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DOUBLE NEGATIVE

Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language | 1998 | | Copyright

DOUBLE NEGATIVE. The use of two or more negatives in the same construction. There are two categories: (1) If the meaning is emphatically negative (I never said nothing to nobody), the construction is not part of STANDARD ENGLISH, though it is long-attested, and common in many varieties of the language. (2) If the meaning is rhetorically positive (She is not unintelligent: She is intelligent; You can't not respect their decision: You have to respect their decision; Nobody has NO friends: Everybody has some friends), the construction is part of standard English. Compare LITOTES. See NEGATION.

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TOM McARTHUR. "DOUBLE NEGATIVE." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

TOM McARTHUR. "DOUBLE NEGATIVE." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-DOUBLENEGATIVE.html

TOM McARTHUR. "DOUBLE NEGATIVE." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-DOUBLENEGATIVE.html

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double negative

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

dou·ble neg·a·tive • n. Gram. a negative statement containing two negative elements (for example didn't say nothing). ∎ a positive statement in which two negative elements are used to produce the positive force, usu. for some particular rhetorical effect (for example there is not nothing to worry about!).

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"double negative." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"double negative." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-doublenegative.html

"double negative." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-doublenegative.html

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