Are double denials possible in Finnish?

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PäähäniSattuu
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Are double denials possible in Finnish?

Post by PäähäniSattuu » Wed Nov 06, 2013 9:22 pm

As in, in English 'I don't want to never do that', meaning that one wants to do it at at least some point. Which could just as well be phrased as 'I want to do that at some point', but 'I don't want nothing' , is not the same as 'I don't want anything'. Can you even say something like 'Mä en halua ei mitään'?.

Also 'I want nothing' is 'mä halua en mitään' right?



Are double denials possible in Finnish?

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jahasjahas
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Re: Are double denials possible in Finnish?

Post by jahasjahas » Wed Nov 06, 2013 10:24 pm

PäähäniSattuu wrote:As in, in English 'I don't want to never do that'
How about "En halua olla tekemättä tuota."? (Though that's more like "I don't want to not do that." or "I don't want to miss doing that.", no strict "never" there.)
'Mä en halua ei mitään'?
I can only see that working in a scenario like

- Mitä toit mulle lahjaksi?
- En mitään.
- Mä en halua "ei mitään"! Mä haluan ponin!

So not really what you were thinking of.
Also 'I want nothing' is 'mä halua en mitään' right?
"Mä en halua mitään" would be the expected word order. "Mä halua en mitään" could be used in a poem or a song.

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Pursuivant
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Re: Are double denials possible in Finnish?

Post by Pursuivant » Wed Nov 06, 2013 11:48 pm

Puhekieli maybe...

Mä olen ilman mitään?
(I am without anything)
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Something wicked this way comes."

Valinnan vapaus
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Re: Are double denials possible in Finnish?

Post by Valinnan vapaus » Thu Nov 07, 2013 1:02 am

Ei kyllä ei millään tuu mitään mieleen... ei sitten ei millään. <-- colloquial or something

I think the answer to you question is no, it's an idiomatically English (and even so American/colloquial) phenomenon to start with.

AldenG
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Re: Are double denials possible in Finnish?

Post by AldenG » Thu Nov 07, 2013 5:23 am

I've heard Finns in Finland say "I cain't get no satisfaction."

I guess that doesn't count on two counts. Not really Finnish and not the kind of double negative you wanted.
As he persisted, I was obliged to tootle him gently at first and then, seeing no improvement, to trumpet him vigorously with my horn.

PäähäniSattuu
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Re: Are double denials possible in Finnish?

Post by PäähäniSattuu » Thu Nov 07, 2013 9:36 am

Valinnan vapaus wrote:Ei kyllä ei millään tuu mitään mieleen... ei sitten ei millään. <-- colloquial or something

I think the answer to you question is no, it's an idiomatically English (and even so American/colloquial) phenomenon to start with.
Well, it can theoretically happen in any language where negation is just a random particle which be done to almost anything. I assumed that in Finnish since the negative particle is the finitie verb of the sentence of some sorts I wondered how double negatives, if at all, are possible in Finnish and apparently they aren't.


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