Quote:
Originally Posted by YuriTokoro
Hi, Columbine.
Thank you!
I have a question.
If I wrote like this, would you think it’s natural?
“Have you ever done this? You dig up the clams with a small rake.”
This is a bit strange to me, because the writer in not sure the reader have dug clams, and the second sentence comes after that. I know that the first “you” means readers, and the second “you” is formal.
However, Japanese (just maybe only me) would think it sounds strange that “I don’t know whether you have done this. You do this.”
What would you write?
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Hmm, yes, that is a bit difficult to understand. Koir's revision is certainly better for written work.
My take on it was that as the writing was quite casual, it sounds a lot like you're talking. So I've used a casual talking style here. It's not usual to see this in formal writing, but it's often on things like blogs and websites.
The 'you' in "have you ever done this?" is addressing the reader directly. The 'you' in 'you dig up the clams with a small rake' isn't addressing the reader personally at all. It's a very general use of 'you' that connects with the
explanation of how to do the action we're talking about. It almost means 'it's done by...(digging with a small rake)'
It's so common to hear in colloquial British English, that I didn't even think about it when I suggested it. The trouble with 'you' is that we use it constantly, the nuances changes alot. I guess that's pretty difficult for Japanese speakers, because don't use 'あなた’ like that.
For example;
A: "Did you (Singular. directly addressing B) go to the market?"
B: "No, I couldn't find it."
A: "Oh? But it's easy to find. You (abstract. Neither explicitly singular or plural) go up the high-street and it's down the road behind the cafe."
B: "Oh right, I didn't realize you (abstract) had to go behind the cafe. How do you (Singular. directly addressing C) get there? You live on the other side of the market, right?"
C: "I go through the park. You (abstract) can get in by the east gate. You (Singular. addressing A) might find that way more convenient actually.
B: Oh, do you (addressing both C and A) live near each other then?
D: Excuse me, but would you (generally addressing A, B AND C) mind answering a quick survey about your neighborhood?
The 'you' in "You may have noticed that many Japanese tourists appear in your country during this week every year" is plural. But it's more common to use a singular relating to it like 'country' because it makes the reader feel closer to the writing, even if their part of a big group all reading it together.
In essence, it makes that plural 'you' seem slightly singular. It's definitely not the same as the 'you' in 'you dig the clams with a small rake', which is what i've called abstract and in 'feel' is neither really singular or plural. It's a roundabout way of suggesting things to people without actually being as direct as "You should do-" "You have to-" "It's done by-".
Lets go back to the example:
A: "Did you go to the market?"
B: "No, I couldn't find it."
A: "Oh? But it's easy to find. You go up the high-street and it's down the road behind the cafe."
Here A is really saying "You, B, should have walked up the high-street and then walked behind the cafe". But that's a little too direct. A might seem rude if she said that. So instead A is using 'you' abstractly. It's like using 'a person' or 'one' instead of a direct 'you' or B's name. however, it's more casual than 'a person' or 'one'.
Let me know if that still doesn't clear things up for you!