Hi. Echo questions, or echoes.
Let's start this by looking at exactly
what an echo is.
Imagine: I'm in Spain, and I'm standing
in front of a poster that says "Welcome to
sunny Spain" and it's pouring with rain.
I'd look at the poster, I'd look at my
friend and say, "Welcome to sunny Spain."
Okay, I'm being ironic about what the
poster says and the weather.
That is an echo.
Okay? I could make it more ironic
by making it a question.
"Welcome to sunny Spain?"
Okay, there is more irony.
Okay, this is another; this is now
an echo question. Now, we can form this in
various other ways by changing parts
of the sentence for question words.
"So I could say, "What to sunny Spain?"
"Welcome to sunny where?"
"Welcome to what Spain?"
Okay, in each of these I'm emphasizing
the irony of what it's saying
and the fact that it's raining, okay?
Umm this is an example of echoes,
yes it suggests surprise. It's questioning
the use of those words
or that specific word.
Okay? So, irony, surprise.
Is that really true?
Can that be real?
Okay, can they really be using that?
Now we often use echo questions, as well
to ask people to repeat
something they've said.
I don't know, for example:
"My friend comes from Jakarta."
"He comes from where?"
Okay, please repeat where he came from;
he comes from where?
"He comes from where?"
"I didn't hear what you said;
please repeat it."
I can do the same, as well
to express surprise.
"My friend comes from Jakarta."
"He comes from where?!"
Okay, but that's stronger
than the please repeat.
Please repeat: "He comes from where?"
Okay, in this example it's easy because
the echo has a distinct structure.
It's an affirmative structure.
Now the problem really starts
with echo questions when we have
an echo question that has the same form
as a real question. So, again,
"My friend comes from Jakarta."
I'm in a group of people and I'm asking,
"Where does he come from?"
That's a real question, okay?
"Where does he come from?"
My voice is rising.
Now, if my friend says,
"My friend comes from Jakarta."
I could be- I could say,
"Where does he come from?"
"Where does he come from?
I didn't hear you;
where does he come from?
Could you repeat where?
Could you repeat the where?"
Okay, umm, I could also
express surprise or questioning:
"Where does he come from?
Where does he come from?"
Okay, notice the questioning
of where, yeah?
So that's surprise or
asking someone to repeat.
Now that's with object questions.
We can also have the same problem
with subject questions.
Okay, for example:
"Seaholm comes from Ireland,"
okay, Seaholm is an Irish name, okay?
So imagine I'm asking a crowd of people.
Okay, the question is:
"Who comes from Ireland?" Okay,
"Who comes from Ireland?"
So the group of people, uh,
"Who comes from Ireland?
Who comes from Ireland?" Okay,
"Is there anyone here
who comes from Ireland?"
Okay, "Seaholm comes from Ireland."
"I didn't hear you;
who comes from Ireland?
Who comes from Ireland?"
I'm questioning: "I didn't hear you;
could you say that again?"
"Yeah, Seaholm comes from Ireland."
"Who comes from Ireland?"
And then I could express surprise that
it was Seaholm because I know her,
but it was unusual.
"Who comes from Ireland?"
Okay, here again, the "Who is from there?"
So, there you go.
There's no easy solution to this.
Umm, but remember,
an echo can echo anything.
It can echo what somebody
might be thinking.
Somebody's standing there
looking really cool.
"I'm cool?" you might say,
and there you are adding irony to it.
So, thanks for watching.
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"Feel free to what?"
"Comment." Thanks a lot, bye.