<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body>
<p>An addition to the Russian data: there is a 'politically correct'
replacement to the 'penis' word, namely, <i>xren</i> (lit.
'horseradish'); similarly to the original <i>xui,</i> it can be
used both as a negation intensifier (<i>ni xui-a </i>∼ <i>ni
xren-a</i> neg 'penis'-gen), and as an emphatic negator:<br>
</p>
<p><i>Xren ego znaet</i></p>
<p>penis him/it know.prs.3sg</p>
<p>'No one knows / Who knows / I don't know' (lit. 'horseradish
knows it')<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><i>Xren on tebe den'gi dast</i></p>
<p>penis he you.sg.dat money give.fut.3sg</p>
<p>'He will not / would never give you money'</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>The first expression is so common that horseradish is sometimes
jokingly called 'the most knowledgeable vegetable in the world'.</p>
<p>Regards,</p>
<p>Elena Skribnik</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Am 13.06.23 um 15:50 schrieb Michael
Daniel:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:CABAHGwfRt8u5yDdO36hUw6RgZzkb_s196GGW+z_SZkFNhqOfxw@mail.gmail.com">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<div dir="ltr">This is true.
<div><br>
</div>
<div>But I think my second Russian example, where 'penis' means
nothing, can qualify; and also examples are possible like
'penis it knows' for 'I don't / no one knows', where no
regular negative particle is used. This is pretty common in
collquial communication, so much so that it made it to a rare
phenomenon of acronym in spoken language - хз [хəze] 'I don't
know; this is unclear' from lit. penis knows.
<div><br>
</div>
<div>
<div>Michael</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">вт, 13 июн. 2023 г. в 15:44,
Ian Joo <<a href="mailto:ian_joo@nucba.ac.jp"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">ian_joo@nucba.ac.jp</a>>:<br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px
0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div>Dear all,
<div><br>
</div>
<div>technically speaking, I think Pun Ho Lui’s original
question was swear words acting as negators, not just
intensifiers.</div>
<div>So phrases like “I don’t know shit” wouldn’t apply,
only those like “I know shit” (intended meaning: I don’t
know anything).</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Regards,</div>
<div>Ian<br>
<div><br>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div>13/6/2023 오후 3:37, Eitan Grossman <<a
href="mailto:eitan.grossman@mail.huji.ac.il"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">eitan.grossman@mail.huji.ac.il</a>>
작성:</div>
<br>
<div>
<div dir="ltr">I don't know if anyone has mentioned
this, but Jespersen already discussed this
phenomenon to some extent in his 1917 monograph on
negation, and it was extended by many including
Ross & Postal, Horn, and others (e.g.,
'squatitive negation' as in 'You don't know
doodly-squat.')<br clear="all">
<div>
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div><br>
</div>
<div>For the sake of
typology, some of
the Hebrew terms for
penis (mainly <i>zayin</i>
and <i>zibbi</i>,
the latter a
loanword) also show
the behavior
mentioned by Pun Ho
Lui, Misha, and
others.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Tue, Jun 13,
2023 at 4:23 PM Lewis C Howe <<a
href="mailto:chowe@uga.edu" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">chowe@uga.edu</a>>
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px
0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid
rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div>
<div style="overflow-wrap: break-word;"
lang="EN-US">
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hi Pun Ho Lui and
all,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">These patterns are
relatively common in Romance Languages.
For instance, in Spanish you can find
the following:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">(No) me
importa un(a)
coño|pedo|chingada|polla|etc.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">NEG 1sg.ACC
matter.3sg a
vagina|fart|fuck|dick|etc.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘I don’t care at
all.’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There are a number of
lexical options, which, not
surprisingly, are quite dialectally
diverse. The preverbal negation is
optional, and, for some speakers in some
collocations, may in fact be
dispreferred.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Following up on the
comment about <i>đavola </i>("devil")
in BCMS/Serbo-Croation, there’s a
similar construction in Romance
(illustrated below in Spanish) that
(typically) involves wh-words. This
construction also includes similarly
taboo lexical options—e.g., <i>carajo </i>‘shit’,
<i>cojones </i>‘testicles’. These types
of constructions, at least for English,
are described by Pesetsky (1987) as
“Aggressively Non-D-Linked” wh-phrases.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">¿Qué demonios
quieres?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What devils
want.2sg</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘What the hell do you
want?’</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Best wishes,</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Chad Howe</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Pesetsky, D. 1987.
Wh-in-situ: Movement and unselective
binding. In
<i>The representation of
(in)definiteness</i>, ed. by Eric
Reuland and Alice G. B. ter Meulen,
98-130. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div
id="m_-5585602351573308350m_-4921856047929884896m_-5383011396623242646mail-editor-reference-message-container">
<div>
<div style="border-style:solid none
none;border-top-width:1pt;border-top-color:rgb(181,196,223);padding:3pt
0in 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:12pt"><b><span
style="font-size:12pt">From:
</span></b><span
style="font-size:12pt">Lingtyp
<<a
href="mailto:lingtyp-bounces@listserv.linguistlist.org"
target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">lingtyp-bounces@listserv.linguistlist.org</a>>
on behalf of Michael Daniel <<a
href="mailto:misha.daniel@gmail.com" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">misha.daniel@gmail.com</a>><br>
<b>Date: </b>Tuesday, June 13,
2023 at 9:01 AM<br>
<b>To: </b>Stefan Savić <<a
href="mailto:stefansavicz@gmail.com" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">stefansavicz@gmail.com</a>><br>
<b>Cc: </b><a
href="mailto:lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org"
target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org</a>
<<a
href="mailto:lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org"
target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org</a>><br>
<b>Subject: </b>Re: [Lingtyp]
Swearwords as a negator and/or
minimizer: a cross-linguistic
perspective</span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom:12pt"><span
style="color:rgb(186,12,47)">[EXTERNAL
SENDER - PROCEED CAUTIOUSLY]</span></p>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dear Pun Ho
Lui,</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal">In Russian
strong speech, 'penis' is used
as a non-referential NP in
different type of emphatic
negation; including
constructions very similar to
what you quote. See for
examples, some way below. Note
that "ни" is a negative particle
distinct from regular negative
"не" and commonly (though not
exclusively) used under the
scope of clausal negation; I am
not sure how to gloss it.
</p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sincerely,</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Michael
Daniel</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">он
ни хуя
не знает</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">he.nom
not penis-Sg.Gen not
knows</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">'he does
not know anything at all'</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">хуй
тебе,
а не деньги</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">penis.Sg.Nom
you.sg-Dat, and not
money</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">'You are
not getting anything, you
are not (instead of) getting
any money'</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">ни
хуя
(подобн-ого)</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">not
penis-Sg.Gen
(similar-N.Sg.Gen)</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">'Nothing
like that at all!'</p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">вт, 13 июн.
2023 г. в 14:45, Stefan Savić
<<a
href="mailto:stefansavicz@gmail.com"
target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">stefansavicz@gmail.com</a>>:</p>
</div>
<blockquote
style="border-style:none none
none
solid;border-left-width:1pt;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);padding:0in
0in 0in
6pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in">
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dear Pun
Ho Lui, Dear All, </p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">In
BCMS/Serbocroatian one can
also use the genitive
singular form
<i>đavola </i>("devil")
in the same function, now
hardly considered a swear
word per se, but once it
definitely was (along with
other religious terms). As
a matter of fact, in
numerous such instances,
the nominative singular
<i>kurac</i> is often
replaceable with the
genitive singular <i>đavola
</i>(whereby the latter
sounds considerably milder
than the former).
</p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Best,</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Stefan</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Tue,
13 Jun 2023 at 14:35, Pun
Ho Lui <<a
href="mailto:luiph001@gmail.com"
target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">luiph001@gmail.com</a>>
wrote:</p>
</div>
<blockquote
style="border-style:none
none none
solid;border-left-width:1pt;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);padding:0in
0in 0in
6pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in">
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dear
linguists, </p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Swearwords/taboo
words can function as
a negator (1) or
minimizer/“squatitive”
(2):</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">(1)
Cantonese </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">
<span
style="font-family:"MS
Gothic"">我</span>
<span
style="font-family:"MS
Gothic"">撚</span>
<span
style="font-family:"MS
Gothic"">知</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">
1sg dick know</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">
‘I don’t know.’</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">(2)
I learn fuck all/
shit.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">‘I
learn nothing.’</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Other
languages with these
pattens include:</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">-
Russian </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">-
German <i>einen
Teufel </i>‘a
devil’</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">-
Swedish <i>så
fan Heller</i></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>-
</i>French <i>mon cul</i> ‘my
ass’ (?)</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">-
Polish <i>chuj </i>‘dick’;
<i>gówno </i>’shit’</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">-
Serbian <i>kurac </i>‘penis'</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">-
Croatian <i>kurac ‘penis’</i></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">-
Colloquail Finnish
“aggressive mood”</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">These
examples are provided
in: <a
href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/lingtyp/permalink/6751622964867235/"
target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://www.facebook.com/groups/lingtyp/permalink/6751622964867235/</a></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">I
am wondering if there
are other languages
performing similar
constructions. If so,
is the any requirement
for using them.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thank
you.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Warmest,</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Pun
Ho Lui</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal">_______________________________________________<br>
Lingtyp mailing list<br>
<a
href="mailto:Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org"
target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org</a><br>
<a
href="https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp"
target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp</a></p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal">_______________________________________________<br>
Lingtyp mailing list<br>
<a
href="mailto:Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org"
target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org</a><br>
<a
href="https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp"
target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp</a></p>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
_______________________________________________<br>
Lingtyp mailing list<br>
<a
href="mailto:Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org</a><br>
<a
href="https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank"
moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp</a><br>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
_______________________________________________<br>
Lingtyp mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org</a><br>
<a
href="https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp</a><br>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
</div>
</div>
_______________________________________________<br>
Lingtyp mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org"
target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org</a><br>
<a
href="https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank" moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp</a><br>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
<fieldset class="moz-mime-attachment-header"></fieldset>
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">_______________________________________________
Lingtyp mailing list
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org">Lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp">https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp</a>
</pre>
</blockquote>
</body>
</html>