每次去英语角, 必然听到的一句话遍是"How to say?". 初学口语时,这句话也是我不离口的 Pet phrase.

还真管用呢!

每次遇到磕巴时, 总会用"How to say?"来打马虎眼儿. "How to say?" 真的是不少口语爱好者的救命稻草.

但是每次听外国人(I refer to those educated English-speaking people.) 聊天, 却从没听
他们说过一句"How to say?".

How come?

问一位加拿大老师, 他给我的答复是:

"How to say?" is a one hundred percent correct sentence in grammar, but not in usages. The native English speakers would say,

1) How shall I put it?
2) What shall I say?
etc.
when they are searching the exact words.

于是, 我开始彻底忘记"How to say?", 开始用1)和2)来打马虎眼儿.

可是, 一时语塞的场合太多了, 一次交谈中用7-8次1)或2), 总觉得不是在*说*英语, 而是
在*演*英语.

所以, 开始注意原版电影, 现实生活中, 真正的英美人"打马虎眼儿"的技巧.

在说"How to say?"时,

I) 我们或者过于激动, 气愤, 恼怒, 高兴或者悲伤等,所以本该说出来的话, 因为内心的激越而一时语塞.
这时, 你可以说:
----- You say you spent &100 on the car!
*Words fail me!* What a fool you are!

----- *Words fail me!* You came here and expect me to give you all my attention for a whole hour.
You know I'm busy, so just go!

2) 我们或者已经说出了一个词, 但是觉得还有更合适的. 这时,你可以说:

----- It's rather cold today. Oh! no, cold isn't the word for it. It's absolutely freezing!

BTW, 看上去, absolutely可以算做"非常, 很,极其"的第27种表达法.

3)我们或者真的是找不到合适的表达法, 此时心跳没有过速,也没有过缓, 但千万别心平气和地说那句
臭名昭著的Chinglish-----"How to say?". 您可以不紧不慢地这样说:

----- A: What do you think of the idea of 'Permanent education', that is, letting people
go on learning until they die?
B: Well, that sounds quite new to me.
Do you mean evening schools, *and ... and something of that sort?*

B 实在不知道'Permanent education'是怎么回事,于是用*and ... and something of that sort?*把
马虎眼儿给打过去了.

类似的说法还有 :
... or something like that
... and something of that kind
... or something or other
... or whatever (you call it)

------ This man is so unpopular here. He is just * a sort of ..., you know.*

这个* a sort of ..., you know*, 最适合想了半天,什么也没想出来的场合, 让对方从你说话的context中
去判断你要表达的意思.

----- To be honest, this will be difficult. You know your application form will be read not just by me but by at least three members of the academic council, and it's no easy matter to have all of us agree on one thing...
* you know what I mean.*

前面说一大通, 最后不知道怎么总结, 便可以用*... you know what I mean.*来'偷懒'喽! ^_^

类似的说法还有:
You know the sort of thing I mean.
I think you understand what I mean. I can't think of the exact word, but you know.

此外, 你还可以用一些conversational fillers来争取一些思考的时间, 常用的有:

Mm/m, Uh/um, er/erm, Well, Well then, Now, Actually,Of course, In fact, I mean, You know, You see,As a matter of fact, Shall I say..., Sort of , Kind of,Like, And;
The thing is
How shall I put it?
What shall I say?
It's like this, you see...

下面的这段独白, 告诉你怎么地道地说结巴英语. ~_~
----- I had an absolutely marvellous time. *Well*,
I, *well*, I ended up in, *in* Florence in the end, * in
fact*. I'd never been there before, but, *em*, the architecture
is absolutely marvellous and, *of course*, you spend,
*you know*, all your time, in the, * in the* art galleries
and the museums, and you could spend, *shall I say*,
months there, but unfortunately *you know*, I could
only be there for five days. But, nevertheless, it was,
*it was*, *I mean*, really worth it. *Erm*, * as I say*,
the, *the* architecture and the, *and the* paintings are
absolutely fantastic.