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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

A very strange thing...

Hey, guys, I've been reading "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain and I must say I find it very difficult to read!!! I learn British English, while the book is in American English. Now I have some questions I want to ask you:

Is it possible to use double negative in a sentence?
What does this mean - "She was a-bothering about..."

Thank you very much!
  

Top answer

???????? I learn British English, while the book is in American English. Not only is it American English, but it is idiomatic and replete with regional colloquialisms from the 19th-century.

— AlpheccaStars

  • ????????
  • I learn British English, while the book is in American English.
  • Not only is it American English, but it is idiomatic and replete with regional colloquialisms from the 19th-century.
  • Double negatives are very common in these dialects, as well as non-standard verb forms.
  • The author explains the dialects in the prologue of the book.
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11 Answers
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?????? ???????? I learn British English, while the book is in American English.
Not only is it American English, but it is idiomatic and replete with regional colloquialisms from the 19th-century.

Double negatives are very common in these dialects, as well as non-standard verb forms. The author explains the dialects in the prologue of the book.
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?????? ????????I've been reading "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain and I must say I find it very difficult to read!!!
Hee, hee, hee! Good book. Not for the faint of heart in the "I'm new to English" department.
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CalifJim Not for the faint of heart in the "I'm new to English" department.
And not even for scholars who dare read it analytically! Here is the artist's statement in the prologue, but I sincerely doubt that his edict would be enforceable in a court of law.
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AlpheccaStarsPer G.G.
I'm lost. Is the reference to General Grant?

CJ
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Good luck! I would not recommend this book to anyone trying to learn English. It is written in what is often described as an example of "local color regionalism," meaning it uses an exaggerated version of a local dialect in order to create context and background. It is certainly not anything that is considered proper English today, and its crued language would not be my recommendation.
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CalifJimI'm lost. Is the reference to General Grant?
I don't know. I quoted directly from the book as published in Project Gutenberg... along with this introductory remark on the language.

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AlpheccaStarsI quoted directly from the book as published in Project Gutenberg.
Yes, it's the same "G.G." in my copy as well. Just thought you might know.

(I doubt it's Gorgeous George!)

CJ
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CalifJim(I doubt it's Gorgeous George!)
And not "Good ***" either....
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Who was G.G.?
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/events/bancroftiana/117/newhuck.html
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Thanks, KJC79! A good piece of sleuthing! Emotion: smile

CJ
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