Making a polite request for information by using an indirect question (I wonder . . .): G8.1 [Question Word] . . .~지(요)? —as if you are asking to help fill up information gap you have in a proposition you are entertaining. It is something like: I should have this information, but somehow I don't. Could you help me retreating the information? It is polite because it sounds like the fault is on the speaker, not demanding the listener to provide the information. |
| 어, 어떻게 하지? | 여기 송 선생님이 _____________? |
이름이 뭐지요?
몇 학년이지요?
전공이 뭐지요?
어느 나라 사람이지요?
생일이 언제지요?
Examples
| (1) | A: | 우리 스티브 생일 파티 해 줄까? |
| B: | 그래, 그러자. 근데 어디서 하지? | |
| A: | 수빈이네 아파트가 넓으니까 수빈이네 아파트에서 하자. | |
| (2) | A: | 내일 입을 옷이 없어서 빨래를 해야 되는데 언제 하지? |
| B: | 오늘 저녁에 같이 하자. 내가 도와 줄게. | |
| A: | 어, 근데, 내가 열쇠를 어디다 놨지? | |
| B: | 아까 책상 위에 놨잖아. | |
| A: | 아, 참 그랬지. | |
| (3) | A: | 스티브 생일 파티에 누구를 초대하지? |
| B: | 민지하고 마크를 초대하자. 스티브하고 친하잖아. | |
| (4) | A: | 이번 주말이 연휴인데 뭐 하지? |
| B: | 우리 오랜만에 여행이나 가자. | |
| A: | 그럼 주일날 교회는 어떻게 하지? | |
| B: | 빼 먹어야지. [빼먹다 to skip, ditch a session] |
When you ask a question to someone, you assume that the listener has the information you are seeking, and expect the listener to provide it. That is, asking a direct question would put the listener on a burden of having to provide an answer, which could be face-threatening. One strategy to reduce that burden is to use an indirect question; that is, as if you are just wondering to yourself. In Korean, '~지(요)?' is used.
'~지(요)?' with a question word is not a plain information question, but simliar to an indirect question where the speaker pretends to be searching information that is supposed to be in his/her knowledge. That is, the speaker pretends as if he or she has had that information before but it is missing somehow.
Since the information sought is treated as something that has been entertained, the listener is less burdened than having to deal with totally new information.
Note that ‘~지(요)’ is used in other contexts such as in seeking agreement, reinforcing the speaker’s belief, or making a mild suggestion. All these usages of ~지요 has a shared sense that the speaker has a certain belief or preexisting thought. The possibility of the existence of a thought on the part of the speaker makes the question with ‘~지(요)’ less imposing on the listener, because the speaker is not straightly asking the listener to provide an answer, but to help the speaker retrieve the missing information; that is, the listener does not have to feel obliged to provide an answer. Therefore, the information question with ‘~지’ is more polite than a plain information question.
Exercises
1. Based on the given answers, reconstruct information questions that have an effect of indicating that the speaker is wondering about information that is sought, and asking the listener to help him/her retrieve the missing information. Choose an appropriate question word from the following:
누(구), 뭐, 어디(서), 언제, 얼마(나), 몇 . . ., 어떻게, 왜
(1) A: ____________________________________? B: 오늘 미팅은 이스트 홀 301호에서 해요. (2) A: ____________________________________? B: 청소하러 마크가 올 거예요. (3) A: ____________________________________? B: 제 생일은 오월이십구일이에요. (4) A: ____________________________________? B: 한국의 수도는 서울이에요. (5) A: ____________________________________? B: 겨울이잖아요. 겨울엔 날씨가 춥지요. (6) A: ____________________________________? B: 도서관에서 9번 버스 타면 돼요. 9번 버스 타고 College Mall 앞에서 내리세요. (7) A: 이번 주말이 연휴 (a long weekend)인데 ____________________________________? B: 우리 시카고로 놀러 갈까요?
2. Reconstruct dialogues that occur in the given situations below. Speaker A is seeking information that Speaker B might have.
(1) A mutual friend Steve’s birthday is coming up, but speaker A does not remember exactly when Steve’s birthday is. A: _____________________________________________________________? B: ____________________________________________________________. (2) Speaker A is looking for a post office in the area. A: _____________________________________________________________? B: ____________________________________________________________. (3) Speaker A met Speaker B some time ago and does not remember his/her name. A: _____________________________________________________________? B: ____________________________________________________________. (4) A and B are expecting an important guest, and A is at a loss on how to host the guest including what food and drink to serve. A: _____________________________________________________________? B: ____________________________________________________________. (5) A and B are asked to sing in a party, but A does not know what to sing. A: _____________________________________________________________? B: ____________________________________________________________.
Speaking Activities
1. Ask a polite question for the information on the following items.
2. You are going to throw a birthday party for 남 선생님. Exchange a dialogue about the following items. Use an indirect question to obtain relevant information (~지요?) as if you are wondering, rather than asking of the information directly. Feel free to use ~ (으)ㄹ까요 when you make a suggestion, ~(으)ㄹ 거예요 to express your presumption, and ~지요 when you express your conviction to the effect of saying 'of course, definitely, indeed.'.