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I think it's especially American English that doesn't use litotes as much as British English or the other Western European languages. This piece seems to be ve
by seszett 10mo ago
I think it's especially American English that doesn't use litotes as much as British English or the other Western European languages.
This piece seems to be very much about American English, when I read something like:
> In English, this feels bizarre. If something is good, you say: Nice Great Perfect Brilliant
- woodruffw 10mo agoYou would absolutely say "not bad" as an idiomatic variant of "good" in American English.
- almostgotcaught 10mo ago"not bad, not bad at all"
- messe 10mo agoI think Hiberno-English uses them even more.
- adw 10mo agoYes, that sentence is simply untrue for, at the very least, BrE. For example: https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/home-news/chart-shows-what-british-people-say-what-they-really-mean-and-what-others-understand-a6730046.html https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/home-news/chart-show... (2015)
- paleotrope 10mo agoThis is all very familiar with this North Eastern American English speaker except the "quite good" one. The rest seem normal to me in my American English. Perhaps it's too many Dr Who and or Monty python as a youth. Though in New England the language can be very sarcastic and indirect.
- theresistor 10mo agoReally? I read the same sentence (as an American) and immediately thought that they must be referring to British English. Certainly nobody says brilliant as an affirmation here. And "no problem" and "not bad" are both common colloquial statements in American English.