yeah, no

[Jonathan Lighter]

There it seems to mean, "Yes indeed, and no, I wouldn't think of
contradicting you."

JL

On Fri, Jul 20, 2012 at 8:53 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: yeah, no
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Former NYPD detective on CNN today: "Yeah, no, you're right!"
>
> JL
>
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 16, 2012 at 9:34 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com
> >wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: yeah, no
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Some of the Language Log exx. show that "yeah-no" can also mean "yeah."
> >
> > The whole discussion is worth a look.
> >
> > It reminds me of the first time I noticed people saying "so I was like,"
> > meaning "so I thought or said."
> >
> > Very strange at the time (I was already a grownup), but soon afterwards
> > tediously "normal."
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Mon, Jul 16, 2012 at 9:00 PM, Ben Zimmer
> > <bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu>wrote:
> >
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> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
> > > Subject:      Re: yeah, no
> > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > It's come up frequently on Language Log:
> > >
> > > http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/005523.html
> > > http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/005525.html
> > > http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/005529.html
> > > http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=38
> > >
> > > And here is Ben Yagoda on the Chronicle's Lingua Franca blog:
> > >
> > > http://chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2012/06/14/yeah-no/
> > >
> > > --bgz
> > >
> > > On Mon, Jul 16, 2012 at 6:31 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu
> >
> > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Right, I'm frequently told about "yeah, no", and the non-equivalent
> > "no,
> > > > yeah", when I talk (not infrequently) about negation.  I agree that
> > "yes,
> > > > no" is far less likely (and would indicate changing of mind, which
> > "yeah,
> > > > no" doesn't).
> > > >
> > > > LH
> > > >
> > > > On Jul 16, 2012, at 6:10 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Current TV commercial:
> > > > >
> > > > > LADY AT SEANCE: Thank you, Priceline Negotiator, wherever you are!
> > > > >
> > > > > SPIRIT MEDIUM: Yeah, no, he's over here.
> > > > >
> > > > > There's no reason on Wotan's green earth why Beowulf's grandma
> > > shouldn't
> > > > > have been saying the OE equivalent of this (presumably "gese, na")
> in
> > > > > similar situations, but I've only been noticing it for a few years.
> > > > >
> > > > > The "yeah" acknowledges the remark, and the "no" instantly denies
> its
> > > > > accuracy before the nay-sayer corrects it.
> > > > >
> > > > > I've never heard "*yes, no."
> > > > >
> > > > > Back in the 20th C., when we were all rude primitives, I would have
> > > > > said,
> > > > > "No, he's over here." Or "(Well)(Actually) he's over here." But
> > > possibly
> > > > > those responses are now either too cruelly direct or employ to many
> > > > > syllables.
> > > > >
> > >
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> >
> >
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>
>
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"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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