word 'stay' to mean living. They ask, 'Where do you stay?"
Stay also implies overnight.
If I am going to Malaysia for the weekend, "I might reply, I'm just doing for the day. I'm not staying there."
You stay in a hotel. Few people are lucky enough to live long-term in a hotel nowadays.
Problems
Where do you live, exactly?Interesting, it is a curiosity - that the questions 'where?' can mean in general, which area or city, and specifically, which building.
Do you know it?
I had an experience of misunderstanding of a basic, common question. I got off a bus in Singapore, map in hand, and asked a passer-by, "Do you know Sixth Avenue?"
She replied, "No. Where is it?"
For a second I thought she was being unhelpful and sarcastic. But she simply looked baffled.
Back then, I reckoned her native language must use a different construction.
Any English person would recognize, 'Do you know it?' as short for, 'Do you know it? If so, tell me where it is.'
The answer would be, 'Yes over there,' or, 'Sorry, I'm a stranger.'
I should have been more specific and asked, 'Where is Sixth Avenue?'
Literally
An additional factor I did not know then, but know now, is that it might not be a question of linguistic confusion, but autism, taking everything literally.
Newspaper Headlines
Newspapers use a lot of metaphors. I remember reading: Kinnock hits Thatcher. I assumed they meant it literally. A member of the opposition party had resorted to physical attack. I read on and discovered he had merely verbally hit her ideas.
Metaphors and Messages
English is full of metaphors and messages 'between the lines'. That makes it confusing initially, but full of long-term treasures and discoveries.
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