The teacher said "In English a double negative forms a positive.
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@mfeilner @kibcol1049 @chillicampari Then there is "jo" in Norwegian which (among other uses) is a "Yes" that preceeds the other person first affirming and then disagreeing with you in some way.
"Kan jeg ta bussen herfra til Ullevaal?"
"Can I get to Ullevaal from here by bus?"
"Jo, men det er lettere å ta en taxi"
"Yes, but it is easier to take a taxi".
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The teacher said "In English a double negative forms a positive. In some languages, though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative."
A voice from the back of the room piped up, "Yeah, right."@kibcol1049 In German it varies from case to case. Emphasis, gestures, facial expressions, comma placement, context, the personal relationship, geographical region or dialect and regional humour - all is playing a role.
"Ja ja" - "yeah yeah" / "yes yes" can be positive but just as easily negative.
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@kibcol1049
First day of English class, prof says that there two words that he never wants to see or hear. One of them is “nice” and the other is lousy. Someone in the back asks, “what are the two words?”@stevewfolds @kibcol1049 thanks. I have appreciated and written a little based on your words
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@kibcol1049
Be careful in Germany:
"yes, yes" means "kiss my ass".("Ja, ja" heißt "leck mich am Arsch".)
@ard_the_rich @kibcol1049
Depends on pronounciation . -
The teacher said "In English a double negative forms a positive. In some languages, though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative."
A voice from the back of the room piped up, "Yeah, right."@kibcol1049 In Finnish we have got "joo joo" which means 1) a very reclutant "yes, gonna do it even though I could not be bothered" or 2) not willing to say no but disagreeing with the statement or plead. "Joo" is just something akin to "yeah" in spoken language, borrowed from some Swedish dialect, probably.
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English is my second language and phrases like
"we don't want no education"
always bother me.
@rzeta0 @kibcol1049 The IT Crowd (TV series) had Moss answering "oh yes you do, that's a double negative" in one of the episodes.
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Nope, it started here, sorry.
@TrueNorthSpice @maggiejk I'm pretty sure that Finnish people can be blamed for that, maybe.
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@kibcol1049 In Finnish we have got "joo joo" which means 1) a very reclutant "yes, gonna do it even though I could not be bothered" or 2) not willing to say no but disagreeing with the statement or plead. "Joo" is just something akin to "yeah" in spoken language, borrowed from some Swedish dialect, probably.
@kibcol1049 We've also got "niin" with numerous meanings replacing whole sentences. The meaning depends on intonation (very subtle though) and tone etc. It's all surprisingly high-context.
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@Lily_and_frog @eleder @jack @Wolf_Baginski The text book English language rules are different to the current spoken language trends. The meaning is usually clear when spoken even though grammatically incorrect. I feel sorry for non English speakers.
@kibcol1049 clearly, interpret it in whichever way is detremental to the speaker until they learn to speak clearly
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@kibcol1049
First day of English class, prof says that there two words that he never wants to see or hear. One of them is “nice” and the other is lousy. Someone in the back asks, “what are the two words?”
