What do you mean?

Download the audio (right click)
Download the video (right click)
Download the text (right click)

Today, I'd like to talk about three ways in which the word "mean" can be used. The first way is to talk about the meaning of a particular word. For example, if you are reading a book and you find an English word that your don't understand, you might point to the word and ask, "What does this word mean?" I strongly recommend that you ask questions like this about words that you don't understand. It's a great way to learn.

The other two ways both come up in The Wizard of OZ several times. Here's a conversation between Miss Gulch and Uncle Henry that is an example of the second way in which the word "mean" can be used:

Gulch: I want to see you and your wife right away about Dorothy.
Henry: Dorothy? Well, what has Dorothy done?
Gulch: What's she done? I'm all but lame from the bite on my leg!
Henry: You mean she bit you?
Gulch: No, her dog!
Henry: Oh, she bit her dog, eh?
Gulch: No!

It is clear from what Miss Gulch said that she has been bitten on her leg but she did not say who or what has bitten her. Since Miss Gulch began by saying that she came to talk about Dorothy, Uncle Henry asks if Miss Gulch is trying to say that Dorothy bit her. It's difficult to hear all of the words but he is saying "You mean she bit you?"

This is the second way in which the word "mean" can be used -- to talk about what someone is trying to say or talk about.

Here's a another example from the movie of this way of using the word "mean." Dorothy is talking with Professor Marvel:

Dorothy: Oh, please, Professor, why can't we go with you and see all the Crowned Heads of Europe?
Professor: Do you know any? Oh, you mean the thing . . . Yes, well, I -- I never do anything without consulting my crystal first.

Dorothy asks about going to see the "Crowned Heads of Europe" (that is, kings and queens in Europe) because she saw the sign on Professor Marvel's wagon. For a moment, Professor Marvel does not know what Dorothy is talking about but then he remembers his sign and says "Oh, you mean the thing" written on my wagon. So, in this case "Oh, you mean the thing" means "Oh, you are talking about the sign."

Finally, here's an example of the third way in which the word "mean" can be used:

Please, Aunt Em, Toto didn't mean to. He didn't know he was doing anything wrong.

Dorothy is telling Aunt Em that Toto didn't intend to doing anything wrong to Miss Gulch. Here's another example:

Witch: Who killed my sister? Who killed the Witch of the East? Was it you?
Dorothy: No, no. It was an accident! I didn't mean to kill anybody!

Dorothy uses the word "mean" in the same way after she kills the Wicked Witch of the West:

Guard: She's dead. You've killed her.
Dorothy: I didn't mean to kill her, really I didn't. It's just that he was on fire!

Here, too, Dorothy is saying that she didn't intend to kill anyone.

To review, the first way in which the word "mean" can be used is to talk about the meaning of a particular word, as in the sentence, "What does this word mean?" The second way is to talk about about what someone is trying to say or talk about, as in the sentence, "Do you mean that Dorothy bit you?" Finally, the third way is to use the word "mean" to talk about what someone did or did not intend to do, as in, "I didn't mean to do it. It was an accident."

Excellent comments

I received this excellent e-mail.  I would like to talk about this comments in class today.

感想

●裁判員制度について

私は裁判員制度についてきちんと調べたことがなく、新聞やニュースなどで知ったことしかわかりません。
主観なのですが、思うことはいくつかあります。

・犯罪や裁判についての意識や関心は高まると思う
・裁判に国民感覚が反映されるとよく言われる
→一般人である裁判員に冷静な判断、客観性のある感情移入のない判断ができるか疑問に思う。また６人全員が意見を言えるか。流されたり、上手く表現できない人がいるのではないかと思う。
・専門的知識がない裁判員による判決に不安を覚える。
→検察官や弁護士は専門用語を使わない説明、ビデオや写真を使ったわかり易い説明をすると言ってるが、事実の誤認や専門性の欠如などがないかなど。
・他人の運命を一般人の裁判員６人の責任で決めるのは責任が重く感じ、義務だが自分ではあまりしたくないと思う(特に死刑判決)
・裁判に関する情報には守秘義務があるので、一生それを守らなければならない責任が重く感じると思う。
・証拠として挙げられるビデオや写真などのトラウマ。

私個人の意見を言えば、義務でなければ参加はしたくないです。
自分勝手な言い分ですが、他人の運命を決めるたり、一生秘密を抱えたりするなんて重い責任は負いたくないです。
なければいいか、あったほうがいいか聞かれても多分私は即答はできません。
ディベートなどで仮の立場が決まっているなら、意見を言えますが…。

スティーヴィー・ワンダーの曲はノリで聞くことばかりで、歌詞も日本語訳くらいしか見てませんでした。
歌詞をきちんと見て聞いたのはこの講義が初めてでした。
私は英語の聞き取りのために聞く曲はカーペンターズのものが多いです。
ゆったりとしたテンポだし、発音の良し悪しはわかりませんが、あまり耳が英語に慣れていない私でも聞き取ることができます。

What we did in class

In our last class we did the following things:

1. We studied the lyrics to Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke." I explained why songs are sometimes difficult to study.
2. We talked about the phrase "make sure that the jurors have had the relevant laws read to them."
3. We talked about parts of the movie that were somewhat difficult for some of you to understand.  In particular, we talked about why the last juror changed his vote to "not guilty."
4. We began to watch a video about the 裁判員 system in Japan.

Next week we will do the following:

1. Finish watching the video that we started to watch last time.
2. Begin watching the movie "Wizard of Oz."

Good question

Here's a good question I received:

日本語訳をしてみたのですが、合っているのか自信がありません！
先生に添削してもらおうと思い、メールしました！

42 It is the job of the judge to
43 make sure that the jurors have had the
44 relevant laws read to them and that the laws
45 have been explained properly.

陪審員に適切な法を理解してもらい、法が正しく説明されるのを確かめることが裁判員の仕事である。

have had the relevant laws read to them の部分が、適切な法を彼らに理解してもらう、で合っているでしょうか？
よろしくお願いします！！

Here's my answer:

I think your translation is good (but "陪審員の仕事" should be "裁判官の仕事").

Let's think about "have had the relevant laws read to them" using other sentences.

In the following sentences, Joe is the father, Sally is Joe's five-year-old daughter, and Mary is Joe's ten-year-old daughter.

Bedtime stories

Joe had Mary read Sally a bedtime story.
(Joe to Sally): Have Mary read you a bedtime story.
(Joe to Sally): Make sure you have Mary read you a bedtime story.
Joe made sure that Sally had a bedtime story read to her each night.
Each night before he goes to bed, Joe makes sure that Sally has had a bedtime story read to her.
Each night before he went to bed, Joe made sure that Sally had had a bedtime story read to her.

Brushing your teeth

Joe had Sally brush her teeth each night before bed.
(Joe to Sally): Have you brushed your teeth?
(Joe to Mary): Make sure you have Sally brush her teeth before she goes to bed.
(Joe to Mary): Have you had Sally brush her teeth tonight?