Double negatives in ELTWhy do Romanian learners use double
negatives and how could they be avoided?
Introduction
Teaching English to Romanian students may seem to be quite a
challenge for the teachers, especially in the case of young
learners, where it is rather hard to make them understand the
grammar rules of the English language and other abstract concepts
that need more concentration and attention from their part.The
issues of the use of double negations, as well as that of the
misuse of the prepositions, or of the false friends, and so on are
very common in ELT as a second language.Here I will try to address
the problem of the double negations in oral or in written
communication, to find an explanation for it and, to find, also,
possible solutions or exercises that teachers of English might use
with their students.
What Are Double Negative Phrases?
In English grammar, a double negative is when someone uses two
negative words (such as no and none) in a sentence, whether it is
used in oral or written communication. This is both redundant and
incorrect grammar, and it is important to understand what a double
negative is to avoid it in order to not confuse the
others.Redundant A double negative is redundant. "I don't have no
water" is the same as "I do not have no water". This is because not
having "no water" is the same thing as having water, except it is
expressed in a clumsier manner. So, double negatives are redundant
because they are the same thing as saying a positive
statement.Contractions Double negatives often appear in
contractions because they can sneak into a sentence more
effectively. "Not" is a much clearer negative than the contracted
version in "won't" or "don't." So, make sure your contractions
don't have negatives, to avoid double negatives, because they are
less obvious in these places. For example, "I won't go nowhere" is
the same as saying "I will not go nowhere;" "not" and "nowhere" are
your two negatives.
Negative words in Romanian
In Romanian,negationcan be made simply by placing "Nu" before
the main verb. But sometimes a double negative is required; that
is, using both the negative form of the verb (nu+main
verb/auxiliary verb / reflexive pronoun) and another n-word.E.g.
:1. Nu pot s stau acolo (I can'tstay there).2. Nuaunimicde pierdut
(They don't have nothing to lose Double Negative; correct sentence:
They (dont) have (anything) nothing to lose.3. Nimeni nul place (
Nobody likes him)When a negative adverb occurs, it is mandatory to
express the particle nu in front of the verb.Incorrect: *Vreau
nimic.Correct: Nu vreau nimic (I want nothing).Incorrect: *Beau
cafea niciodat.
Since Romanian is a strict negative concord language, the
sentential negation nu obligatory co-occurs with an n-word, be it
pre-verbal (3) or post-verbal (2). However, sentences where
sentential negation licenses only one n-word are never interpreted
as double negations.Why do Romanian students use more frequently
double negative phrases in English?Because of this feature of the
Romanian grammar, children, who acquire it naturally from the very
beginning of their lives and long before starting to actually learn
English, tend to apply the rules of the Romanian grammar to the
other languages they study in school. For instance, in the case of
negative phrases, even after a couple of classes, students still
make the mistake of using double negations in communication in
English , due to the fact that their way of thinking is not
prepared enough to be similar to the one of a native English
speaker. Therefore, children translate sentences from Romanian to
English and vice versa word by word, neglecting the semantic
translation or the adaptive one which make the result of
translation more appropriate and loyal to the original text.
Speakers should avoid using double negatives because if we say
something like, I dont see no paper, a logical interpretation could
be that since the speaker does NOT see NO paper, then the speaker
must be looking at some paper. If there is actually no paper, it
would have been better for the speaker to have said, I dont see any
paper, or I see no paper. Speakers probably make the mistake of
using double negatives because it seems like a natural way to
emphasize negation
How to Teach Double Negatives in Grammar
The issue of double negatives is found in teaching grammar not
only to native speakers of English, but also to second language
learners. As for any other obstacle or problem encountered in
teaching students, the teacher should be aware of the learners
motivation, proficiency, anxiety, capacity of understanding, etc.
Thus, he/she should try to see at what point has the student stuck
and find proper solutions in order to help him move on and keep up
the pace with the others. It is said that practice makes perfect
and in that matter, the teacher should insist with a lot of
exercises with n-words and maybe with games, in the case of young
learners, so that her/his students be able to leave behind the
double negatives in communication and apply and use grammar rules
right. It is quite difficult to teach English since it lacks of
visual materials and students are asked more often to memorize
structures rather than to understand them. But the teacher can use
a visual when teaching the concept of double negatives, however. It
can turn the concept into a concrete idea, one that will be
remembered.Therefore, one first example of teaching young learners
double negatives is the one where the teacher uses an apple to make
students visualize them for a better understanding of the error. I
did not try this method on students yet, but is seems to be quite
logic and interesting at the same time.
1. The apple demonstration
Instructions1. Place an apple on the desk behind you before
starting the lesson.2. Hold your hand out in front of you with the
palms up to show that they are empty.3. Announce to your students
that you have "no apple." Ask if they understand that you have "no
apple," emphasizing the two words.4. Put the apple in your hand and
say, "Now, I don't have 'no apple' because I have an apple." Ask
the child if you have no apple. Again you will need to emphasize
the words "no apple." Wait for a response. They may respond with
just "No" or replay that you have an apple.5. Let the children hear
you repeat the following: "Now I don't have no apple because I have
an apple." See if they understand the idea that when you create a
double negative, the two negatives cancel each other out. This is
the core to teaching double negatives.6. Take time to discuss
various possibilities. One example uses what happens in everyday
life. If you or your students had a recent illness, you can use the
example that involves that illness by saying, "I have no fever.
Yesterday I took my temperature, and I didn't have no fever because
it was 105 degrees." (You can use any number above normal, but it
should be higher than the normal body temperature.)7. Wait for the
children to mention that this sounds funny. Tell them that you are
showing why you don't use two words that say no together. Explain
that while it may seem you are saying that you don't have an apple
or a fever, you are really saying that you do.8. See if they
completely understand before asking for a better way of phasing
that you have the apple. Watch for the signs of understanding when
you teach double negatives.9. Attempt to illicit an answer that
eliminates negatives. Create lists of phrases with double
negatives, such as "I don't now nothing." Ask your child to tell
you what the sentence actually says. Ask her to tell you what she
thinks the writer meant to say. Have the child rewrite the sentence
correctly.
2. Another way of avoiding double negatives in communication
would be to tell students to use only one negative word in a
sentence and to try to eliminate any second reference to it by
replacing it with a positive word.
3. One last advice from me for the teachers and for the students
as well, would be to do as many exercises and as much practice as
possible. And students should also be exposed to native-like chunks
of English communication in order to get more familiarized to its
grammar structures. In this respect, I chose some exercises that
may be teaching negatives in English. Exercises with double
negativesBcoanu Simona-Maria, Master, an I, ELT
[1]
1. Choose the word in parentheses that makes each sentence below
negative without creating a double negative.EXAMPLE: I wouldnt have
( none, any ) of the spinach.1. Our family never does ( nothing,
anything ) on the weekends.2. The manager ( can, cant ) seem to
keep nobody working for him.3. I wouldnt have ( no, any ) part in
playing that trick on Rod.4. Those books ( are, arent ) none of
mine.5. I never go ( nowhere, anywhere ) without buckling my
seatbelt2. Rewrite each sentence below to correct the double
negative.EXAMPLE: We havent tried none of these programs.We havent
tried any of these programs.1. We hadnt never realized that
Theodore wrote so well.2. I cant never remember that incident.3.
Ann hasnt said nothing about her new job.4. This ice cream isnt
sold nowhere else.5. There isnt room nowhere for this table.
Conclusion
Double negatives are very common among the native speakers of a
strict negative concord language, like the Romanian language, but
this issue can be surpassed through different methods and it
depends mostly on the teacher how he/she will make his/her students
improve their grammar.
Bibliography:
1. Falaus, Anamaria, 2008, Romanian n-words as negative
quantifiers, Universit de Nantes2. How to avoid double negatives,
http://www.ehow.com/how_8545948_avoid-double-negative.html3. How to
teach double negatives in grammar,
http://www.ehow.com/how_8545948_avoid-double-negative.html4.
Activities for teaching negative sentences,
http://www.ehow.com/info_8600764_activities-teaching-negative-sentences.html5.
Avoiding Double Negatives,
http://www.freewebs.com/jenniferths/doublenegative.pdf/
