7.69, Qs: Double Negation, Poem by Dell Hymes, Malaysian Eng.

[The Linguist List]

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LINGUIST List:  Vol-7-69. Tue Jan 16 1996. ISSN: 1068-4875. Lines:  104
 
Subject: 7.69, Qs: Double Negation, Poem by Dell Hymes, Malaysian Eng.
 
Moderators: Anthony Rodrigues Aristar: Texas A&M U. <aristar at tam2000.tamu.edu>
            Helen Dry: Eastern Michigan U. <hdry at emunix.emich.edu>
            T. Daniel Seely: Eastern Michigan U. <dseely at emunix.emich.edu>
 
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                   Ann Dizdar <dizdar at tam2000.tamu.edu>
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Editor for this issue: avaldez at emunix.emich.edu (Annemarie Valdez)
 
We'd like to remind readers that the responses to queries are usually
best posted to the individual asking the question. That individual is
then  strongly encouraged to post a summary to the list.   This policy was
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---------------------------------Directory-----------------------------------
1)
Date:  Tue, 16 Jan 1996 14:24:54 +0200
From:  hiro-t at ias.tokushima-u.ac.jp (hiro-t)
Subject:  Query: Double negation: You cannot get something for nothing.
 
2)
Date:  Tue, 16 Jan 1996 11:59:45 +0100
From:  duchet at univ-poitiers.fr (Jean-Louis Duchet)
Subject:  Ref of poem by D.Hymes
 
3)
Date:  Wed, 17 Jan 1996 10:16:43 +0800
From:  mherrima at ecel.uwa.edu.au (Michael Herriman)
Subject:  Varieties of Malaysian English
 
---------------------------------Messages------------------------------------
1)
Date:  Tue, 16 Jan 1996 14:24:54 +0200
From:  hiro-t at ias.tokushima-u.ac.jp (hiro-t)
Subject:  Query: Double negation: You cannot get something for nothing.
 
 
 
Dear Linguists,
   I had a question from one of my students about the proverb
"You cannot get something for nothing." The question has three parts.
 
 
(i) Is this proverb frequently used in US and England? Have you ever
heard or used it?
 
(ii) Is this proverb's real meaning "Getting something for nothing
is the most expensive"?
 
(iii) Does this proverb have a semantic structure "It is NOT that we can
get something for nothing"?
 
I am looking forward to your comment, which I hope is an easy explanation.
Please e-mail me directly. I will post a summary soon. Thanks in advance.
 
Best wishes,
 
Hiroaki Tanaka, Tokushima University, Japan
E-mail:hiro-t at ias.tokushima-u.ac.jp
 
 
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2)
Date:  Tue, 16 Jan 1996 11:59:45 +0100
From:  duchet at univ-poitiers.fr (Jean-Louis Duchet)
Subject:  Ref of poem by D.Hymes
 
 
 
Dell Hymes is the author of a poem based on the famous Chomsky example of a
semantically agrammatical sentence: Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Does anyone know this poem? My colleague Marina Yaguello and myself are
desperate for a reference, or better still the complete text.
 
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DUCHET Jean-Louis               FORELL-AIT
4, rue Saint-Hilaire            Facult=E9 des Lettres & des Langues
86000 POITIERS                  Universite de Poitiers
(33) 49 55 99 96                86022 POITIERS
& Universite Paris 7, Institut d'anglais Charles V, 75004 Paris
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3)
Date:  Wed, 17 Jan 1996 10:16:43 +0800
From:  mherrima at ecel.uwa.edu.au (Michael Herriman)
Subject:  Varieties of Malaysian English
 
Dear Listers, I would appreciate any suggestions on research literature
discussing varieties of Malaysian English, particularly in regard to
inter-ethnic and inter-regional (East vs.peninsula) differences. Michael
 
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LINGUIST List: Vol-7-69.