On Thu, Jan 20, 2000 at 02:23:54PM -0500, Dave Sill wrote:
> "Len Budney" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> >You are being pedantic, are you not? Yes--and you're mistaken.
>
> I was clearly being pedantic. Next time I'll use a <pedantic> tag.
>
> >This particular use of 'not' is purely idiomatic.
>
> Just because a particular grammatical butchery is in wide use and fits
> the definition if "idiom" doesn't mean it's conducive to
> communication.
Amen!
> >PS We New Englanders use negatives in other contexts as particles of
> >emphasis. For example, if you boast, ``I can build a Linux mail server
> >in under an hour,'' I might reply, ``So can't my mother.''
I kinda like this one. It's not so ambiguous if you read the cinicism.
> Which most of the English speaking world would interpret as "My mother
> can't do that", possibly with an implied "(but just about anyone else
> can)". This type of idiom leads to ambiguity, and is a barrier to
> communication--its only purpose is to be cute.
Correct. I wholeheartedly agree with you about the "isn't it" thing, although in
English
this thing is more widely accepted than in Dutch. I'm training my co-workers to
understand me when I say 'no' to a negative question. They're fast learners :)
Greetz, Peter.
--
Peter van Dijk - student/sysadmin/ircoper/madly in love/pretending coder
|
| 'C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot;
| C++ makes it harder, but when you do it blows your whole leg off.'
| Bjarne Stroustrup, Inventor of C++
