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From: lew@ihuxr.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Creole languages and double negatives
Message-ID: <512@ihuxr.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 20-Jul-83 12:57:39 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihuxr.512
Posted: Wed Jul 20 12:57:39 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 22-Jul-83 03:08:53 EDT
Organization: BTL Naperville, Il.
Lines: 32

The July Scientific American has an article titled "Creole Languages".
These are languages which emerge from linguistically chaotic societies
such as isolated labor camps where the laborers are drawn from many
different linguistic backgrounds. The authors argue that the many different
and independently developed Creole languages all have an essentially
identical structure which differs significantly from more formal languages
such as English, French, Spanish, and so on. They infer that this is
a reflection of a "natural structure" to human language. I'm sure this
is a controversial thesis, but I'd like to comment on one feature that
the authors mention. This is the prevalence of double negatives in the
Creole languages.

Years ago I read "A Guide to American English" by L. M. Myers. I was
generally pleased with his linguistically liberal philosophy, but when
he stated that it was absurd to insist that "I didn't do nothing."
REALLY means "I did do something.", I balked. The interpretation of
English as a logical system was so inculcated in me that I was incapable
of admitting the legitimacy of such expressions.

More recently, I have tried to explain the logical interpretation of
double negatives to my children, with no success. This is in line with
the "Creole" authors' assertion that children readily accept the
natural features of language (found in Creole), but have difficulty
with "unnatural" features of formal language.

I guess I've finally reached a higher level of innocence from which
I can regard "I didn't do nothing" with complete equanimity. Perhaps
one can regard the double negative as a syntax requiring "matching
logical sense", just as the "neither ... nor" formulation. Its variance
with Boolean logic needn't be a problem.

		Lew Mammel, Jr. ihuxr!lew