พบครู ภาษาอังกฤษ คน
Allen Yu
Comparative stranger here
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=auRTQeR9IVo
What is the meaning of I am a comparative stranger here myself
7 ต.ค. 2014 เวลา 22:06
คำตอบ · 4
1
I'm not sure at which point in the video this is said (but thank you for the link anyway), but the phrase means, "I am more-or-less a non-local too."
Not a complete stranger, fairly new to the area, yet definitely not a local.
7 ตุลาคม 2014
The phrase is at about 1:36 in the video.
It means "I don't know."
"I'm a stranger here myself" is a stock phrase, almost an idiom.
"I'm a stranger HERE" means "I'm not from VERY far away." Somewhere nearby is familiar territory I know well. I'm not a stranger there. But I'm a stranger HERE.
Because A asks B for directions, B knows that A is a stranger. First B says "I'm afraid I don't know the way to Southgate Street." Then he politely explains himself by saying "I'm a comparative stranger here myself."
If B just said "I don't know," it would be curt, abrupt, and impolite.
Simple, direct, strong language sometimes sounds too assertive and slightly impolite. So it is common to weaken the phrasing for politeness.
"I'm afraid I don't know." is softer and more polite.
Adding a reason is even more polite, because he is suggesting that he'd like to help, and he would if he could.
The word COMPARATIVE doesn't mean much here, it's just a way of weakening the statement even further.
It COULD mean "I know neighborhood X well. This is neighborhood Y. I don't know THIS neighborhood well. I'm not a TOTAL stranger here. I know some of the streets but I don't know Southgate Street. So, IN COMPARISON to the neighborhood I know, I'm a stranger."
7 ตุลาคม 2014
ยังไม่พบคำตอบของคุณใช่ไหม
เขียนคำถามของคุณเพื่อให้เจ้าของภาษาช่วยคุณ!
Allen Yu
ทักษะด้านภาษา
ภาษาจีน (กลาง), ภาษาอังกฤษ, ภาษาญี่ปุ่น
ภาษาที่เรียน
บทความที่คุณอาจชอบ

The Power of Storytelling in Business Communication
43 ถูกใจ · 9 ความคิดเห็น

Back-to-School English: 15 Must-Know Phrases for the Classroom
31 ถูกใจ · 6 ความคิดเห็น

Ten Tourist towns in Portugal that nobody remembers
59 ถูกใจ · 23 ความคิดเห็น
บทความเพิ่มเติม