Query Details
| Query Subject: |
Nelleke Oostdijk
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| Author: | Elisabeth Burr | |
| Submitter Email: | click here to access email | |
| Linguistic LingField(s): |
Discourse Analysis
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| Query: |
I's wondering if people on the list could help me with some issues
regarding the use of 'no' and 'man'. NO It is often commented by visitors from other English speaking countries that South African English speakers say 'no' meaning 'yes', a usage which has been called by one person the 'affirmative negative'. Here are some examples: A: How are you? B: No I'm fine In Store A: Could you deliver these for me? B: No, that will be a pleasure. In general the basis for the usage appears to be something like: 'You may have other thoughts about the [sometimes imposing] proposition you've just put to me. I'll (politely) negate these other thoughts before responding', so: Are you sure you can manage? No, there won't be a problem with that. It won't occur in a context like: A: Is your car new? Where the 'yes' or 'no' that B. will give will be responding, not to a possibly impolite belief, but rather simply to the proposition itself. [Basically then, 'no' means 'yes' in limited contexts]. My questions here: Do you find this type of usage elsewhere in the English speaking world or in other languages? (It seems to be a general South African feature too - happens in Afrikaans and in African languages). MAN Another features commented on by visitors to the country is the frequent use of 'man' as an interjection by English speaking South Africans: 'Man, it's hot today'. 'Hurry up mom, man' 'Man, I can't get this right' The interjection is used whatever the sex of the speaker or hearer. It generally indicates a 'negative' emotional involvement of the speaker of some sort - irritation, impatience or annoyance. Again the question is: Does this feature occur in other varieties of English? How is 'man' used in Jamaican English or 'black' English in the USA? [my impressions from American TV programmes are not too finely tuned, but it seems different]. Is 'man' used in this way in other languages?. Thanks for your time. David Gough Department of Linguistics University of the Western Cape Private Bag X17 Bellville 7535 e:mail dgough@artsn.uwc.ac.za Tel: +27 21 959-2978 (w) |
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| LL Issue: | 8.521 | |
| Date posted: | 14-Apr-1997 | |
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