tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Nov 30 12:39:50 2009
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Re: Double negatives
ghunchu'wI' 'utlh wrote:
> On Mon, Nov 30, 2009 at 1:39 PM, Christopher Doty <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On Mon, Nov 30, 2009 at 06:29, ghunchu'wI' 'utlh <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> Double negatives in Klingon appear to act the way they do in Standard
>>> English, with one negating the other and yielding an affirmative
>>> meaning.
>> This doesn't happen in Standard English, and it is stupid to say so.
>
> Did I err in using the name "Standard English" to refer to the strict
> grammatical rules taught in school? Or did my English teachers err in
> telling me that double negatives essentially cancel?
Actually, the argument made by English teachers is that double negatives
*would* cancel each other out *if they were allowed*, which is why
they're *not* allowed. The argument is false, of course, but it's
probably easier to say that than to get eight-year-old children to
understand deeper mysteries of linguistics. The teachers themselves
usually don't know any better either.
--
SuStel
tlhIngan Hol MUSH
http://trimboli.name/mush
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