[Ads-l] Heard: _don't only_
Laurence Horn
laurence.horn at YALE.EDU
Sun Apr 17 16:09:14 UTC 2016
> On Apr 17, 2016, at 8:40 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> I too prefer "just," but I've heard the other so often that I probably use
> it now too.
>
> JL
Note, for what it's worth, that "not only" and "not just" are not the same semantically:
[Background for non-poker players: a full house outranks a flush, but if you have a full house you can't have a flush--assuming no wild cards.]
I don't just have a flush, I have a full house. [OK]
#I don't only have a flush, I have a full house. [not OK]
This is more general:
We're not just engaged, we're married.
#We're not only engaged, we're married. [implies we're both]
I'm not just a sophomore, I'm a junior.
#I'm not only a sophomore, I'm a junior. [implies I'm both]
This isn't just a one-night stand, isn't true love.
(#)This isn't only a one-night stand, isn't true love. [a bit odd, unless it can be both]
Professor H. is not just an old fart, he's a distinguished senior scholar.
≠ Professor H. is not only an old fart, he's a distinguished senior scholar. [implies I'm...er, he's both]
LH
>
> On Sat, Apr 16, 2016 at 10:08 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Archie Bell of Houston, Texas:
>>
>> "We _don't only_ sing, but we dance as good as we want to."
>>
>> Korean instructor in English:
>>
>> "There are about thirty British dialects, so we should understand that
>> British speakers _don't only_ use received pronounciation [sic]."
>>
>> Speaking only for myself, naturally, _don't only_ is bizarre.
>> I prefer
>>
>> _don't just sing_ and _don't use only_.
>>
>> "Different strokes," I reckon.
>>
>> --
>> -Wilson
>> -----
>> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
>> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>> -Mark Twain
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.americandialect.org&d=AwIBaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=0Z7nlTTC_HWyQIS-jVjsnAIufu8q__Nel4YBg1UtOeU&s=Dz-SqjBjo1ebaFFAhKxVxmAcb7huQmz7RCsG5xabEao&e=
>>
>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.americandialect.org&d=AwIBaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=0Z7nlTTC_HWyQIS-jVjsnAIufu8q__Nel4YBg1UtOeU&s=Dz-SqjBjo1ebaFFAhKxVxmAcb7huQmz7RCsG5xabEao&e=
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