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Discussing English grammar, the term "double negative" is often, [9] though not universally, [10] [11] applied to the non-standard use of a second negative as an intensifier to a negation. Double negatives are usually associated with regional and ethnical dialects such as Southern American English , African American Vernacular English , and ...
But the term "double negative" can sometimes refer to the standard English constructions called litotes or nested negatives, e.g., using "He is not unhealthy" to mean "He is healthy". In some cases, nested negation is used to convey nuance, uncertainty, or the possibility of a third option other than a statement or its negation.
In rhetoric, litotes (/ l aɪ ˈ t oʊ t iː z, ˈ l aɪ t ə t iː z /, US: / ˈ l ɪ t ə t iː z /), [1] also known classically as antenantiosis or moderatour, is a figure of speech and form of irony in which understatement is used to emphasize a point by stating a negative to further affirm a positive, often incorporating double negatives for effect.
Because standard English does not have negative concord, that is, double negatives are not used to intensify each other, the language makes frequent use of certain NPIs that correspond in meaning to negative items, and can be used in the environment of another negative.
This is a list of common abbreviations in the English language. A. ab abdominal muscle (slang) [1 ] abalone abscess (slang) [2] ad advantage (tennis) [3 ...
Not! is a grammatical construction in the English language used as a function word to make negative a group of words or a word. [1] It became a sardonic catchphrase in North America and elsewhere in the 1990s. A declarative statement is made, followed by a pause, and then an emphatic "not!" adverb is postfixed.
Download as PDF; Printable version; ... List of age-related terms with negative connotations; B. ... List of Puerto Rican slang words and phrases; R.
Dictionaries of slang, vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in verbal conversation but avoided in formal writing. Pages in category "Slang dictionaries" The following 13 pages are in this category, out of 13 total.