threats

[Thomas Blecke]

dear all,
two real threat constructions in my variety of standard German come to 
mind, both with a specific intonation contour:
1.   ICH will dir HELfen!   lit.: 'I want to help you!', but with this 
intonation, unequivocally: Don't do/say that again, or I'll show you!

2.   Ich SAGE dir gleich: "..."!      lit.: I will tell you in a moment: 
"..." ("..." being sth. unpleasant that the addressee has just said), 
but with this specific intonation (strong accent on /sage /+ rising 
contour of the citation): Don't do/say that again, or I'll show you!

Best,
Thomas

vfriedm at UCHICAGO.EDU wrote:
> I would argue that it is a real threat.
> Consider this context:
> I'll teach you to walk in my garden!  Take that! And that!~
> And that! (each "that" accompanied by some act of physical
> violence).
> Best
> VAF
>
> ---- Original message ----
>   
>> Date: Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:11:45 +0700
>> From: David Gil <gil at EVA.MPG.DE>  
>> Subject: threats  
>> To: LINGTYP at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG
>>
>> And while I'm back in the discussion again ...
>>
>> Since I always complain how hard it is to get negative data
>>     
> from similar 
>   
>> queries, here's a little piece of negative data with regard
>>     
> to the 
>   
>> present thread:
>>
>> To the best of my knowledge, the varieties of colloquial
>>     
> Indonesian that 
>   
>> I am familiar with have no construction to the one under
>>     
> discussion.  
>   
>> (Which, as I suggested in a previous posting, I don't really
>>     
> consider to 
>   
>> be a "real" threat, but nobody seemed to be very impressed by
>>     
> that comment.)
>   
>> -- 
>> David Gil
>>
>> Department of Linguistics
>> Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
>> Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
>>
>> Telephone: 49-341-3550321 Fax: 49-341-3550119
>> Email: gil at eva.mpg.de
>> Webpage:  http://www.eva.mpg.de/~gil/
>>     
>
>   
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