Negative!
So, you ever wonder why some languages use double negatives to mean just "no"? Well, it's often argued that it doesn't make sense to allow double negatives to mean no because "no, no" should mean "yes."
Ok, logically that makes sense...
"I don't have no bread."
I do have bread.
Or: "Don't nobody have no bread."
Nobody has bread... or Everybody has no bread.
But, that's only if you think of "no" or negativity as a switch. Once, on, once off, etc.
If you think of it less like a toggle switch and more like a button that can be pressed deeper and deeper... it makes more sense. So:
Don't (negativity alert) nobody (extra negativity) have no (really really negative) bread.
Or, at least, that's a way to think about it so it doesn't offend your sensibilities. And, next time a language guardian tells you that people that say that are deficient in some way, you can say - psh, listen.
Hammer-Just
Isn't it weird when you talk about something in the past tense that just happened a few seconds ago?
Me: "My toe hurts..."
Dan: "What'd you do?"
Me: "I stubbed it just a second ago!"
Wouldn't it be easier, more efficient and less wordy if there was a "recent" past tense and a regular past tense? There must be a language out there that does something like this, but I don't know it. Spanish, and African-American English to some extent, have various sorts of past tenses like finite past and imperfect (past event that continued).
There's some hypothesis I heard somewhere that says that the -ed ending on verbs comes from the slow addition of the word "did" to the end. So:
I hammer-did the nail.
Hammer did --> Hammer-did --> Hammerdid --> hammerid --> Hammerd
I hammerd the nail.
I don't know if that's how they think it happened or if it happened or if it's even a valid hypothesis. However, I would like to create the "recent" past tense with a similar process.
I hammer-just the nail.
I hammerst the nail.
I createst a tense. Go forth and speak about toe stubbings.
I was pondering over the expansion of use for frames like "have a..." after skimming this article. I'll have to read it more thoroughly. But, for now, I'm going to speculate (watch out). While I'm at it, I might as well explain what my speculations are like. I like to think through things as best I can on my own. Especially as below. But, sometimes, my logic ends up flawed or missing something. That's the whole point of my speculation really- to catch the flaws and missing information. If you see it, don't get all ruffled, just say so.
So, we (people in general perhaps) use words/frames/phrases for both wider and narrower meanings than our parents. The big example you hear talked/argued about is "like", and I don't want to get into that now. So, we use "like" to mean more than something meaning "I like you," of course. We say things like ( <-- that) and:
1 It took him, like, an hour to get here.
(It took him, maybe- more- or- less- I- might- be- exaggerating- not- exactly- accurate- I'm- thinking, an hour to get here.)
2 The squirrel is like a fox.
(The squirrel is as a fox is.)
3 Like, I did want to go.
(Well/something-prevented-me/uncertainty, I did want to go.)
4 I was like, oh-my-god.
(My reaction was to think/feel/maybe-but-probably-not-say oh-my-god.)
Ok, so these first few are the "controversial" ones. I might post about it some other time, but not now. Basically, I don't know why it's such a problem for some people. More examples of different use:
5 I like him.
(I like him.)
6 I
like him.
(I like him,
'like that'.)
(I like him and am interested in a relationship)
7 I like him (with grimace/downturned mouth/scrunched up nose).
(I like him because I have to/feel bad if I don't/etc.)
These last ones (5-7) exhibit both more specific meaning and a broadening of the original meaning of "to regard something/someone/etc. as positive/enjoyable/..." Specifically, there are different degrees and aspects of "like." Depending on the emphasis, it can be a platonic (5) or romantic (6) attraction, or a pity/regretful attraction (7). There are others as well. Now, this is all pretty intuitive.
The more interesting thought comes from reading Anna Wierzbicka's article. I've read things like it before, but it just got me to thinking. So, I might say things like (gah, now I really notice that stupid word,) "Have an eat." I might say it tongue-in-cheek, but I say it. I like to play with words and grammar, so it's hard to tell if someone else might do the same thing normally. So, one day, if I have kids or if it becomes more commonplace, I, my kids or others might say it all the time without meaning it in a silly way.
I'm curious if expansion of grammatical structure often happens this way. She does often say that something might be said in jest, but I'll have to read closer to see if any of the accepted constructions did not used to be accepted.
Finally, one more thought:
On 775, she says:
"One can say 51a, but hardly 51b:
(51) a. John was drinking water.
b. ?John was eating food.
The expression
eat food is tautological, because the idea of food is already contained in the meaning of
eat... The verb
eat requires an object other than
food..."
I'm going to cite this next time I ask my sarcastic husband what he's eating, and he says "food."
Bluebonnets
Well, the seeds are sown. We'll see if any come up. I ended up bouncing around the yard on the pitchfork like it was a pogo stick until I felt the stares of the neighbors. Then, I just threw it down like a spear. The ground was rock hard- no wonder the grass got crispy!
Next project for the yard: make the garden into an oasis. The space needs to be delineated better. The porch makes a nice point, but the boundaries aren't thorough enough. It'll be easy now that I actually want to spend time outside.
An escape
I was sitting in the music room and heard loud squaking... I own chickens, but it sure sounded like a duck to me. Plus, Shirley and Chicken Little aren't very vocal. I go outside to investigate and I look around for a duck, but it's Chicken Little standing in the middle of the chicken tractor, standing tall and yelling as loud as she can. Shirley is running around in circles, ruling out my first fear that she was hurt and Chicken Little was calling for help. It's windy and cold so I think maybe they're upset for that reason... but they're chickens. (Plus, "cold" is only like 55 degrees)
I walk up closer to see what the deal is, and I can't see anything wrong at first. Finally, I see why Shirley's running in circles. Somehow, a baby squirrel found it's way into the coop and is desperately trying to get out. I mean, desperately. It's not just running around on the ground, it's scaling the wire and doing loop-da-loops around the screaming Chicken Little, and Shirley just thinks she's going to catch a meaty meal.
I scream, "A Squirrel!" but nobody comes to look so I'm the only one that gets to watch the spectacle. I open the door and wait for Shirley to chase the squirrel out, but it's too busy poking it's nose through the chicken wire. Finally I poke my toe at it and it escapes. I never even got to see where it went. Chicken Little didn't shut up till it was gone either.
I still don't know how a squirrel would have gotten in there... See:
Now, this is kind of one of those things that makes you never want to get sick again. It's an auto-immune disorder that often starts after you have a viral or bacterial infection... and can progress to the point where you're almost totally paralyzed! We talked about it a bit in the course on dysphagia I'm taking. Of course, if you survive (there's only a 6% mortality rate or something), you tend to recover almost completely. That would always make me wonder... would it come back?
Today's project
Or maybe tomorrow's project...
Planting bluebonnet seeds. You're supposed to plant them in the fall so they come out in the spring. I'm not sure how to go about it yet without just working them into some dirt. The front yard's mighty crispy from the dry summer, but it's sprinkly today. It's a bit chilly though (hooray! the first chilly day of the season) for planting. I think planting the seeds will entail just going around the yard with a pitchfork first to poke through the hard top layer and then laying them down, but I'm not sure... I'll have to check on it first.
Speaking of the chilly day, we celebrated the coming of fall last night as the cold front blew in. We don't eat meat much, but we made an exception last night to eat some grilled chicken and play outside in the wind. Shirley and Chicken Little didn't seem to mind... or notice... or think anything at all. It's more meaningful to enjoy the changing of the season's when they actually occur. Our temperature here on the Autumnal Equinox was 108 or something. Maybe it can be a new tradition. Summer could be the first day it hits 90.. (in, you know, April)
starting out
Chronicling my various adventures will help me keep up with where I want to go with them... Between gardening, knitting, writing a children's book, learning to play the cello, and all the millions of other things I want to learn to do, I need a place to think about it.
So, I need to start writing to think.
