How many times have you been to the doctors or somewhere important and the receptionist has asked ‘What was your name again?’ Perhaps you’ve never noticed but you will from now on.
It’s a peculiar expression on two counts, firstly that your name still is and secondly that it assumes that you’ve already given it to them. Even when the speaker knows that it is the first time that they have spoken to you they may well still use such a construction. It’s in the vernacular.
Momentarily I stop when I hear it and resist the urge to say something along the lines of ‘I haven’t told you before’ or ‘My name still is’ before meekly replying with the required information.
The other day I was meeting with someone in a cafe I had never been to. It turned out to be a very nice place and one to use in future, handy for the centre of town etc.
The waitress approached us and asked ‘What are you going for?’ Again, this was a peculiar sentence construction. We weren’t going for anything as we’d already arrived. We certainly planned to have something rather than go for something yet we both understood exactly what she meant.
Momentarily I paused and resisted the urge to say something along the lines of ‘We’re not going for anything’ or ‘We’ve already arrived’ before meekly replying. In the end we went for two lattes.
Language is a funny thing and often diverts from the accepted norm. This is why I often find myself arguing with Duolingo over its American sentences. These things (or them things as is commonly said) are a small nightmare for anyone trying to learn English, though I suspect all other languages have their idiosyncrasies.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 