I'm in the middle of writing a fanfic (no guarantee that I'll ever finish it) and I came across a language problem.

For example
Clark says, "I'm a strange visitor from another planet."

1. Lois isn't sure she heard him properly. Does she say
a) Pardon?
b) Pardon me?
c) Sorry?
d) Excuse me?

2. Does this matter if you're from Canada, the US, England or wherever they speak English?

gerry

Actually, from my standpoint any of them would work. Though I would probably think that Lois would just say "What?".

Tank (who says use whatever churns your butter)

I think she'd say, 'You're a looney.'

"Yeah, right. I've heard that one before."
No seriously, I'd go with "What" or "What did you just say?" I think Pardon is outdated these days.
And I like Tank's "Whatever churns your butter." I could see a farm boy using that.

Artemis

Okay, Gerry. Let's go over this again. Repeat after me: ML wants to read the rest of this story BADLY so get on your butt and finish it!

I think it depends on a lot of factors, including Lois's mood at the exact moment, what she thinks she heard, what she thinks he means, how off the wall she thinks it is, how sure she is that she heard right, etc etc.

"Excuse me?" is generally used in cases where you're fairly sure you heard right, but you can't quite believe what you heard. In stronger cases, it's followed by something along the lines of "You want to run that by me again?"

"What?" is more flexible. It can be used for just about any case. Often, however, it means you're more concerned that you didn't hear right than you are that the contents of what you heard contradict your expectations.

"Pardon?" is, I think, a little more lighthearted. You heard clearly, but what you heard doesn't make sense and you suspect someone may be pulling your leg. There's a slight overtone of silliness to the word.

"Pardon me?" depends on tone of voice. There's an incredulousness to it. You're fairly sure you heard right, but you don't believe what you heard. This is the phrase to use when you're completely bewildered (in which case, it's said with a squint and a shake of the head), when you think the speaker is joking but, if so, you don't get the joke (raised eyebrows and a quizical twitch of the eye), or when what you heard is unbelievably offensive (said with an ominously biting tone, clearly indicating that "if I heard what I think I heard, you are in trouble").

"Sorry?" is much rarer. Usually, it's part of a longer response, and it indicates distraction or incredulity. "I'm sorry... what was that?" or "I'm sorry... what did you say?" or "I'm sorry... can you run that by me again?" or something to that effect. Depending on tone or context, it can either mean that you didn't hear clearly due to some fault of your own (you were distracted, not really listening, etc) or that, as with "Pardon me?", you're carefully holding back your anger until you're sure that you understood correctly.

That's my Northeastern US experience, anyway. It may well vary from place to place. Individual preferences will vary, and many of the expressions are interchangable. Tone of voice carries the meaning more than anything.

So, in this specific case, Lois thinks she heard Clark say he's from another planet. What's she thinking? Does she suspect he's joking? Is she more concerned that she must have heard wrong or somehow misunderstood? Is she worried that she hadn't been paying proper attention? Does she understand that this implies he's Superman? If so, how, at this exact moment, does she feel about that? What was she doing when he said it? Are they just sitting and talking during a quiet moment? Was this a deliberate statement? Is there evil afoot or something else important going on (so that she doesn't want to deal with nonsense or thinks they should be doing something else)? All of these things will factor in to the exact nature of her response.

Of course, any one of your proposed statements will work. It's just that some will work slightly better than others depending on the exact circumstances.

Hope this helps more than confuses...

Paul

How amusing!

Let's see...

IMO, you should avoid "Excuse me" because that literally translates in most languages to the thing you should say if you accidentally belched in public.

"Pardon" or "Pardon me" sound fine in all English variants...but it seems rather polite for Lois. Dontcha think?

"Sorry" in this context is more common in Brit-speak than in US-speak. But it sound like it could be right.

In my mind's eye (ear?), I hear Lois responding, "Huh?"

Have fun!
Sherry

I checked the script and it isn't there, but in Wall of Sound when Clark told Lois she was a brook, didn't she say something like, "I'm a what?"

- Vicki

My goodness!
I didn't know that my question was so complex. This English language is really tough. I'm glad I learned it as my first language

Thank you for all your help. I'll see which response is the most likely one in my fic. At the moment I'm going with "What?" something I'm not sure I would say, but Lois would.

gerry

In my mind's ear I can hear Lois saying in some episode or other, "What did you just say?"

Write, Gerry, write!

Jude