Hi,everyone. In Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary on p.1507, we are told that "people say Roger! in communication by radio to show that they have understood a message". Can we nowadays also say Roger! in our text message to tell someone that we have understood the order or the request in their text message sent to us? To my understanding, it is used in a humorous way if it can be used in this situation. Thanks. Richard
But it is not used humorously by those people who communicate with each other by radio. It is only in this particular NEW situation (textmessaging) that it is used with a tint of humor. Right? Thanks. Richard
Thanks. If we do not use it to be humorous, then we will say "OK." or "No problem." etc. Right? It seems to me that like "Roger!", "Yes,sir!" is not serious in tone either. Richard
either of those can be used in a humorous/light vein, or not... i've heard and used 'roger' and also '10-4' in casual conversation, not intending to be funny, but just 'casual'... this is often done by those of us who've traveled by private plane and used cb's while on the road... and 'yes, sir' can be used by anyone who wants to show respect or deference to the person being addressed...
Thanks, maia. But would you please tell me what '10-4' means? Also, what does cb stand for? Besides, if I want to include "roger" or "roger that" as part of a dialogue in a short story for example, then should I capitalize and punctuate them as "Roger!" and "Roger that！" or "Roger." and "Roger that."?
"affirmative" is just confirming, or saying that they are right, or something along those lines. "over" is said each time you're finished talking and it's the other person's turn to talk. They probably do it so that the person on the other end knows you're still there and have just finished what you had to say.
"Roger" as an acknowledgement originates with the eqrly days of radio communications, when the morse dah-dit-dah was used as a quick, distinctive acknowledgement pattern. That pattern is the Morse letter 'R'. When voice communication was introduced, distinctive words were used to spell out words clearly despite possibly poor reception. The word Roger represented the letter 'R', so Roger became a standard acknowledgement for radio communications. It has persisted for military communications protocols, and from there into the civilian air communications and the space program. These are the typical contexts you will typically hear Roger used as an acknowledgement. More casual use is therefore usually among people with a military or aviation background.
Thanks for telling me about the origin of "Roger!" But does your last sentence mean we guys without a military or aviation background cannot use it, even jokingly? Thanks. Richard
I used the Danish equivalents of "Roger!" and "Copy that!" during my driver's license test and the police officer got a bit annoyed by it. So I guess it's not always humorous.
In the U.S. Army "Roger" is a proword used in communications. Reference: Soldier's Manual of Common Tasks Warrior Skills Level 1 Soldier Training Publication Headquarters No. 21-1-SMCT Department of the Army Washington, DC, 18 June 2009 Here is the precise meaning:
Would you please tell me whether we can amusingly use it in our daily life to communicate with others, intending it to mean"Got it!" ?
Sure you can if your intention is to use it only among non-military people. Military people might feel insulted if you use it in an amusing way. It is a serious word used in serious circumstances.
You can use it sarcastically as well. Let's say your father is a military man. He says, "Go clean your room." "Roger," you say and salute him. Then he grounds you for being a smart butt.
Haha. Coincidentally, my father had really been a veteran. Unfortunately, he passed away two years ago. How I now wish he could come back to life and say this to me and ground me!
