Double negation in English

Superbike81 · 07-22-2010, 07:51 PM

"I never NARC'd on nobody!"

Photo1017 · 07-23-2010, 05:28 AM

Unfortunately, the style of speaking incorrectly has become so widespread as to become standard. I find it quite annoying. It didn't take me long once out of Brooklyn to drop the the brooklynese accent and style!
I've never placed the punctuation inside quotes unless it is part of the quote. It may be correct to put it inside, but that's just wrong.

Alling · 07-23-2010, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iDharma

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alling

I still haven't got any answer on my question about putting punctuation marks inside quotation marks. Somebody?

Hey, silly, I answered you. Go back to my original response to you.

Well, here goes my silly response then:

You only explained that the formal way of writing includes putting punctuation marks inside quotation marks, but you didn't explain why or who decided it or when it was established.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Photo1017

I've never placed the punctuation inside quotes unless it is part of the quote. It may be correct to put it inside, but that's just wrong.

I happen to have good knowledge about punctuation in Swedish, and as I previously said, we don't put punctuation marks where they by logic shouldn't be.

What if i write like this in English:

Do you usually use the word "damn"?

Will I be considered strange or sloppy?

Using alternative [wrong] ways of spelling words is common here, too. Commonly used words are being simplified:

Correct --> Wrong (English)
med --> me ("with")
är --> e ("am/are/is")
jag --> ja ("I", but ja means "yes")
kommer --> kmr ("comes")
tillsammans --> tsm ("together")

Many of those "versions" cause critical misunderstandings, but the people using them (often kids) don't realize that; they think everyone automatically knows what they mean.

pallentx · 07-28-2010, 01:56 PM

While the double negative is improper in English, it is proper in some other languages.
In Russian and some Slavic languages, the single negative is actually wrong. With these languages the meaning is less dependent on word order and more tied to the forms of the verbs used.

rwilts · 07-28-2010, 04:34 PM

Being an English speaker in the UK I agree with the original observation that the double negative is just poor use of language.

For many years I have intentionally annoyed co workers with my answers when they say

Q ."You don't have a spare pen do you?"
R . "Yes"
Q ."Great can i borrow it?
R . "No, i have not got one!"

Obviously an example my day is not made up of being asked for pens.

devehrey · 08-11-2010, 04:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alling

iPadforums might not be dedicated to discussing linguistics, but I think you guys can answer my questions.

I've always wondered why many, if not all, English-speaking people use double negations in cases where Swedish-speaking people only use one negation.

Examples, negations marked in red:

English: "I didn't do nothing!"
Swedish: "I did nothing!" or "I didn't do anything!"

English: "I've never killed no one!"
Swedish: "I've never killed anyone!"

To me, the English way of saying it seems to mean that the person actually DID something or DID kill someone. Why isn't "I didn't do anything!" and "I've never killed anyone!" the common way to defend one's innocence?

Does it sound strange to say "I didn't do anything?" Does it mean something else?

Is there a difference between British and American English?

By the way, why do English-speaking people usually put punctuation marks such as the blue question mark inside the quotation mark? It does not belong to the quotation. And that's the case in English books too. Swedish people would write: Does it sound strange to say "I didn't do anything"?

Yes. That's been widespread in hollywood movies, especially with the hippies cast. They think that's cool. But they aren't aware that they're destroying their language. And for your concern between the difference in British and American English, yes,there is.

Alling · 08-13-2010, 10:08 AM

Speaking of difference between UK and US English, I watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets recently. I'm also currently reading the books in (American) English, and I've been wondering about Hagrid's dialect. Does he speak American English or just some odd British dialect? :P

And speaking of English in general, the thing that haunts me most is prepositions. I think they're difficult to learn in any language (in Swedish we would say "on any language," for example). Gaah!

Imspartacus · 08-22-2010, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikesTooLz

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alling

iPadforums might not be dedicated to discussing linguistics, but I think you guys can answer my questions.

I've always wondered why many, if not all, English-speaking people use double negations in cases where Swedish-speaking people only use one negation.

Examples, negations marked in red:

English: "I didn't do nothing!"
Swedish: "I did nothing!" or "I didn't do anything!"

English: "I've never killed no one!"
Swedish: "I've never killed anyone!"

To me, the English way of saying it seems to mean that the person actually DID something or DID kill someone. Why isn't "I didn't do anything!" and "I've never killed anyone!" the common way to defend one's innocence?

Does it sound strange to say "I didn't do anything?" Does it mean something else?

Is there a difference between British and American English?

By the way, why do English-speaking people usually put punctuation marks such as the blue question mark inside the quotation mark? It does not belong to the quotation. And that's the case in English books too. Swedish people would write: Does it sound strange to say "I didn't do anything"?

Your so called Swedish way of saying it is the proper way of speaking and i'm an english speaking person. In fact English is the only spoken language that I know. I think the problem is just that there are a lot of english speaking idiots.

Yup i agree im english 100% and the english speaking idiots are often called scallies or chavs. laziness do you not think?

08-13-2010, 10:08 AM	#27
Alling iPad Fan! Member #8435 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Gothenburg, Sweden Posts: 25	Speaking of difference between UK and US English, I watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets recently. I'm also currently reading the books in (American) English, and I've been wondering about Hagrid's dialect. Does he speak American English or just some odd British dialect? :P And speaking of English in general, the thing that haunts me most is prepositions. I think they're difficult to learn in any language (in Swedish we would say "on any language," for example). Gaah! __________________ . When the birds start singing you should shut down your computer and go to bed. Sweden Jailbroken 32GB iPad Wi-Fi + 3G Last edited by Alling; 08-13-2010 at 01:49 PM.

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07-22-2010, 07:51 PM	#21
Superbike81 iPad Junkie! Member #428 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Japan and Seattle Posts: 221	"I never NARC'd on nobody!"

07-23-2010, 05:28 AM	#22
Photo1017 iPad Enthusiast! Member #5964 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: NJ Posts: 31	Unfortunately, the style of speaking incorrectly has become so widespread as to become standard. I find it quite annoying. It didn't take me long once out of Brooklyn to drop the the brooklynese accent and style! I've never placed the punctuation inside quotes unless it is part of the quote. It may be correct to put it inside, but that's just wrong.

07-28-2010, 01:56 PM	#24
pallentx iPad Master! Member #5353 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 525	While the double negative is improper in English, it is proper in some other languages. In Russian and some Slavic languages, the single negative is actually wrong. With these languages the meaning is less dependent on word order and more tied to the forms of the verbs used.

07-28-2010, 04:34 PM	#25
rwilts iPad Enthusiast! Member #2016 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Cardiff Posts: 41	Being an English speaker in the UK I agree with the original observation that the double negative is just poor use of language. For many years I have intentionally annoyed co workers with my answers when they say Q ."You don't have a spare pen do you?" R . "Yes" Q ."Great can i borrow it? R . "No, i have not got one!" Obviously an example my day is not made up of being asked for pens.