Afrikaans Grammar - Syntax - Double Negative

Double Negative

A particular feature of Afrikaans is its use of the double negative, something that is absent from the other West Germanic standard languages. For example,

Afrikaans: Hy kan nie Afrikaans praat nie. (lit. He can not Afrikaans speak not.)
Dutch: Hij kan geen Afrikaans spreken.
English: He cannot speak Afrikaans.

Both French and San origins have been suggested for double negation in Afrikaans. While double negation is still found in Low Franconian dialects in West-Flanders and in some "isolated" villages in the center of the Netherlands (i.e. Garderen), it takes a different form, which is not found in Afrikaans. The following is an example:

Afrikaans Dutch English
Ek wil dit nie doen nie.* (lit. I want this not do not.) Ik wil dit niet doen. I do not want to do this.

*Compare with "Ek wil nie dit doen nie", which changes the meaning to "I do not want to do this specific thing." Whereas "Ek wil dit nie doen nie" emphasizes the unwillingness to act, "Ek wil nie dit doen nie" emphasizes the unwillingness to do the specified action.

The -ne was the Old Franconian way to negate but it has been suggested that since -ne became highly non-voiced, nie or niet was needed to complement the -ne. With time the -ne disappeared in most Low Franconian Dutch dialects.

The double negative construction has been fully grammaticalized in standard Afrikaans and its proper use follows a set of fairly complex rules as the examples below show:

Afrikaans Dutch English
Ek het nie geweet dat hy sou kom nie. Ik heb niet geweten dat hij zou komen.1 I did not know that he would be coming.
Ek het geweet dat hy nie sou kom nie. Ik heb geweten dat hij niet zou komen.² I knew that he would not come.
Ek het nie geweet dat hy nie sou kom nie. Ik heb niet geweten dat hij niet zou komen.³ I did not know that he would not come.
Hy sal nie kom nie, want hy is siek. Hij zal niet komen, want hij is ziek.4 He will not be coming because he is sick.
Dis (Dit is) nie so moeilik om Afrikaans te leer nie. Het is niet moeilijk om Afrikaans te leren. It is not so difficult to learn Afrikaans.

The word het in Dutch does not correspond to het in Afrikaans. The het in Dutch means it in English. The Dutch word that corresponds to het in Afrikaans (in these cases) is heb.

Note that in these cases, most Dutch speakers would say instead:

No. Dutch English
1
 Ik wist niet dat hij zou komen. I knew not that he would come.
2
 Ik wist dat hij niet zou komen. I knew that he would not come.
3
 Ik wist niet dat hij niet zou komen. I knew not that he would not come.
4
 Hij komt niet, want hij is ziek. (or more commonly Hij komt niet omdat hij ziek is.) He does not come because he is sick.

A notable exception to this is the use of the negating grammar form that coincides with negating the English present participle. In this case there is only a single negation.

Afrikaans English
Hy is in die hospitaal, maar hy eet nie. (lit. …he eats not.) He is in hospital, but he isn't eating.

Certain words in Afrikaans arise due to grammar. For example, moet nie, which literally means "must not", usually becomes moenie; although one does not have to write or say it like this, virtually all Afrikaans speakers will change the two words to moenie in the same way as do not shifts to don't in English.

Read more about this topic:  Afrikaans Grammar, Syntax

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