Two negatives in Tyneside English questions: negative concord or double negation?
-
Laura R. Bailey
Abstract
In this chapter, we introduce an unusual negative construction found in Tyneside English (Northeast England) where two sentential negative elements can co-occur in questions: Didn’t she not go on holiday?. Our analysis is based on acceptability judgement data comparing the construction to Standard English “inner” and “outer” negation (whereby a negative question can be interpreted as questioning an affirmative proposition or a negative one) and Tyneside English tag questions. We argue that the phenomenon under discussion is negative concord. We provide an analysis following Zeijlstra (2004) and Tubau (2016) in which Tyneside English differs from Standard English in terms of the interpretability of the negative features. We claim that in Tyneside English, both the lower negative element not and the higher n’t can have an uninterpretable [uNEG] feature, causing them to enter into a negative concord relation with a covert negative operator bearing [iNEG], which explains the variation in usage that we find in this variety.
Abstract
In this chapter, we introduce an unusual negative construction found in Tyneside English (Northeast England) where two sentential negative elements can co-occur in questions: Didn’t she not go on holiday?. Our analysis is based on acceptability judgement data comparing the construction to Standard English “inner” and “outer” negation (whereby a negative question can be interpreted as questioning an affirmative proposition or a negative one) and Tyneside English tag questions. We argue that the phenomenon under discussion is negative concord. We provide an analysis following Zeijlstra (2004) and Tubau (2016) in which Tyneside English differs from Standard English in terms of the interpretability of the negative features. We claim that in Tyneside English, both the lower negative element not and the higher n’t can have an uninterpretable [uNEG] feature, causing them to enter into a negative concord relation with a covert negative operator bearing [iNEG], which explains the variation in usage that we find in this variety.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
Section 1: General theoretical issues
- Negative concord: the first 133 years 9
- Negindefinites and negative concord: concepts, terms and analyses 53
- Negative concord and TAM: a new perspective 77
- Non-strict negative concord: a correlate of focus movement? 107
- The universal force of (strict) negative concord 123
- N-words: in defence of wide scope. A view from Romanian 149
-
Section 2: Perspectives on variation
- Negative concord in Medieval Greek: lexical asymmetry and the role of correlative negation 175
- What does the linear position of negative concord items tell us about their properties? 207
- Grammar or error? Non-compositional (expletive/paratactic) negation in Dutch sentences with zonder ‘without’ 239
- Two negatives in Tyneside English questions: negative concord or double negation? 269
- Less formal and more rebellious — An experiment on the social meaning of negative concord in American English 303
- Subject index 333
- Language index 337
- Name index 341
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
Section 1: General theoretical issues
- Negative concord: the first 133 years 9
- Negindefinites and negative concord: concepts, terms and analyses 53
- Negative concord and TAM: a new perspective 77
- Non-strict negative concord: a correlate of focus movement? 107
- The universal force of (strict) negative concord 123
- N-words: in defence of wide scope. A view from Romanian 149
-
Section 2: Perspectives on variation
- Negative concord in Medieval Greek: lexical asymmetry and the role of correlative negation 175
- What does the linear position of negative concord items tell us about their properties? 207
- Grammar or error? Non-compositional (expletive/paratactic) negation in Dutch sentences with zonder ‘without’ 239
- Two negatives in Tyneside English questions: negative concord or double negation? 269
- Less formal and more rebellious — An experiment on the social meaning of negative concord in American English 303
- Subject index 333
- Language index 337
- Name index 341
