What does「〜も何も」mean in this context?


I’ve been studying Japanese for a while now and came across the following
dialogue:

> A: 私のこと、知ってるんだ。(So you know about me then?)  
>  B: 知ってるも何も、有名人じゃないか。

I'm not quite sure how to make sense of B's reply. I thought it would
translate to something along the lines of "I don't really know anything but
you're a celebrity, right?" because of the use of 何も which I know means
"nothing." However, the translation provided for B was "Of course I do (know
about you), you're a celebrity, right?", which really confused me.

Initially I thought that the 〜も何も was just a combination of the particle も and
the word 何も but apparently that doesn't seem to be the case. So my question
is, what kind of meaning does「〜も何も」give to「知ってる」and how exactly does it
translate to being an affirmation of one's knowledge about something?
Can「〜も何も」be used with other words and what meanings would it have in those
cases?




Look [here](https://hinative.com/ja/questions/29845) for example:

> > 「～も何も」は1つの例を出して、他のものを類推させるときに使います。
>>

>> 例 挨拶も何も

>
> A: 「帰る前にあの人にあいさつしなきゃ」
>
> B: 「挨拶も何も、あの人もう帰っちゃったよ！」
>
> ⇒挨拶も、会うことも、話をすることもできない
>

>> 病気になってしまい、勉強も何もない。

>
> ⇒勉強も、遊びも、何もできない

In general it is used to give an example out of many and let infer the rest by
analogy. Basically, when there is no room for doubt. I suppose you understand
Japanese well enough and don't need a translation of the above quotation, let
me know otherwise.

So, in your case I think it is used to answer using 知ってる as an example, among
other many possible others, because for whatever reason there is no margin for
doubt that B knows (here because A seems to be someone famous for example).

Another good example is from the
[link](https://lang-8.com/1486973/journals/96618803197205736526647859648046157520)
provided also by @ericfromabeno:

> 知ってるも何も→疑問の余地なく分かっているという意味かなと思います。
>
> A「あのさ、この店知ってる？」
>
> B「‘‘知ってるも何も‘‘俺が昔バイトしてたところだよ。」

* * *

In your case, you can see it like something along the line of "Of course I
know. I know very well, or, As a matter of fact, I do more than simply
knowing..." (notice this is not a translation, since you already have it, but
rather trying to convey the how to interpret 知ってるも何も).




Look [here](https://hinative.com/ja/questions/29845) for example:

> > 「～も何も」は1つの例を出して、他のものを類推させるときに使います。
>>

>> 例 挨拶も何も

>
> A: 「帰る前にあの人にあいさつしなきゃ」
>
> B: 「挨拶も何も、あの人もう帰っちゃったよ！」
>
> ⇒挨拶も、会うことも、話をすることもできない
>

>> 病気になってしまい、勉強も何もない。

>
> ⇒勉強も、遊びも、何もできない

In general it is used to give an example out of many and let infer the rest by
analogy. Basically, when there is no room for doubt. I suppose you understand
Japanese well enough and don't need a translation of the above quotation, let
me know otherwise.

So, in your case I think it is used to answer using 知ってる as an example, among
other many possible others, because for whatever reason there is no margin for
doubt that B knows (here because A seems to be someone famous for example).

Another good example is from the
[link](https://lang-8.com/1486973/journals/96618803197205736526647859648046157520)
provided also by @ericfromabeno:

> 知ってるも何も→疑問の余地なく分かっているという意味かなと思います。
>
> A「あのさ、この店知ってる？」
>
> B「‘‘知ってるも何も‘‘俺が昔バイトしてたところだよ。」

* * *

In your case, you can see it like something along the line of "Of course I
know. I know very well, or, As a matter of fact, I do more than simply
knowing..." (notice this is not a translation, since you already have it, but
rather trying to convey the how to interpret 知ってるも何も).

