[87302] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: Double negatives
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (David Trimboli)
Mon Nov 30 15:40:34 2009
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:37:35 -0500
From: David Trimboli <david@trimboli.name>
In-reply-to: <f1d476f10911301145r6db03954o2f6a7e7bec32031f@mail.gmail.com>
To: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
Errors-to: tlhingan-hol-bounce@kli.org
Reply-to: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
ghunchu'wI' 'utlh wrote:
> On Mon, Nov 30, 2009 at 1:39 PM, Christopher Doty <suomichris@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Mon, Nov 30, 2009 at 06:29, ghunchu'wI' 'utlh <qunchuy@alcaco.net> 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
