LL-L "Idiomatica" 2014.01.03 (02) [EN]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L - 03 January 2014 - Volume 02
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From: Kevin Caldwell <kevin.caldwell1963 at verizon.net>
Subject: LL-L "Literature" 2014.01.03 (01) [EN]

In the case of “I could care less,” my suspicion is that it results from
wanting to put heavy stress on “care.”

Kevin Caldwell
Laurel, MD

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From: Stan Levinson <stlev99 at yahoo.com>
Subject: LL-L "Idiomatica" 2014.01.03 (01) [EN]

Ron,
my non-scientific assessment is
1.  sounds Yiddish
2.  seems similar to double-negatives, so common in non-standard speech.
3.  happy new year.

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From: Steven Hanson <ammurit at gmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Idiomatica" 2014.01.03 (01) [EN]

I dare say it’s something akin to a double or emphatic negative, which
we’re taught in school not to use, but which is really quite common in
practice.

Steven

 From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Idiomatica
>


> Dear Lowlanders,
>
> One of the many things in which I am interested is changes of idiomatic
> impressions.
>
> Here I will deal with two English expressions that I believe have
> undergone changes in the United States, and I wonder if they are found in
> other varieties of English as well.
>
> (1)
>
> *“I could care less.” *As far as I am concerned, this ought to be “I
> *couldn’t* care less” (= “I *could not* care less”), and this is what I
> heard and read in Britain and Australia.
> I believe that the originally intended meaning is something like “I care
> so little that I could not care any less” (= “I don’t care at all”).
>
> (2)
> *“I couldn’t barely breathe” *or e.g.
> *“She couldn’t hardly believe her eyes”*
> As far as I know, these ought to be “I could barely breathe” and “She
> could hardly believe her eyes” respectively.
>
> Is there something about “could” and “could not” that causes confusion and
> leads to misinterpretation in such instances?
>
> Regards,
> Reinhard/Ron
> Seattle, USA


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From: Mark Brooks <marcosarroyos at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: LL-L "Idiomatica" 2014.01.03 (01) [EN]

Ron asked, "Is there something about “could” and “could not” that causes
confusion and leads to in such instances?"

I've never heard the examples in 2, but I have heard 1.

Here's a guess on 1. I tried saying "I couldn't care less several times,"
and I discovered there are two ways I can discern that I pronounce it.

When I "pronounce" the [t], I do so with a glottal stop that follows a
syllabic n. In that case it's clearer (to me anyway) that I'm mean could
not. When I don't pronounce the [t], I just pronounce the syllabic n
followed by <k> from care. In this second case, it doesn't seem as clear
(audible) that I mean to negate the word "could."

Perhaps people are not pronouncing the phrase as in my second example! and
hearers don't notice the negation.

Mark Brooks

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