LL-L: "Double negative" [E] LOWLANDS-L, 30.SEP.1999 (05)

[Lowlands-L Administrator]

 =========================================================================
 L O W L A N D S - L * 30.SEP.1999 (05) * ISSN 1089-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
 Posting Address: <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>
 Web Site: <http://www.geocities.com/~sassisch/rhahn//lowlands/>
 User's Manual: <http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8c/userindex.html>
 =========================================================================
 A=Afrikaans, Ap=Appalachean, D=Dutch, E=English, F=Frisian, L=Limburgish
 LS=Low Saxon (Low German), S=Scots, Sh=Shetlandic
 =========================================================================
 You have received this because your account has been subscribed upon
 request. To unsubscribe, please send the command "signoff lowlands-l"
 as message text from the same account to
 <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or sign off at
 <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
 =========================================================================

From: john feather [johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk]
Subject: Double negative

Roger wrote:

>>2. Gaumais: ("Lorrain" of the Belgian side of the border):   ... ne
...mie...

    Vot'tchvau _nu_ va' _m'_ bin    (votre cheval ne va pas bien)
    (Jean Mergeai, Gaume, Legrain, Brussels, 1988)

     i __n'__ mindje __mi__                            (il ne mange pas)
    an __n'__ fât-__m'__ mout âque                 (on ne fait pas
grand-chose)
    (La Revue Générale, vol. 133, nr. 5, 1998)

There may be some value in studying dialects.<<

Or, of course, the historical development of the language. "Mie" in this
context is  good 15th century "standard" French. (I don't know when its use
declined.)

I commented before that in French a number of  words have taken on a
negative connotation by their use with "ne" to form negations. A lot of
words which have historically helped to form the concept "not" mean
something  small in their positive sense: "pas" = "step", "point" = "dot"
and "mie" = "crumb". The same trick occurs in Latin.

John Feather
johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk

==================================END======================================
 * Please submit contributions to <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>.
 * Contributions will be displayed unedited in digest form.
 * Please display only the relevant parts of quotes in your replies.
 * Commands for automated functions (including "signoff lowlands-l") are
   to be sent to <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or at
   <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
 * Please use only Plain Text format, not Rich Text (HTML) or any other
   type of format, in your submissions
 =========================================================================