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I manage a technical group and I was having a discussion with one of the lead guys who is learning a new technology and when I was explaining a few things, he kept using the word "Right" to confirm his understanding.

At the time I could not tell if he was confirming the correctness of what I was saying or simply his understanding of it. When I asked him if he already knew what I was talking about. He said "no" and then we got into a discussion about what the correct word should be to confirm understanding.

I suggested that using the word "Right" was misleading and depending on inflection could be considered egotistical and/or give of the wrong message (as it did for me in this case). He of course disagreed.

Then again he could have just wanted me to shut up :)

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    I think the argument is not worth the candle. Ask him what he means by the expression and then accept that as the meaning. It is quite likely that "Right" is regional or commonly used among his friends and family. I don't think you should get too picky about other people's mannerisms - you're not there to teach English. ;-) P.S. When I lived in Bradford, Yorkshire, they used to say "while" to mean what I meant by "until". I just got used to it. I'm pretty sure they got used to me too.
    – chasly - supports Monica
    Commented Jul 2, 2020 at 23:50
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    I respond with right to signal to somebody else that I have heard them, not necessarily that I've understood or agreed with what they've said … (If I need clarification, or to state my own opinion, I follow up with that when it's my turn to talk.)
    – Jason Bassford
    Commented Jul 2, 2020 at 23:53
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    I'm from Australia and that is a common way to respond, indicating that the listener has got the message and understands. It's certainly not a judgement about the correctness of what's being said by the speaker. Just a regional thing, I guess.
    – ralph.m
    Commented Jul 3, 2020 at 0:10
  • Thanks for input. I think it was more about the inflection that ultimately confused me and why I asked for clarification from him.
    – Mick
    Commented Jul 3, 2020 at 0:59
  • "depending on inflection could be considered egotistical and/or give of the wrong message" - This is probably true of most words.
    – nnnnnn
    Commented Jul 3, 2020 at 1:12

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This is a fairly standard British English usage. The person being taught means “I understand”.

If it is a practical demonstration then it would also carry the meaning “I understand and I think I will be able to do that”.

If you are explaining something complicated you may be looking for verbal or non-verbal cues as to the degree of understanding of a point (so that you can decide whether to expand on the point or, alternatively, move straight on to the next point). By saying Right the person you are training is providing that cue.

I think this usage of Right may be related to the usage in e.g. “Right. Let’s get this show on the road...”

I think that in American English OK would be used in this situation but I am uncertain whether or not it has quite the same nuance.

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It is appropriate to use the gentle question "Understand?" to inquire whether the listener understands what you are saying or have just said. It leads down a long dark trail to say "Right?" over and over until they have to tell you that they lost you some miles back.

Asking for their understanding then at some point if they do not understand satisfactorily they will put you right and you can then begin a finer grained description of your topic.

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If you are to go with the literal meaning of the word, "Right" is a wrong fit over here even if you don't consider the nuance. However, not everyone needs to be careful about using the appropriate word every time. If someone is habituated to using a particular response, (s)he probably doesn't give a second thought to the dictionary meaning of the word being used.

I too have used "Right" and "Correct" in response sometimes, when I am just agreeing to other person's statement. And if I were to think what it would literally imply, ("Your statement is right/correct.") I would not have used it there, because that is something I would save for a case in which I have considered the statement I'm replying to, objectively and from multiple perspectives and still consider it to be correct. But since I don't put as much thought while having an oral conversation, I just use the word.

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  • 'Literal meaning' is nebulous here. If one considers the exclamation as a separate unit of meaning, the 'literal meaning' is different from that of the original entry into the lexis (straight / good / proper / fitting).
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Aug 27, 2021 at 9:50
  • @EdwinAshworth - I see. So I mistook the meaning of "literal" and used it where I should have used "lexical". Is that correct? Would it fit if I simply replace "literally" with "lexically"?
    – Ulterno
    Commented Aug 27, 2021 at 16:47
  • I'm afraid you're stuck with 'prototypical'. When one sense is meant say 90% of the time, it is the default sense, but 'right' is commonly used in various ways.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Aug 27, 2021 at 18:48

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