please help me welcome tonight's

2021-07-12
有一个主持人在致欢迎词时，使用到这个用法：

Ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome tonight's guest.
看到这个help me时，很是疑惑。为什么欢迎客人，还需要帮助？
了解到这是个在做公共介绍时的固定用法，意思是：下面我要鼓掌欢迎今晚的客人了，请大家也一并鼓掌来欢迎今晚的客人。

It means “Let’s clap together. I will clap to welcome this person, and I invite you to clap and welcome this person too.” It’s a common phrase when introducing someone to speak.

Maybe the funniest phrase is when someone is well-known, we often praise their fame by saying, “This woman needs no introduction…”, then we go on to introduce the person anyway!

进一步地，了解到这种用法是代表了一类用法，即约定俗成的、固定的用法(frozen language)。

There are some phrases that must always be said the same way, usually in formal situations. They are used a lot in law, for example. So, when you cross a border into a country, the border officer will often say “Is your trip for business or pleasure?” They never say, “Is your trip for pleasure or business,” or “are you here for work or tourism?” They always say it the same way.
-- If you say “business,” they might ask you what your business is. If they say “pleasure,” they might ask where you plan to visit … but I don’t know because no one has ever asked me a second question!
-- If you are traveling for business but will also make some side trips as a tourist, we say “a little of both.”

When you publicly introduce someone, there is a lot of frozen languages. This “please help me welcome…” is one of these phrases.

Another phrase to end an introduction is to say, “without further ado …” No one uses “ado” in everyday life, but it’s so common when ending an introduction.

That’s why you have never heard it before, because it is really only used in a public introduction, not in any other situation.